How to Set Up Cat Shelves

Co-authored by Rita Reimers

Last Updated: November 4, 2022 References

Choosing a Location

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Selecting Shelves

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Installing

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Q&A

Cat shelves are a type of cat furniture that provides cats with vertical space. Cats love climbing and getting high above everyone in the room, and cat shelves are a convenient way to let your cat climb and sleep on a high perch. To set up your shelves, figure out where you want to put them, decide if you want commercial cat shelves or to make them yourselves, choose the design you want for the shelves on the wall, and attach the shelves to the wall.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Choosing a Location

1
Select a safe location. The location of your cat shelves is very important. Remember, the shelves are places where your cat will not only sleep but also run across and jump onto. This means you want to place them away from areas where they can hit something and break it.
- Keep the shelves away from televisions, cabinets full of expensive items, couches, and beds. You don’t want the cat jumping down from the shelf onto you in the middle of a movie or while you sleep.
2
Choose an area your cat spends time in. Make sure to choose a spot in your home where your cat hangs out. Don't place shelves in an area or room where your cat never goes. You want to give your cat access to shelves in their normal areas in your home.
- For example, if your cat spends most of their time in the living room, find a place in your living room to mount them. If they like looking out the window, consider putting a shelf there.
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3
Consider the height. Choose the height of the shelves based on your cats. Most cats can climb and jump high. However, if you have an overweight cat, a senior cat, or a cat with mobility issues, you should place your shelves lower on the wall.
- Instead of having them climb vertically, you may want to spread out different horizontal shelves your cat can easily get to so they have multiple shelves to play on.
- You may also consider placing some shelves closer together. Instead of a large vertical space for them to jump, place them in a shorter, easier vertical space they can step upon.
4
Map out where you want the shelves on the wall. Before you put up the shelves, take a pencil and draw lines on the wall where you want to put the shelves. If you want to put them in a particular design, figure out where each one will go and how far apart you want them.
- Make sure you do this ahead of time. You do not want to put up shelves and not like where they are and have to take them down again.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Selecting Shelves

1
Choose shelves of different sizes. To provide some variety for your cat, choose shelves of different sizes. Choose some that are long and others that are wider. If you are buying cat shelves, you can find shelves that are rounded or in odd shapes.^{[1]
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- Try long shelves over doors, and short shelves as steps up towards wide shelves that multiple cats can lay on.^{[2]
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2
Choose a design for the shelves. You can set your cat shelves up in a variety of different ways. You set them up on a diagonal, like a staircase going up. Each shelf will be to the side and slightly higher than the previous.
- You can do a zigzag pattern, where you put two to three shelves going upwards in a diagonal, and then switch directions the other way as the shelves continue going up.
3
Choose a covering for the shelves. When building your own cat shelves, you may choose to cover the shelves in carpet or paint the shelves. Painting the shelves makes the shelves match the decor. Covering them in carpet gives the cat a surface for traction, and it also gives them something to scratch.^{[3]
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- Choosing carpet squares can give you a way to add color or individuality to your cat furniture.
4
Buy shelves. You can buy cat shelves to place in your home. Premade cat shelves can be purchased from a pet store or online retailer. Buying cat shelves may be more convenient because they come with mounting hardware.
- Cat shelves may be very expensive. Some can be over one hundred dollars. Doing it yourself may be much cheaper.
5
Make your own shelves. If you want to make your own shelves, try different sizes, like an 18-inch and a 24-inch. You can also start with a piece of 2x6 wood, and get a few pieces of wood slightly larger than that.^{[4]
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- You can buy shelves intended for knickknacks or books, or pieces of board to make into shelves at a home improvement store.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Installing

1
Attach the carpet to the shelves. Take the carpet pieces and cut them to fit your shelf. Then, you need to attach it to the wood or shelf. You can do this by nailing the carpet to the wood. Alternately, you can use a staple gun and staple the carpet to the wood.^{[5]
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- Try buying carpet squares instead of rolls of carpet. You may also ask at a home improvement store for any carpet scraps.
2
Place brackets on the board. To keep the shelves against the wall, you need some kind of bracket. Metal L brackets are great for attaching cat shelves onto the wall. Attach one side of the bracket to the bottom of the board with screws. Just make sure the screw isn’t so long that it’s going to come through the wood on the other side.^{[6]
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- The side that goes on the wall should be the longer side. Make sure the side you attach to the board is the short side.
3
Buy wall anchors for the appropriate weight. If you are buying normal shelves, the weight limitation on the wall anchor may be too small to hold your cat. Most traditional shelving only holds around 10 pounds. Instead, buy wall anchors that will hold up to 50 pounds.^{[7]
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- If you buy cat shelves, check the weight limits. Make sure your cat doesn’t weigh more than the shelf will hold.
4
Use a level before mounting the shelf. Before you mount the shelf, make sure to align the brackets and shelves where you want them. Use the level to make sure the shelf will be straight. Then mark where the screws should be drilled into the wall.^{[8]
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- If you have someone helping you, you can go directly from holding the level to attaching the brackets to the wall.
5
Mount the shelf on the wall. Once you decide where the shelf is going to go on the wall, attach the other side of the bracket to the wall. Use a drill to attach the bracket to the wall with anchors and screws.^{[9]
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- Make sure you are using longer screws to mount the shelves on the wall.

Community Q&A

Question

Is there a basic rule of thumb for the distance between each shelf? Or how many inches above?

Community Answer

It all kind of depends on the size of your cat. If you are running your shelves horizontally, place the shelves 6-10 inches apart. If the shelves are like stairs, place them about 7-10 inches apart.
Question

Do the shelves have to go into studs in the walls? Will anchor screws eventually pull out of drywall?

Community Answer

Anchoring the cat shelves in studs is the best way to ensure your furniture will not come crashing down. Alternatively, you could buy a bottom-heavy piece of furniture that will not wobble when you try to shake it. While anchor screws can be used to hold some furniture to the wall, they are not recommended for shelves that will be jumped on, nor are they recommended for shelves that will bear more than 10 lbs.
Question

How deep should the shelves be?

Finn Meister

Community Answer

They should be 20 to 50 centimeters deep. If the cat is a Maine Coon, then they should be 60 to 70 centimeters.