Every cat owner knows how much their kitty loves sitting in the window. That’s where they can watch the birds and feel the wind in their fur if the window is open. Especially for indoor-only cats, sitting by the window is probably quite a big part of your cat’s happiness and knowledge of the world around them. What if your house or apartment doesn’t have any window sills that are big enough for your cat to sit comfortably on, though?
DIY Show Off has the answer! Their awesome tutorial lays the process out in easy steps already, but for those who need a little extra help with things like sewing, we’ve broken those steps down even further. Time to get started with the kitty window seat!
Step 1:
Choose a window ledge in your home that can support the type of wall shelf bracket pictured below. You’ll need a window with a significant amount of blank wall space below it.
Step 2:
Gather your materials. You’ll need:
- An old serving tray
- An old pillow (roughly the same size as the tray)
- 2 shelf brackets
- Scrapbook paper or a piece of leftover wall paper to line the tray
- Screws and a drill
- Eye hooks
Step 3:
Sand the bottom of the serving tray to remove old paint or stickers. Next, measure a piece of wallpaper to the bottom of the tray and cut it to size.
Step 4:
Use decoupage glue or Mod Podge to fasten the paper smoothly to the bottom of the tray.
Step 5:
Lay out your fabric double over (right sides facing each other is best), place the pillow on top, and cut out a rectangle that is the right size but with an extra two inches for seams all the way around.
Step 6:
Sew edges of fabric under an inch and sew them down. This will give your pillow much neater, more durable edges.
Step 7:
Size the pillow against the fabric again to ensure that you still have enough excess around the edges to close the pillow case without making it too small to put on.
Step 8:
Keeping the right sides facing each other, sew each edge together except one of the shorter sides.
Step 9:
Put your pillow into its brand new case!
Step 10:
Drill a small hole near the outer edge of the tray, on the side that will be facing away from the window.
Step 11:
Screw an eye hook into the hole to tie a string with a toy on the end through. Make as many of these toy anchors as you want.
Step 12:
Measure where brackets will go and pre-drill holes into the wall.
Step 13:
Hold the bracket firmly against the wall and drill the bottom screws into both the bracket and the wall.
Step 14:
Drill the tray to top of shelf brackets from the bottom of the tray up to make sure the holes in the brackets and the holes you make in the tray actually line up properly.
Step 15:
Loop ribbon or string through each eye screw on the outer edge of the tray and tie a cat toy to the loose end so it hangs down enticingly.
Step 16:
Place your pillow on the tray so it fits comfortably.
Step 17:
Place your kitty on the pillow and enjoy watching how happy their new seat makes them!
Do you know a cat lover who would jump at the chance to make their furry baby a cat seat if they knew how? Share this tutorial with them for inspiration!
