# Homemade cat bed - suggestions?



## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Prince is very big and sleeps totally stretched out. I just measured 105cms. from paw to paw lengthwise. He sleeps on an old duvet of mine folded in three, but I can tell he misses having sides. I keep putting something soft behind his back but he moves as he sleeps, of course. 

I can't afford one of the big dog beds in the pet stores, but I have an old queen size duvet, a single-bed duvet and a pillow with lots of stuffing inside, so I thought of designing a bed for Prince and taking it to the man who fixes clothes with his sewing machine to sew it. For the lining, I'd buy some light cotton bed linen material, as it's terribly hot here most of the year.

I've been wondering, though, if the bed should be round, oval or square? Also, how much stuffing - the amount in a regular duvet or double it?

Any ideas will be gladly welcome...!


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## Gloworm (Nov 19, 2010)

Straysmommy said:


> Prince is very big and sleeps totally stretched out. I just measured 105cms. from paw to paw lengthwise. He sleeps on an old duvet of mine folded in three, but I can tell he misses having sides. I keep putting something soft behind his back but he moves as he sleeps, of course.
> 
> I can't afford one of the big dog beds in the pet stores, but I have an old queen size duvet, a single-bed duvet and a pillow with lots of stuffing inside, so I thought of designing a bed for Prince and taking it to the man who fixes clothes with his sewing machine to sew it. For the lining, I'd buy some light cotton bed linen material, as it's terribly hot here most of the year.
> 
> ...


Sadly I have no advice. my kittens sleep either on bed with me or stretched out on my wood floors... or on my shoe rack... or on a shopping bag.... They don't do beds lol


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## fatandgreedy (Feb 20, 2011)

You might try getting a dog bed from the pet store.


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## fatandgreedy (Feb 20, 2011)

Gloworm said:


> Sadly I have no advice. my kittens sleep either on bed with me or stretched out on my wood floors... or on my shoe rack... or on a shopping bag.... They don't do beds lol


lol my cat's the same way. She kneeds on particle board haha


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Mow usually lays with/on me so he doesn't have a bed but if I'm needing space or annoyed with him I improvise one for him. I'll take 3 old pillows and lay them in a C shaped pattern and put his fake fur blanket over them and make him a little 'nest' to climb into. Since it's 3 sided he can walk into it on the open side (I make that side face me so he can have his one paw on me easily). 

It's easy to take apart and since it's just a blanket I can throw it in the washer with no problems. To make it more secure so it doesn't slide around or fall apart you could pin the pillows together at the corners and maybe put it on a bathmat for grip on hardwood floors..... then you can just switch out the blankets on top to a clean one every few days.


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## suwanee (Jan 22, 2011)

Homer loved his bed at the shelter - more so he could hide in the cage, I think.

I bought him one that he used maybe once. Raisin doesn't use a bed either. My old Siamese boy would lay in a bed when he was old and skinny, I think it made him feel warmer or more secure or both.

Beds may be an unnecessary expense. Krissy and MowMow have the right idea.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Why not try a cardboard box with the sides cut down a bit and put the 'old duvet' in it. He may not want a bed, and it's only your feeling. With the box, if it doesn't work out.... Still, It would have to be a pretty big box. Just a thought.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Straysmommy said:


> I've been wondering, though, if the bed should be round, oval or square? Also, how much stuffing - the amount in a regular duvet or double it?
> 
> Any ideas will be gladly welcome...!


Squarish. IF needed the corners could be packed.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

If you have an old suitcase, you can make two beds out of it. Just separate the top from the bottom. (The bottom will make a deeper bed.) Put in a soft pillow or folded blanket. I buy old suitcases at Goodwill for about $1 apiece. There are many sizes, and some are even round.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

CataholicsAnonymous said:


> If you have an old suitcase, you can make two beds out of it. Just separate the top from the bottom. (The bottom will make a deeper bed.) Put in a soft pillow or folded blanket. I buy old suitcases at Goodwill for about $1 apiece. There are many sizes, and some are even round.


Now there's a great idea.


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## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

Our cat sleeps with us or on our padded rocking chair. My dog likes sleeping in a laundry basket. There was a pair of carhartt coveralls folded up in a basket one day and he jumped in and it's been his "bed" ever since. (Luckily the coveralls are only used a couple times a year for when my son goes sledding, so the dog gets to use them until next winter, LOL.) For a cat bed, perhaps a laundry basket or wicker basket. Buy a cheap pillow or cushion to set inside it. Or your cat may prefer an old blanket that he can "burrow" in to get his nest "just right". Our local "dollar" store has wicker baskets, from small to laundry sized, that are pretty cheap. If he's a long cat, get a larger rectangle basket.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

You know the crazy thing -- Murphy absolutely loves the "blanket in a circle" mock-catbed I made for him. It's his regular go-to place. If you have a long blanket, or even two smaller ones, you just form it in a circle and they're happy.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Yes, I *loved* the idea and tried it immediately today, but I think even my old suitcase (which is very big, as we bought it in the USA) is too small for Prince. 

I especially like the idea because it solves 3 problems: Prince loves to sleep in the corner where the old suitcase is lying around in the living room but it's taken by the suitcase; I want to give some use to that suitcase; and I need a bed for Prince. I think I will transform what is now the suitcase-corner into a Prince-corner. If the suitcase is too small for him to sleep all night, he can use his current bed for the night or my bed, and go to his corner when he's feeling like retreating (he does for short periods every day).


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

October, that's awesome!! Much better than a ready-made bed, as it's adjustable to the cat's body. Unfortunately, I don't have blankets, only duvets, but I have an old soft cover that I'd been wondering how to place for Prince to have a nest.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Here's an improvement already, which Prince loved.


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## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

Awww he loves his feathery fan! Cute!


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Yes, I got it at a Carnival party from work and he likes to fall asleep licking it LOL


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