[Noisebridge-discuss] Cat ladder / elevator

[Liz Henry]

You could make a spiral staircase around a central wooden pole or post, 
with some boards and metal angle brackets or corner braces.

Then if you want to enclose it, get some awning canvas, and kind of roll 
the staircase up in it, staple gunning or carpet tacking the canvas onto 
the ends of the boards that stick out of the spiral.   You wouldn't have 
to sew anything or do anything more complicated than drilling some holes 
for the screws for the angle brackets.  But, I think the tube might be 
counterproductive. Say your cat gets a claw stuck in the canvas halfway 
down; it's not going to be pretty.  

Instead I might bolt a couple of sections of dowels onto the end of each 
step,  as a sort of open railing.

Carpet scraps cut up and nailed to the boards of the staircase would 
help your cat get a grip, too.

Here is a drawing,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/3848691009/

The cat tree I built is more solid than this (mostly so that little kids 
can climb on it too.)

You could probably kludge something together with metal shelf bracket 
runners -- the rails with holes in them that you put in the back of 
closets & hook brackets onto.  Same idea, but it would weigh less.  I'm 
picturing using an inch thick wooden dowel for this, bolting the up and 
down bits of rails onto it, as many as fit around the perimeter, then 
putting in the metal bracket shelf supports and very short steps 
spiralling around.



- Liz




Sai Emrys wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 2:06 AM, David Yao<kudegra+nb at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> A picture of your situation would help.
>>     
>
> Can do.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/26792823@N07/sets/72157622120322694
>
> On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 9:29 AM, Don French<dcfrench at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> I am assuming that by a solid ramp you mean something other a simple board
>> running from the window to the fence, right?  Because how could that be
>> harder to build than any of the other options you mentioned?
>>     
> [...]
>   
>> Wouldn't a spiral ramp be a lot more difficult to make than a board between
>> the window and the ground?
>>     
>
> Sewing I can do in my living room with not much materials. Hard stuff
> requires a lot of transportation (I only have a Ninja, albeit one with
> a huge cargo box) and shop space / tools (I could use 83c's, granted,
> but still).
>
>   
>> I would abandon the idea of a tube because I don't think you will get a cat
>> to enter it.  Rats, maybe.  Cats, not so likely.
>>     
>
> Honestly I think mine would. He seems to very much like small enclosed
> spaces. E.g. he gets himself into cupboards all the time. For a while,
> he was getting himself into a partially-depleted tray of water bottles
> - between the cardboard and the plastic wrap - and seemed to rather
> like it there. (See pic.)
>
>   
>>   Which brings me to the point of how to make the door so that kitty can enter but rats and squirrels
>> can not. I would suggest using RFID like
>> http://www.petdoors.com/electronic_pet_doors.htm?gclid=CObsjcSXupwCFRYiagodk1b0oA
>> except that you would probably want to build it yourself for maximum geek
>> cred.
>>     
>
> Nah, I don't really care how it happens. I'm just lazy and cheap; if I
> can buy my way out of it reasonably I have no objection. :-P
>
> - Sai
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>   


-- 

------------------------
Liz Henry
liz at blogher.com
liz at bookmaniac.net
http://liz-henry.blogspot.com

"Without models, it's hard to work; without a context, difficult to 
evaluate; without peers, nearly impossible to speak." -- Joanna Russ