Untreated 4x4, which I think cost like…$10-$15 maybe? Then carpet adhesive was like $20, some wood screws, and more staples. I’ve probably got $60-$90 in it, but it would be pricier if I didn’t have the brackets already.

It’s hard to say exactly, but I will say that if you bought everything you needed from, say, home depot, it would be very expensive, probably 2-3× a similarly sized store bought model. But the store bought ones are small for large cats, so your mileage may vary

We’ve got some of those on the opposite wall, actually. The cats like them, but shelf-type things are better because we’ve got some fat, declawed cats, so acrobatics aren’t their strong suit

I think if I did put in a run, it would have to be as unobtrusive as possible, so floating shelves are more or less mandatory.

But I’m probably not gonna end up actually doing it, so the point is moot

I’ve wanted to do this so badly, but just haven’t gotten around to doing it. Partially due to not wanting to spend the money for floating shelf hardware, that stuff is unreasonably pricey

I drilled two holes at the ends of the post. Tied a knot in the top end, wound my way down, then ended with a clove hitch to maintain three tension, and put the excess through the other hole and tied another knot just for extra security

The other one I made has lasted more than a year, and that was not made as well as this one. I’m planning on chopping this one up and tossing it whenever it gets worn out

I’d recommend using something like 3/8 ply, instead of the 3/4 I used, you’ll save a ton of weight. For joining vertical and horizontal surfaces I used a few, small L-brackets and a couple blocks that doubled as reinforcement

I use staples, too. I use them for the primary attachment of carpet, while the adhesive cures. Clamps, too, depending on how aesthetically pleasing the surface needs to be

I didn’t really plan it, so sequencing building the frame vs attaching the carpet was a little annoying, but overall not bad at all.

This isn’t the first one I’ve made for them, but I used spray adhesive on the first, which wasn’t nearly effective enough. This time I used carpet adhesive, which was more cost effective and seems to be much more effective. Downside to that, though is that I had to wait 24 hours after carpeting a piece to attach it