A couple of years ago, this guy I knew used to call me a crazy cat lady. I denied it (they’re single and have waaaay more cats than I do), but these days I’ve embraced my inner cat lady. I mean, when you cover your fingernails in cat decals, it’s kind of obvious that you love cats, right? Anyway, I have two cats, and one of them loves to hide under bushes and even an overturned cooler, so I made them a little cat tent. Here’s how I did it.

Materials:
5 or 6 36″ long, 3/4″ diameter wooden dowels
Sturdy twine
Ruler or measuring tape
Drill
Drill bits
Pen or pencil
Circular tablecloth, 60″ diameter, or sheet to cut up
Leather cord (optional, you could use the twine instead)

Methods:
1. Measure 6 inches from one end of your dowel and mark it with your pen. Repeat with all of the dowels.

2. Drill holes in the dowels at the spots you marked.

3. Thread the twine through the holes you drilled in the dowels, then wrap the twine around all of the dowels several times, and tie a knot.

4. For a cover, either cut a semi-circle with a 60″ diameter from a large piece of muslin or a sheet, or fold a circular tablecloth in half and use that. Spread the ends of the dowels out so they form a teepee shape, then wrap the cover around them. Tie twine or a leather cord around the top to hold the cover in place.

And now you have yourself a cat teepee! It was actually really easy to make, especially since I was lucky enough to find a perfectly sized circular tablecloth at my local thrift store. If you’re not quite so lucky, you can definitely thrift/repurpose a sheet or curtain and cut that up to fit.