Kitty Castle - a well received Christmas Present

After a semester of reading and writing, I really wanted to build something. Since I've got way too much stuff here in the ScrimChateau it was important to come up with something I could give away and I'm happy to report that the recipient really seems to like this piece.

I got the idea to make a Kitty Castle back in the fall after seeing a web site demonstrating how to make kitty condos from paper bags. [Original Post] My friend "Agatha" suggested I make some as Christmas presents. I'd already thought of doing that and her suggestion almost made my oppositional defiance disorder kick in, but I'm getting better at fighting the ODD.

Paper bag kitty condos are fine, I thought, but not sturdy. I could use cardboard boxes, like the kind photocopy paper comes in. But then I saw a roll of carpet in someone's garbage pile. It was soaked and disgusting, but it occured to me that people are always getting rid of perfectly good carpet. So I put the word out and got some huge pieces of unused beige carpet from a work colleague and some nice maroon carpet from the folks.

The Palazzo dei Benito was made from a salvaged book shelf, and a couple of other salvaged scraps of wood. I used #8 Robertson head wood screws to hold everything together. When fastening the carpet to the wood, I put 1/2 inch washers between the screw head and the carpet so they won't pull through. The window holes look small, but Benny has no trouble going through.

I put maroon carpet on each of the three levels that Benny might want to lie on. They are removable to make it easier for Benny's mom to clean or replace them. What does she think of the tower? "Your presents are getting much better now that you have no money," she said.