DIY toy guide
Cardboard Castle Fort
A multi-room hideout built from delivery boxes you already have
Join a few cardboard boxes into a connected fort with doorways and peek-holes. Boxes give cats a sense of security and a lookout for surveying their territory — this turns spare packaging into rich enrichment.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
🧺 You will need
- 2–4 clean cardboard boxes of similar size
- Packing tape
- A box cutter or strong scissors
- A soft blanket or towel (optional)
- A few treats to encourage exploring
🔧 How to make it
- Remove any staples, plastic tape and glossy printed inserts from the boxes.
- Arrange the boxes in a row or an L-shape to plan your layout.
- Cut archway doorways at floor level between neighbouring boxes so your cat can walk through.
- Cut a few paw-sized peek-and-swat holes in the sides for play.
- Tape the boxes together firmly so the structure is stable.
- Add a blanket in one room and scatter a few treats inside to invite the first exploration.
💡 Tips
Position the fort near a window so one room doubles as a bird-watching lookout. Rebuild the layout every couple of weeks — a new floor plan renews the novelty for free. Cutting doorways at floor level lets even senior or arthritic cats pass through comfortably.
Safety: Remove all tape residue, staples and heavily inked liners, which can be a choking or chewing hazard. Supervise cats who habitually chew and swallow cardboard, and replace the fort once it becomes soft or damp.
📝 Notes
Completely free — it reuses delivery boxes destined for recycling. Break it down and recycle when it wears out, then build a fresh one.
