So, we’ve made it this far! Hopefully by this step you’ve been able to find a construction that fits your space and your cat’s needs, and said cat hasn’t demolished that in the process. Today, we’re going to focus on finalizing that construction — so make sure you like the shape, because there’s no going back after this!

The excitement is palpable in Bruno today.

This next part is really easy step-wise, but it can also be kind of tricky. If you don’t use the right adhesive, clamp, or staple, your cat condo can end up being a big issue. Some glue won’t hold over the abuse it might get from a cat jumping in and out of it, while staples can unfold themselves and can cut into your cat and make them afraid of getting into any of the boxes. That brings up one of the two big questions for this project; is it better to use glue or staples for your cardboard cat condo?

It would probably be easier to use staples, right? Everyone has a stapler or a staple gun. But if you remember the playlist from last week’s post, nobody was using a stapler for their DIY cat condo videos. That’s because school supply staplers are both too weak to hold cardboard together and they’re also very sharp. It can become a hazard very quickly for your feline friend if they unfold in the condo, or worse if they swallow them out of curiosity.

Okay, so we won’t use staples. What kind of glue should we use then? There’s hundreds of different kinds, And if we don’t use the right glue, the project can come undone right under the cat’s feet. So that’s where I began my research, where I found this article by a company who specializes in adhesives for cosplay. The article goes through an entire list of different adhesives to use for cardboard cosplay. The list puts Elmer’s School Glue at the very top of the list, so that is the kind I’m also going to recommend most. I personally am going to be using a hot glue gun because that is the strongest glue I had around the house, and Bruno tends to throw his weight around so hot glue might be better for his rough housing nature.

So now that we know what kind of glue to use, time to put that all to action! Below is a clip where I show you how to properly glue your cardboard boxes together using hot glue. That way this post doesn’t get too text-heavy and exhausting to read!

Unfortunately, for some reason my video editor refused to process some of the video I shot, so pardon the foggy shots at some points. The important thing is the narration mostly stayed in tact. I’ll try to figure out a better video editing program for next time!

Now, with all that out of the way, we can move onto the best part — decorating your cat condo! Next week, I’ll be showing you some glamorous additions for your cat’s hideaway!

Bruno’s already lovin’ the new space!