Repurposing Previous DIY's

I have a very sweet but timid aging cat who doesn't like to venture too far these days, but at the same time she was getting restless in her favourite space.  We do have a new puppy in the house who adores her but the cat likes her own bedroom best most of the time. She's around 16 years old and the puppy is almost a year old, so needless to say she just doesn't have that kind of energy anymore and mostly prefers to nap in her favorite spots.

So, I decided it was time to change things up a bit, but how?  Whatever I came up with had to be easy for her to use, useful and not in the way.  And, of course I really wanted to make it look as nice as possible and maybe, just maybe, gain a little more floor space. It's not a big room so the extra space would be a really nice bonus.

I began by moving the hidden litter box that I made a couple of years ago (see "Easy Hidden Cat Box DIY" published Jan 27, 2020) under the window to free up some floor space. I also moved and  repurposed a couple of other diy pieces (see "My Double DIY Success"  published Sept 23, 2019 and  "Update On The Double DIY Success Post"  published Oct 7, 2019) on top of that hidden litter box.  I played around with the placement of these Ikea cubes, their bases as well as a couple of storage containers that I already had. I was trying to come up with multiple levels that would allow her to get up higher and be able to look out the window from a couple of different places.  

For the top box on the right I used leftover heavy duty cardboard and a piece of shelving that was slightly bigger to make a 3 sided platform. Using some leftover fabric I covered the cardboard and shelf and then made a pocket out of the same fabric to fold a small soft blanket into. I used a removable heavy duty double sided tape to safely secure it to the top of the cube. I used this same tape under the feet that sat on top of the hidden litter box to make it more secure.  

The only additional item that I purchased was an extra Ikea cube that was deeper than the ones I already had. I attached the wood leg base to this bigger sized cube and then attached one of the smaller cubes on top of that cube. This allowed for more space for her to lay down.  I placed a non slip rug pad on the bottom and cut and folded some old blankets to cushion and leveled things off.  I used the remainder of the blanket on the level below and topped it off with her favourite crinkle mats.  She regularly uses all three of these spots and can easily get from the bench (black and white fabric at the bottom left of the picture) and the corner of the bed by stepping onto the hidden litter box then onto the white storage box. Everything can be easily cleaned or dusted and the fabric is washed regularly, so keeping it clean is pretty simple.

 In the end I was able to repurpose items I already had, and the only purchase I made was the larger  cube, making the change very affordable. And as it turns out, worth the effort since it's used on a regular bases.