Cats love boxes and bags, anything that they can hide in and play with. If you enjoy crafting and have a little bit of time on your hands, you can create a DIY cat tunnel from paper bags. Your cats will love playing in their new cat tunnel. The hard part will be keeping them out of it until you’ve finished making it.

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You’ll Need

Paper shopping bags (we used 8)
Marker
Ruler
Scissors
Non-toxic glue (It is important to use non-toxic glue whenever you are making things for pets or children. Click here to find out if your glue is non-toxic.)

Optional:

Paintbrush and dish for applying the glue
Paint to decorate

List of all material needed:

https://amzn.to/3UmrHE1

How to Make the Cat Tunnel

Start by drawing a rectangle on the bottom of each paper bag. Measure in an inch on each side to create a large rectangle that takes up almost the whole bottom. It doesn’t matter if the rectangle is perfectly straight.

Open up the paper bag so you can cut the rectangle out without cutting any other part of the bag. Pierce the bottom of the bag inside the rectangle and cut out the rectangle. Repeat the process with all of the paper bags.

Next, take 2 paper bags and insert them inside each other so that you have a cut rectangle on each side. Line them up so that they lay flush. We used 8 bags, so we had 4 pairs at the end of this process. You can use as many as you want depending on how long you want to make your DIY cat tunnel; just make sure you have an even number of paper bags.

Once the bags are paired up and neatly tucked inside each other, it is time to glue them together. We recommend using a paintbrush and a small dish or pot to make this easier, but you don’t have to. Grab one of the paired bags and pull the bottom bag out slightly. Apply 1 -2 inches of glue to the outside edges of the paper bag.

Tuck it back inside the top bag and press down to stick the two bags together. I recommend doing 1 or 2 sides at a time, so you don’t get glue all over your workspace. The glue doesn’t have to be completely neat; it will be on the inside of the cat tunnel, so you won’t see it. The purpose of the glue is to stick the two layers of bags together. Repeat on both sides of the paper bag and for each pair of paper bags. Leave the glue to dry for a few minutes before moving on to the next step.

Now you have 4 pairs of paper bags.

Flatten the paper bags and insert one inside the other to overlap about an inch or two. Glue the inside bag where it overlaps and press down. You don’t have to glue both sides, one side is enough to secure it. Repeat until all 4 pairs of paper bags are glued together to create the tunnel.

Leave the bags for at least an hour to let the glue dry. If there is any wet glue, you will find the next step very difficult.

Cut the two end bags down one side until an inch before the overlap. Open the bags up so it makes a tunnel and fold the two end bags inside the tunnel. The DIY cat tunnel will be 4 layers of paper bags thick so that it stands up on its own. You can glue the bags inside if you want, but it is not necessary.

Now you have a DIY cat tunnel that is ready for your cats to play with. If you wish, you can paint your DIY cat tunnel to make it pretty, or you can leave it blank. If you decide to paint the DIY cat tunnel, then apply a layer of white paint with a sponge to cover any writing and make your colour pop. Remember to use non-toxic paints.