Cat Wall Ideas: Plan and Price Your Cat's Climb
Start from a ready-made idea or a blank wall. Pick real Cat's Atelier shelves and steps, choose every option and see the price as you go.
- Handmade to order in Poland
- 2-year warranty on every base and its fixings
- Free UK delivery on orders over £75
Cat wall ideas to start from
How it works
- Pick an idea or start with a blank wall.
- Choose your shelves, steps and colours.
- See the layout and the price, then add everything to your basket.
Your wall
The drawing builds as you add each piece, giving you layout and design ideas for your wall.
Add your pieces to see design ideas for your wall.
The drawing shows one way your pieces could go on a wall. Sizes and finishes are approximate.
Shop the shelves and steps one at a time:
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - The Wave
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - The Arcing Haven
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - The Playful Curve
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - The Double Arch Haven
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - The Cozy Nook
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - Softly Shaped
- Floating Cat Wall Shelf - The Wavey Retreat
- Cat Wall Step
- Round Sisal Cat Wall Step
Planning at a glance
- Start from the floor: a low first step, then climb.
- Leave 20 to 30cm between pieces, or 20 to 25cm for kittens and older cats.
- Never build a straight vertical ladder. Set pieces to the side of one another so your cat always has somewhere to put its paws.
- Finish on a shelf with room to stretch out and headroom to sit up.
- On plasterboard, fix every piece into a stud.
These are our planning rules, grounded in the UK welfare guidance below and the fitting advice that comes with every shelf and step.
The pieces
Every idea is built from the same nine Cat's Atelier pieces: seven wall shelves and two steps. Each is handmade to order in Poland by Cat's Atelier, mounts on invisible fixings and comes with all its fixings.
The Wave
from £139
- Two sizes (75/95cm), Dip Left or Dip Right curve
- Handmade metal frame with a plush cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, 25kg at 75cm or 40kg at 95cm, 2-year frame warranty
- Dimensions
- Two sizes: 75cm (75 x 32 x 4 cm) and 95cm (95 x 32 x 4 cm).
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds 25kg (75cm) or 40kg (95cm). All fixings and instructions supplied.
The Arcing Haven
from £125
- Three widths, 60, 75 or 95cm, all 32cm deep
- Handmade metal frame with a plush cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, rated 25-40kg by size
- Dimensions
- 3 sizes: 60, 75 or 95cm wide. All 32cm deep, 4cm thick.
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds 25kg (60cm) or 40kg (75/95cm). Fixings and instructions supplied.
The Playful Curve
from £139
- Two sizes (75/95cm), an off-centre dip left or right
- Handmade metal frame, cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, 25kg at 75cm or 40kg at 95cm
- Dimensions
- Two sizes: 75 x 32 x 4 cm or 95 x 32 x 4 cm. Each in left- or right-dip form.
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds 25kg (75cm) or 40kg (95cm). Fixings and instructions supplied.
The Double Arch Haven
from £165
- 100cm of shared surface, room for two cats
- Curved metal frame, cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, 40kg max, 2-year frame warranty
- Dimensions
- 100 x 32 x 4 cm (L x W x H).
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds up to 40kg. All fixings and instructions supplied.
The Cozy Nook
from £135
- Two sizes, 60 or 75cm, for a cat who likes it flat
- Pine wood in 4 finishes, cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, rated to 25kg
- Dimensions
- Two sizes. 60cm: 60 x 32 x 6cm. 75cm: 75 x 37 x 6cm.
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds up to 25kg in both sizes. Fixings and instructions supplied.
Softly Shaped
from £135
- 60 x 37cm, a wider platform than a standard shelf
- Beech plywood in 4 finishes, cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, rated to 25kg
- Dimensions
- 60 x 37 x 6 cm (L x W x H).
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds up to 25kg. All fixings and instructions supplied.
The Wavey Retreat
from £195
- 95cm wide, for two cats or one stretched right out
- Beech plywood in 4 finishes, cushion in 7 colours
- Invisible fixings, rated to 40kg
- Dimensions
- 95 x 37 x 6 cm (L x W x H).
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings; holds up to 40kg. All fixings and instructions supplied.
Cat Wall Step
from £33
- 10 x 21cm, a staging point between the shelves
- MDF upholstered in soft felt, 5 felt and 4 platform colours
- Invisible fixings, screws and wall plugs included
- Dimensions
- 10 x 21 cm (L x W).
- Mounting
- Wall-mounted with invisible fixings. Screws, bolts and wall plugs included; fix into a stud on plasterboard.
Round Sisal Cat Wall Step
from £35
- 26cm long, 10cm diameter, a foothold between shelves
- Sisal rope over a solid wood core, beige metal ends
- Fully concealed fixings, no visible screws or brackets
- Dimensions
- 26 cm long, 10 cm diameter, 1.25 kg.
- Mounting
- Completely concealed wall mounting. Hardware, installation tool and instructions included; you need a drill and a bit for your wall type. Holds up to 15 kg when correctly installed.
2-year warranty on every base and its fixings: on the shelves, the frame and its mounting hardware; on the steps, the base and mounting hardware. Cushions and covers are wear items.
Indoor cat enrichment ideas from UK welfare guidance
Catification means shaping a home so it works for the cat as well as for the people in it. Height is the part a cat wall solves. The UK government's Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats says cats “often feel safest when high up”, and the feline vets' environmental guidelines from the AAFP and ISFM treat a raised resting place as one of a cat's core needs, because it lets a cat rest out of the way and keep an eye on the room.
Here are seven ideas drawn from that guidance, with a note on how a wall can help.
- Give your cat somewhere high to rest. The RSPCA advises “a suitable high place to climb and rest, for example shelves”. A cushioned shelf at the top of a climb does that job.
- Make the way down as easy as the way up. International Cat Care asks owners to make sure a cat “can get down easily, especially older cats”. Our own rule, grounded in that guidance: every idea on this page starts from the floor with steps.
- Leave room to stretch out. The AAFP and ISFM guidelines say a resting place should be long enough for a cat to stretch out fully. Our shelves run from 60cm to 100cm long, so check the size against your cat.
- Add a view. The same guidelines recommend that at least one indoor resting place gives a cat a view of the outdoors, and PDSA suggests a spot where a cat can “watch the world go by”. Many people like to put a shelf alongside a window. If you do, keep that window closed or secured when your cat is up there: the Defra code lists open windows in high buildings as a hazard.
- Offer more than one place to retreat. The government code asks for “a variety of safe hiding places including elevated resting places”. Two or three shelves at different points on a wall give a cat a choice.
- Give each cat its own spot. The RSPCA says each cat needs places to get away from the others when it wants to. The Double Arch Haven and The Wavey Retreat each have room for two.
- Keep climbing and play part of the day. The government code says indoor cats need “enough space to exercise, climb and play”. A cat wall covers the climbing; keep toys and play sessions going alongside it.
Before you fix anything to the wall
- Measure and mark. Use the planner's drawing as a guide, then mark each position on the wall with low-tack tape. Check the run against each piece's size under The pieces.
- Find the studs. Every shelf and step can go on solid masonry or on a plasterboard wall with studs. On plasterboard, fix each piece directly into a stud or beam so the wall carries the weight. Fixings and instructions come with each piece.
- Know each shelf's rating. Each shelf has its own rating, 25kg or 40kg depending on the model and size, listed under The pieces. The planner shows the rating as you pick a size.
- Check the wall fixings now and then.
Planning questions
There is no fixed number. The planner takes up to three shelves and up to 20 steps, and draws up to five steps and three shelves. Most walls start with a low step and keep the pieces offset, so there is always a route to the side.
Cats like a choice of heights: a low launch point up to about half a metre, a middle band up to around a metre and a half, and a high shelf above that. Leave headroom for your cat to sit up at the top.
About 20 to 30cm for an easy everyday route, or 20 to 25cm for kittens and older cats.
Yes. Every piece comes with its fixings. On plasterboard, fix each piece into a stud or beam; solid masonry walls are fine too.
The Double Arch Haven and The Wavey Retreat: 40 kg. The Wave and The Playful Curve: 25 kg at 75cm, 40 kg at 95cm. The Arcing Haven: 25 kg at 60cm, 40 kg at 75cm and 95cm. The Cozy Nook and Softly Shaped: 25 kg.
Yes. Each shelf and step mounts on its own fixings, keeps its own size and colours, and goes into your basket as its own item.
No. Each part is priced on its own, and the total is the sum of the parts.
No. It shows one way your pieces could go. Sizes and finishes are approximate, so measure your wall and check each piece's size before you fix anything.
As each piece is made to order, production plus delivery to the UK typically takes 4 to 8 working days.
Sources
- Defra, Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats
- RSPCA, cat environment advice
- International Cat Care, Making your home cat friendly
- AAFP and ISFM Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2013
- PDSA, indoor cats
None of them endorses Deluxe Pet Co or any product.