Cat owner shares photos after getting creative with old, broken chair: 'Fabulous idea'

Anyone who owns a cat or dog will tell you how challenging it can be to find a suitable bed for their pet. You can spend $200 on the most plush, eco-friendly dog bed on the market, and still, your golden retriever prefers to lie on the cold kitchen floor for their naps instead.

Instead of wasting money on trying new beds, one Redditor shared an incredible hack in the r/Anticonsumption subreddit for creating a DIY cat bed and scratching post by upcycling old furniture.

"Broken chair is now [a] cat bed and stool/scratching post," the OP wrote in their caption.

The attached images show a "before" picture of the older dining chair, and then "after" pictures of cats enjoying the new stool and cat bed.

Furniture is one of the more challenging categories to recycle, as it's often made from multiple materials. According to the EPA, Americans generated 12.1 million tons of furniture waste in 2018, compared to 2.2 million in 1960. While 19.5% of the furniture, a significant percentage compared to general plastic recycling, was combusted and used for energy recovery, the leftover 80% was landfilled.

This cat owner showcased how easy it can be to take an item that was deemed no longer safe for human use and easily convert it for animal use. This saved the owner hundreds of dollars, as they didn't have to buy a new scratching post and bed, and instead extended the life of an item destined for the landfill.

Upcycling and decluttering are great habits to keep your place organized, efficient, and safe for pets. For the items that you decide you no longer want to keep in your household, you can often earn rewards or other store credit for simply mailing your items back to brands with buy-back programs.

Fellow cat owners and upcycling enthusiasts applauded the OP for the ingenious upcycling project.

"OMG they love it! I think this is a fabulous idea! I've got an old chair that was part of a kitchen set. I'm thinking of taking the back off and making it into a kitty stool," one user commented.

"Your cat looks absolutely happy. Your chair has been given a second life. Well done!" another exclaimed. 

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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