Would these brackets be strong enough to support a 20pd cat?

[TechBoyJK]

I just moved in with GF and I basically put all my stuff in her basement and set it up like a big studio loft. We were sharing a duplex (each had one side to ourselves) but I have shoulder surgery coming up and will be out of work. Her side had an empty basement and 2nd bedroom, and she pitched the idea of cramming all my stuff into her basement. She's planning on buying a house in 6 months or so.

Anywho.. problem is I have to put my 2 adult cats into her basement. She has 2 cats too. Hers are 3 years old and declawed. Mine are about 13yo and have claws. We want to keep them separate until we can be assured they'll be friendly. So her cats upstairs, mine downstairs.

Since my cats will have less room to run and fewer places to hide, I'm wanting to create some cheap wall pods that they can climb up on. I have a bookshelf that I'd like for them to be able to climb up on as well.

So my idea is to get some shelving brackets, and create 9" deep and 15" wide shelves and create a path for them to get up to the bookshelf. I have some scrap MDF from another project that I'd like to use.

I'm sure the MDF will hold them, but I want to make sure that brackets I get (which will be screwed into studs) will be good enough.

These are cheap, so I'm thinking I get several of these and call it a day.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_48988-46882...torStoreBean@5f3a5f3a]&pl=1&productId=3034237

Thoughts? Am I missing something? This is a temporary living situation so I don't want to invest a lot of time into it.

 

[IronWing]

Those are similar to the brackets we used for the shelves on our cat porch. We have had no problems with them.

Shelf on end uses the brackets. We have four other similar shelves now.

 

[edro]

Are the cats + MPF <250lbs*number of brackets?

Yes, those are fine and overkill for your application.

Those have gussets which are much stronger than the formed type without gussets.

 

[boomerang]

How much do your cats weigh?

From the specs;

Supports up to 250 lbs. evenly distributed

 

[TechBoyJK]

Yep, I saw the listed supported weight, but I was concerned about the entire package. One piece of MDF and one bracket (centered under mdf).

 

[boomerang]

Yep, I saw the listed supported weight, but I was concerned about the entire package. One piece of MDF and one bracket (centered under mdf).

Okay, so now we need to figure out the weight of the desired piece of mdf. What thickness and what dimensions are you thinking is going to be appropriate?

To get you started, a 4' x 8' piece of 3/4" thick mdf weighs 90.5 pounds.

MDF + cat = ?

 

[TechBoyJK]

haha.

These are going to be about a square foot in size, so it should be ok.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something and would end up with injured kitties.

 

[IronWing]

haha.

These are going to be about a square foot in size, so it should be ok.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something and would end up with injured kitties.

Don't worry about that, they'll find a way to hang themselves on the brackets.

 

[MrPickins]

Those brackets are stout. I've used them for closet shelving, and I could hang off them.

 

[DrPizza]

(which will be screwed into studs)

No worries then. With a drywall anchor, they'll hold quite a bit of static weight. But, the cats jumping onto them and off of them would take a toll after a while, depending on the type of drywall anchor.

 

[calahan]

LOL! What a monster-cat! What are your feeding it? Most likely your cat has unbalanced diet.

 

[mizzou]

one bracket? I suppose that would work if you had it perfectly centered, but you are just asking for trouble, especially with MDF boards. If that... 250lb ... cat jumps onto the edge of the board, it's going to put an immense amount of stress on two fairly tiny screws. They could very well pull out of the scrap MDF board, sending Mr. or Mrs. garfield tumbling down.

The MDF and bracket will do just fine, but that little screw you put in the MDF will be your weak point. From my experience, MDF can strip screws out very easily

 

[edro]

Yeah, I don't like the idea of 1 bracket centered under a 12x12" piece of MDF.
The MDF is probably only 1/2" thick, so you will have very little thread engagement into the MDF.
Kitty will be landing and launching from the edges which will cause it to teeter.
Better use through bolts with washers to hold it to the single bracket.

Or 2 brackets...or 1 bracket with a more solid piece of wood (thicker or not MDF).

 

[TechBoyJK]

Here's what I setup.

Now, anybody have ideas on what kind of carpet I can use to cover the shelves?

 

[mizzou]

Here's what I setup.

Now, anybody have ideas on what kind of carpet I can use to cover the shelves?

I think if you go to home depot or lowes, they should have a inexpensive carpet wheel you can roll out and cut to your needs.

 

[slightlyhuman]

That or go to autozone and buy a roll or carpet. They used to have a few different colors.

Used to wrap MDF sub boxes up with that stuff all the time.

Home Depot/Lowes, as suggested should have it too.

 

[herm0016]

HD has gray runner in the back that works well with spray adhesive and a few staples, I used a bunch in my camper on some benches and it has held up well. use washers and through bolts for best stability. you can inset them a bit so when you cover it will not be noticeable.

 

[IronWing]

No carpet, cats puke and do other gross cat stuff. Also, if the end of the shelf is within head bonking height, you might want to cut a radius corner there.

Also, did you cut that handrail to fit the cat shelf?

 

[Red Squirrel]

The brackets are not the weak point, the fastening is. The top screw will be taking most of the force, as pull force, so you want to make sure you get it into a stud using a predrilled hole that is not too big. When in doubt, pre drill the hole smaller than you think you have to. Use long enough screws like 3 inches long, enough to go through a good part of the stud. The bottom screws don't matter much they wont be taking on much of the weight but may as well use the same screws there too.

Should be very solid even if you want to put heavy objects on it so the cat can push off. (expensive vases, etc)

 

[edro]

You should have built a cat elevator.