Homemade scratching posts?

Has anybody here ever made one? I've been thinking of making a really cool one myself with a platform or two. I've looked at the ones at the pet stores, and to be honest, I think many of them are totally overpriced and that I could easily fashion one myself for less money, plus it would be more personalized, and, well, I love projects.

I'm thinking of getting some carpet remnants and putting all of the wood we have in our garage to good use.

Anything I should be aware of or be cautious about making my post?

 

maybe add some cool dangling toys or something to the post and maybe even build one high up so your kitten has a safe place to hide if she wants to get away from the kids. it will make her feel more secure. building one is a good idea........at the store they ARE horribly overpriced.

 

Yes, I was thinking about putting it higher up, or like I said, make platforms that increase in height. I just can't get over how much those things are. I mean sure, the smaller ones aren't too bad, but even so, I still think they're overpriced. And the bigger ones? Forget it! That's why I want to take things into my own hands!

 

http://web.archive.org/web/19981207022751/http://www.sidus.net/kloader/usepost.htm

This gives you the very basics, & probably all you'd need as far as information to get started. A worthy project! :sunglasse

 

Wow, thanks for the link Weaveworld!

 

Wish I'd have made one..Bought a big one for eighty bucks. (on sale) They seem happy with it though. Guess that makes it worth it.

 

How many cats do you have Weaveworld?

 

Two. You?

 

Just one.

 

If you do decide to build one, don't just depend on carpet to cover the scratch area. Buy some good sisal rope and wrap the post section closest to the ground. Tack one end very securely, then wrap tight and very snug... don't allow gapping. You may need to do a couple of tack downs along the way. You don't have to go any lower than six inches or so from the floor... anything lower will likely be wasted.

The reason for the sisal is simple. It's much easier to replace the sisal than recarpet the post, and carpet will never take as much abuse before turning into a mass of synthetic lint. Your cat will still likely scratch on the platforms, etc., as well, but will probably choose the rope eventually as its favorite, though some cats may differ.

One thing to consider is your twins. How tall and how sturdy the cat tree is may make your children think its a jungle gym. If Kitty goes up the post to where they can't reach, will they try to follow? The last thing you want is a situation where your children or the kitten come crashing down with the cat tree on top of them. Just something to consider in your design.

And good luck with the new kitten.

 

Hey thanks for the tips Foxes Den!

 

my partner made of of those jungle jym cat scratch condo things for our cat. dam those things are expensive even here in the UK you are expected to pay £60 - £100 for one of those things & they are only a bit of wood, rope & carpet put together.

what my partner did was build the wood sections up to how the finished product was going to look & then took it apart from the top to cover it. we looked at profesional made ones to get an idea of how we wanted it to be but we didnt exclusivley copy one design. i wanted it to have an enclosed hut thing for him with lots of padding in so he could curl up in there & get away from my mates kids when they come round as they dont half tease him, we put that section high up. we also put another platform on top of that so he could just sit & watch the world go by. cats like to be high up, they feel safe high up. in one of the lower levels we put a hole in for him to climb through & we also put between the lowest level & wood that sits on the floor a barrel. we made that from a plastic waste paper bin & covered it in carpet, rather than buy bendable wood which is really expensive.

i second the sisal rope rather than carpet. cats like to scratch their claws on something that feels quite natural & sisal rope is made from a natural product & is quite hard wearing & it wouldnt have to be changed half as often as carpet. you could also used bark (dont know if i've spelt it correctly but i mean tree bark) if its available to you. when we started to wrap the sisal round the post we nailed it to the top of the post where the levels would sit rather than on the side where the cat can get its claw stuck. we also used glue on the post so it would hold better but it has to be non toxic to cats. you dont have to because if you get it tight enough it should hold well but i wanted to make sure that rope was still going to be there in a good few years.

we covered the levels in carpet but thats more for comfort, he dosent used it to sharpen his claws because he perfers the rope.

we put lots of dangly toys on & a big piece of thick rope for him to play with & we also grew some cat nip & rubbed the grass all over the rope & posts to encourage him to use it. you can buy cat nip spray & spray it on the rope & also a cat nip liquid that you can soak the rope in but i wanted it more natural.

all in all it probable cost us £15 - £20 to make it. all we had to buy was the rope & the carpet. the carpet was so inexpensive, the rope was a little more expensive but defo worth paying for. the toys which dont cost much anyway, the bin, glue & fixings. we got the wood from my dad who had been doing home repairs, we just used chip board for the levels & cheap pine for the posts.

we had lots of fun making it & pisces (the cat) has lots of fun playing on it especially in the winter when its cold & wet outside & needs more stimulation inside. unfortunatley i dont have a picture i can post to show pisces playing on it, i'll have to try & snap one to show you.

 

I'd love to see a picture of your jungle gym for your cat, torz! If you get a pic, definitely post it!