Hey, fellow pet lovers!
Today’s post is a bit different from our usual ones and is fun and creative DIY cat scratching post tutorial. My girl Pooss needed a new scratching post since the one she had been using was far too small for her and kept falling over every time she used it. So my partner suggested trying to make one out of scrap wood and a few spare bits and bobs. I am so pleased with how it has turned out considering we didn’t have to buy a single thing since we already had everything we needed. I think we should make another one at some point with a prettier carpet tile and some multicoloured rope, but for a first attempt I am thrilled with the results and so is Pooss.
Let’s jump straight in and learn how to make your feline their very own scratching post!
Simple 10 Step DIY Cat Scratching Post
What you need to make this cat scratching post?
- A wooden square for your base
- Wooden poll for your scratching post
- Carpet tile or piece of old rug to stick on top of your base
- Sisal rope to put around your post
- Carpet adhesive, nails or staples (We used carpet adhesive)
- Glue or a glue gun
- Yoga mat or some kind of padding for the bottom of the scratching post
- A Screwdriver and drill
- A hand saw or circular saw to cut your base and your post to the correct size
Above is everything you require to make your furry friend their very own scratching post; the rest is a little bit of DIY and not a lot of effort. Now that you know what you need let’s get creative and start making our scratching post!
How to make this simple Cat Scratching Post?
- Step One, Cut & sand the wooden base.
The first thing to do is to cut your wooden base to size; we were lucky as we had previously made Pooss a simple scratching mat using this plywood base and a carpet tile which mean we didn’t have to cut our base for this scratching post.
Once you have cut your base, sand down all the edges to make sure no fragments are sticking out that could hurt your pet.
- Step Two, Cut & sand your scratching post.
We did have to cut our post down to size, and this was super simple, you can use a regular saw, but my partner has a million and one tools, so he just quickly used his circular saw and cut our post down to a reasonable size in seconds.
Once you have cut your post to the correct size, again sand down each end to ensure there are no splinters.
- Step Three, Find the centre of your base & mark two points where you will put the screws.
Now that we have our wooden base and our post cut to size, we need to mark the centre of our base, so we know where to drill two holes. Simply use a bit of wood, a large ruler or anything that will do the job to draw two lines from each corner through the centre of your wooden base. Next, stick your wooden post in the middle of your base where the lines overlap and draw a circle around it. Then mark two points where you will drill your holes so we can securely attach the post and wooden base later on.
- Step Four, Drill two holes in the centre of your base where you have marked.
Now that you have found the centre of your wooden base and marked two points, it is time to drill two holes where you have marked, so you know where to put the screws in when attaching the post later on.
- Step Five, Mark & cut 2 matching holes in the post.
Cut two matching holes in your wooden post.
Next, you need to do the same thing that you just did for your wooden base but now with the wooden post. To do this simply stick your wooden post on the floor and then place your wooden base on top, make sure your post is dead in the centre. Then get your drill and start drilling through your existing holes in your base, to make matching holes in your post.
This is a two-man job so make sure you get help from your partner, friend or family member.
- Step Six, Stick your carpet tile to your wooden base using carpet adhesive, staples or glue.
Next thing to do is to stick your chosen carpet tile to your wooden base, you could do this in a variety of ways and could glue or staple your carpet tile down, but we used spray carpet adhesive as it is what we had already and was quick and straightforward to use.
- Step Seven, Wait until your carpet adhesive has dried and then cut around your carpet tile using a box cutter.
Once you have stuck your carpet tile to your wooden base and have waited a few minutes for the carpet adhesive or glue to dry, it is time to cut around the carpet tile to make it neat and tidy.
To do this simply turn your wooden base upside down and cut around it with a box cutter to remove the excess carpet tile.
- Step Eight, Wrap your post in sisal rope.
Now that we have pretty much sorted our base out, it is time to move onto our scratching post. What we want to do is start at the bottom of the post and move up from there, we want to continue the sisal rope to the top of the post and make a neat circle around the very top.
Firstly, you need a small amount of glue to attach the first bit of sisal rope to your scratching post. Once you have glued the first bit down continue to wrap your sisal rope around, stopping every few minutes from attaching a little more glue to your post, to ensure the rope stays tight. Add your first bit of glue then attach one end of your sisal rope and continue to wrap it around your post as tight as you can, pushing up now and then to ensure the rope stays well packed without any gaps.
We ran out of rope half way through so we had to use the glue gun to attach a new bit of sisal rope but thankfully you cannot tell, I would suggest getting a super long bit of sisal rope as having one whole bit would have made everything easier.
Keep going around the top of your post until the whole circle is filled.
Once you have the hang of it and have successfully wrapped the whole post bar the top in sisal rope, all you need to do is grab your glue and stick a small amount around the top of your post and slowly keep going around the top of your post until the whole circle is filled. Keep adding glue every time you go round the top of your post until you reach your last bit of sisal rope.
Once you have reached your final bit, cut any remaining rope off and tightly glue the final bit of sisal rope down to securely finish wrapping your post.
- Step Nine, get your wooden base and your scratching post and attach them together.
Now that we have finished our wooden base and have wrapped our post in sisal rope it is time to join them both together. This part was a bit tricky and again requires two people.
The first thing to do is to stick your screws in the two holes that you made in the bottom of your wooden base and drill through your carpet tile, so you know where to place your poll. Once you have made two holes through your carpet tile, turn your poll upside down and stick your wooden base on top. You need to line up your base and the bottom of your post perfectly so you can screw your screws in and securely fix them together.
Once you have done this, you can turn it over, and we almost have a finished scratching post 🙂
- Step Ten, place some padding on the bottom of your wooden base and cut a small hole around the screws.
Now that we have done almost everything we need to do, all that is left is to add some padding to the bottom of the wooden base and cut a small square around where the screws sit to make sure our cat scratching post sits level.
I had an old yoga mat lying around which was the perfect padding for our base but you can use anything that does the job or just countersink your screws so the heads do not protrude. Simply stick your base on top of your chosen padding material and cut around it with a box cutter, like we did when cutting around the carpet tile in step seven.
Once you have cut your padding to size, turn over your wooden base and spray carpet adhesive all over it, then turn over and leave it to dry for a few minutes. The final step is to cut a square with the box cutter around where the screws are to ensure your cat scratcher sits level.
Now you have your very own homemade cat scratching post 😊
I hope you all liked today’s fun and creative post and be sure to give it a like if enjoyed it and also hit the share button so other pet lovers can make their furry friend their very own cat scratching post. I really enjoyed making Pooss her new cat scratcher, along with my partner who did most of the hard work but I did help with some parts. This scratching post is a much better size for Pooss as she can actually stretch out and it won’t fall on her like before.
What I like is that you can make it however big or small you want it and customise it to suit your kitty. If you haven’t checked out last weeks post, then head over there now, Nutriment Dinner for Cats, raw food review.
epoch.pet 