My cat Leo is an avid scratcher. Since he's an indoors cat he doesn't get that natural nail trimming that outdoors cat do from walking on rough surfaces like rocks or gravel. That means he needs some cat scratchers to keep his claws trimmed and healthy.
About 1,5 years ago my uncle bought him a small cat stand for Christmas that has some scratchy poles. He loves that little thing so we placed it close to the balcony windows where he likes to sit and watch the birds fly by. It also has an elevated platform with a soft surface. He loves anything soft.
Over time he has scratched this thing to death. The ropes are falling off and it's starting to look real raggedy. Where the ropes haven't fallen off they are starting to get so rough that his claws doesn't grip them anymore.
Now many people would maybe just go out and buy a new one but not me. A new one would cost something like $30-$50 but about $6 of materials from the hardware store and an hour of labor will see this thing as good as new. So I did that!
Pictures before the fix-up
As you can see from the pictures below this thing is raggedy. It was definitely time to do something about it so my lil' man can keep on scratchin'.
Tools and Materials
The material list is incredibly short. You literally only need:
- Sisal rope ($4)
- Hot glue ($2)
As for tools you only really need the glue gun. I like to dismantle the cat stand to make it easier to work with and for that a tool set is handy. I also like to keep a hand vacuum close to vacuum up all the dust and rope debris that comes off as I go. There's gonna be a lot of that.
The Process
1. Dismantle the cat stand (optional)
As mentioned this is an optional step. I find that the poles become easier to work with when they're loose.
It also allows for some extra and easier cleaning of the platforms. I used the hand vacuum to clean up the platforms. This almost completely filled up the vacuum chamber from the get go. I should definitely do that more often.
You can see my dismantled cat stand above.
2. Remove damaged rope from the poles
Completely remove the rope that's damaged and loose. In some places where the rope was tufty I just trimmed it or shaved it a little with a scissor instead. No need to remove rope that can still be scratched!
3. Glue on that new rope!
Get your brand new ropes out and start gluing it on there using your hot glue gun. I always do a full strip of glue all around the pole for the first round. From there on out I apply a 1-2cm strip every third of the way around.
I make sure to apply the glue so that it touches both the rope and the pole. This way you glue the rope not only to the pole but also to the rest of the rope. I feel like this makes it sit firmer and tighter.
As I make the rounds I make sure to keep the rope tight all the way around as well as pushing the rope downwards and tugging on it every full round to make it tighter. Just keep on doing this all the way to the end.
4. Repeat until all poles are good as new!
Just keep going until you've replaced all of that scrappy rope. Your scratching poles should be looking real dapper when you're done.
The Result
Now your cat scratcher should be looking as good as new. A quick minute to put it back together and this was the result. Looking a lot better than it did just an hour ago.
The king himself had to approve of course and after a little round of sniffing the new rope he was quick to test his nails on them. Great success!
If your cat has scratched his scratchers to death I recommend you get out there and buy some sisal rope and some hot glue. That way you'll fix them up in no time and at a fraction of the price of buying a new one!
BONUS: Table Leg Cat Scratcher
If you have limited apartment space like we do you can actually make a cat scratcher out of a table leg. I did this about three years ago when we first got our little Leo. The process was pretty much the same with an added step of wrapping the leg in some filt first to protect it from the hot glue.
Below you can see the table leg scratcher when it was brand new, after three years of heavy use and after it was removed. As you can see the table leg is perfectly intact without showing signs a cat scratcher was ever there thanks to the layer of filt.
All images in this post are taken by me.
awesome work !! Leo looks beautifull, i haven't seen him before !
this stands are are great for cats ! mines can go outside, but they still will scratch the hell out of every stand they pass by.
after a few years and lots of furniture lost, today my whole house pretty much got cat adapted furniture.
this is the main base. the competition for the high ground here is funny as hell to watch.
but i got a question here, do u let him eat as much as he wants ? or do you control his feeding ? my sister moved to an apartment a few months ago, and took one of our cats with her. she is geting gigantic. i mean the cat.
Cheers mate! Right now we let him have as much as he want. He self regulates. We changed his food a while back but had to portion it out as it was more nutritious and it made him a fatty. Now that we're back to the normal food he's been getting thinner already.
It's a great pleasure to have you here and to teach us a few tricks. Leo is very playful, he likes to sharpen his little paws a lot from what we can see. You did a professional job and brought Leo's favorite toy back to life. Thanks for showing us cat lovers how to do it ourselves. your tutorial looks great <3
P.S. Leo we love you.
Jijijijiji!
Haha that's awesome! I have some tricks up my sleeves from being a arts & crafts teacher to I hope to be able to share more stuff here eventually. Thanks!
This is going to get good, hahaha
Greetings brother! what a joy to have you in the community!
It's amazing how your cat shattered his toy! what surprises me the most is that your cat has my name! hahaha my name is Leonardo and that cat is my namesake lol.
You are a very neat man when it comes to doing a job, and that's fantastic, nothing better than doing a job and it's all tidy and the toy
looks beautiful.
But what a beautiful fat cat, it looks like a stuffed animal :D
Hey don't call him fat! He's been losing weight recently and starting to look real handsome. Now he's sad that you called him fat. :(
His full name is Leopold but we call him Leo. Cool that you share a name, that makes sure I'll remember it.
Whenever I do something I like to do it properly. Not only does it last longer but it looks better. I'm gonna be looking at this day every day in my living room so I want it to look good.
Thanks my dude!
hahaha just kidding bro! your cat is adorable but he could use a little exercise, lol.
Leopoldo what he is cute and huggable
looks like a stuffed animal
Many times we take an attitude of comfort and at the same time of wastefulness, when instead of deciding to fix, we simply discard to buy something new and spend a lot more.
I love your attitude in wanting to repair your cat's scratcher and save for other things. Everything that is done with love, is definitely beautiful and, best of all, gives you the satisfaction of having done it with your own hands. That definitely fills you with joy.
The result is great and I love Leo, even though I'm not a cat lover hahaha. What an excellent surprise to see this side of you publishing in our community, it is a pleasure to read you and thank you for sharing your great content with us. You are always welcome! A hug back! @pusen
Yes! In Norway we refer to this as a culture of "use & throw away". I'm totally against it and try to fix up everything before buying a new one. Sometimes you just gotta get a new one though.
I hope I'll be able to contribute some more in here. I have some tricks up my sleeves from being an arts & crafts teacher. I'm gonna be keeping an eye on the community and hopefully pick up some new tricks as well.
Thank you!
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