Monday, August 16, 2010

Make a Cat Scratching Post for FREE


So, yesterday I made a scratching block for my cats, in under 20 minutes, just like the ones I've seen at pet stores for up to $25 (see below). For absolutely free. And it's double-sided!



















Materials
:
  • corrugated cardboard (from shipping inserts, old cardboard boxes, etc.) If you don't have any around, ask at your local corner store or grocery store if they have any extras lying around. That's what I did.
  • duct tape
  • scissors or a box cutter
  • ruler
  • pen or pencil
  • glue (regular school glue works just fine)














Directions

  1. Take apart your box so you are left with flat pieces of cardboard.
  2. With your ruler and pencil, measure and mark 2" strips, the desired length of the scratcher. (Mine is roughly 18" long because that's how long my boxes were once I disassembled and flattened them.)
  3. Cut out the strips. Don't worry about creases. They don't matter.
  4. Keep cutting out strips until you have enough, when stacked on top of one another and smashed together, to make the desired width of your scratcher. Mine ended up being about 6" wide. Next time I might make it a bit wider.
  5. Once all your strips are cut, it's time to glue them together. Put a generous line of Elmer's on your first strip, lay another on top and repeat for the rest of the strips, making sure they're lined up evenly and working quickly so your glue doesn't dry yet.
  6. Duct tape each end together to hold them in place and then place a couple of bricks or something else heavy on top of the whole thing to compress it and help the glue set.
  7. Wait 10-15 minutes, remove the bricks, duct tape 2 layers around the whole thing to secure it, and you're done.

Tips:
  • As a treat, sprinkle some catnip on the scratcher every once in a while.
  • I find my cats like the scratcher best either on carpet or a rug; otherwise it can slide while they're scratching--unless they're sitting on top of it like Ed likes to do.







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