Let's face it: cat scratching posts can be pretty expensive, and they're usually not too pretty, especially if you've already set the tone you want for your home. On today's Pet Project, we're making a DIY cat scratching post that not only is functional for your pet, but it also perfect in any room!
1. Start off with your 18×18 plywood board, and drill a hole with your spade bit right at the center 9 inch mark. You want to drill ¾ of the way through so that way your anchor will be flushed on the board and won’t scratch your floor.
2. Next, paint your entire board with white primer. On the side that will be covered with the rug, don’t worry about painting it all the way, just enough to cover the edges.
3. While the board dries, grab your post and drill a hole right at each end of the post at the center 2 inch mark. Grab your ¼ inch lag bolt and put it to the bottom side of the board to drill your post together using your power drill.
4. Next, measure out your rug to match your 18×18 board, with a 4×4 square cut in the center. Cut it using a heavy duty scissor, and a cutting blade to cut the center square. After you have cut this out, it should slide right onto your post and fit perfectly with your board.
5. After you have slid in your rug, add a generous amount of industrial glue under the rug to adhere it onto the board.
6. Next, you will need to use your dyed sisal rope. You will want to have the color blocking pattern of the post to match the colors of the rug that you are using. For this post, we dyed 70 feet of the rope blue using fabric dye and let it sit in the dye for 15 minutes so it could absorb the color as much possible. To learn more on how to dye, check out our tutorial here!
7. Once your sisal rope is dyed and has dried thoroughly, use industrial glue to set in the end of the sisal rope to stick onto the board. Next, use a nail to ensure that the sisal rope is secure so you can tightly wind the rope around the post. Make sure it’s tight and taught!
8. Once you have wrapped the 70 feet of sisal rope around the post, you can move on to your natural colored rope and wrap that around the rest of the post, using the same method as Step 7. You are more than welcome to play around with different patterns, and cut smaller lengths so you can create your own coloring blocking pattern along the post.
9. Next grab, your furniture cube and using the same method as Step 1, use your spade bit to drill ¾ of the way through the center of the furniture cube. Grab your power drill and drill a ¼ inch lag bolt to onto the furniture cube to secure it onto the top of the post. Make sure its secure!
10. Finally, it’s time to deck out the top of the furniture cube in the way you think your cat would enjoy it! For some added flare, we added a faux fur rug and placed it right onto the top. And just like that, your furry friend has a new hang out spot!
If you liked this DIY and are going to create it for your furry friend, let us know! Tag us @BeMakeful using #PetProjects and let us know how yours turned out!
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