Weekend Project- DIY Cat Scratcher

Our two cats are great, EXCEPT when they decide to scratch the furniture. I have trained Aster to use the scratch post but no matter how persistent and positive I am with Munchkin, he never shows any interest in using the scratch post. When I catch him scratching the furniture I pick him up, place him in front of the post, tell him he's a "good kitty" and show him what to do by scratching the post myself. He doesn't get it. He always walks off with his tail in the air like I have bored him to death.

I did some research this week on cat scratching issues and found that most scratching products you buy in stores are not tall enough or long enough. In addition, some cats do not like scratching vertically. A light bulb went on when I read this. On Munchkin's first Christmas Elissa had bought him a horizontal cardboard scratcher that contained catnip and he loved it! I refrained from buying another one of these because he kept flipping it over causing catnip to spill everywhere. In short, it was messy.

I checked out some websites and found a DIY cat scratcher that looked easy to make. I found it on http://keetsa.blog.com. Apparently they make organic/green mattresses but they also have a bunch of DIY ideas.
Here's the picture from their site:

Looked easy enough for DJ and I to do!

Materials:
*x-acto knife
*ruler and pencil
*duct tape
*hot glue gun
*fabric
*scissors

We finished the project in about an hour:

Munchkin was already getting excited. Mark three inches from bottom all the way across the cardboard, draw a straight line all the way to the end- this makes cutting easier and so you don't have an uneven spiral.

Cut strips 3 inches wide (make sure you have cardboard underneath what you're cutting so you don't ruin your floors). While DJ cut I rolled the cardboard into a tight spiral- you can see it at the bottom of the picture. I duct taped each end so it would stay tight.

You can make the circle as big as needed. Then, cut fabric strips three inches wide and hot glue them around the outside. We also cut a circle the size of the scratcher and hot glued it on the bottom so that the catnip wouldn't fall out.

Once the scratcher was completed we sprinkled catnip over the top and then shook the scratcher so the catnip settled on the bottom.
Here's the finished product! It looks even BETTER than the store bought one and it's heavier so it won't flip . . .

And the cats LOVE it! Munchkin is hugging it :).


We're hoping this will save our current furniture (ugly as it is) and any nicer furniture we buy in the future! We do not plan on getting them declawed- so this better work!

Catnip makes Munchkin a bit loopy, the video is of his, and Aster's, first experience with the new scratcher: