How to Repair Your Cat Scratcher
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I bought a cat tree with scratching posts on it for my boys a year ago but the rope has become damaged and needs repairing. When I first adopted Floyd he was not interested in Huckleberry’s cardboard scratcher but seemed to like the tiny rope one I had. I had an empty space next to my bed and one of their favorite windows to sit in and knew I had to get them a real cat tree with ample scratching posts. The one I bought is unavailable but here is a similar cat tree. Needless to say, Floyd loved it a little too much and has torn some of the posts to shreds.
It has been on my to-do list to fix the cat tree as there is less and less space for Floyd to scratch since so much rope has been ripped away. I was disappointed with how the rope held up since I had only had the tree a year. I decided to go with sisal rope as most cat scratchers are made of sisal material or rope. There are other alternatives but this holds up to scratching, is rough, and doesn’t catch claws.
Tips & Tricks
- The old rope was 3/16” wide so I ordered the same width in the sisal. I needed about 250-275 feet in total. Yes, that seems like a lot but it goes really quick.
- When choosing my staples I went with 1/2” so it would hold down multiple rows, making it last longer. You can definitely go with skinnier just make sure the actual prongs that will go into the post are long enough. If they are short the staples will pull up easily.
- I used a mix of glues. Hot glue dries very quickly so I used it at the beginnings and ends to automatically hold those pieces down. I used Gorilla Glue on the rest as it is extremely strong.
- If you want to add some pizzazz, you could easily dye the rope for a pop of color.
Supplies
Remove the Torn Rope
Remove the bad rope and any staples that may have been used to hold it down.
Wrap the Sisal a Few Rows
Apply glue to the center tube and wrap a few rows.
Attach Staple
Hammer in your staple so that it holds downs multiple rows of sisal.
Continue Wrapping
Continue applying glue and wrapping the sisal rope.
Attach Staple
After you finish wrapping, hammer in another staple, again holding down multiple rows.
After I finished and put the cat tree back in the corner, I sprayed it with some catnip spray my sister had told me to buy. I was worried the rope may have a foreign smell so I wanted them to feel attracted to use it again. I don’t if that helped or they were just stoked to have their tree back because they immediately were climbing it. Floyd is like a monkey. He drags himself around it using all four paws, it is hilarious and I love that he is so happy on it. I hope this helps you fix your scratchers and cat trees because I know we all want the best for our fur babies. Let me know how yours turns out in the comments.
