Diy Pet Care Tips: Make A Cat Scratching Post

Tips on preventing damage to home furnishings and furniture by making a cat scratching post from items found around the house or garage.

Animal lovers may love their cats, but they hate what they do to the furnishings. Expensive furniture can be reduced to tatters within weeks of owning a cat. If having them declawed simply isn't an option in your book, a scratching post is a must. Keep cats from ripping your furniture to shreds by making the scratching post from any number of objects. Cats love to scratch wood, fabric, carpet and vinyl, amongst other things. Some of these items can be found around the house and put together quickly for a scratching post. A partial log that is large enough to remain upright as the cat scratches or pushes can be made into a scratching post by nailing a square piece of wood to the bottom, then standing it in a corner. A large chunk of wood can be used without the base. Use a scrub brush to clean the log and make sure it's had a chance to dry before bringing it in the house. Lay a pillow on top of the large, round wood and kitty might just call this home from now on.

Wrap old pieces of metal pipe or leftover gardening timbers in carpet remnants and attach to a base. You can use a carpet-wrapped timber remnant on two sides of the base, then use contact cement to affix the carpet-covered pipe in between. Or drill holes in the timbers for inserting the pipe. Cover an old wooden footstool, stepping stool or bench seat with carpet and give to your pet for another bed and scratching post combo.

Several cats will enjoy a variety of scratching posts made on a large wooden base. Cover one timber remnant with carpet and nail it to the post, then cover a pipe or two with carpet and drill holes for them in the base. Secure the carpet-covered pipes into the base. Now glue a pad of carpet or vinyl onto the end of the base. This gives cats their choice of scratching posts, or they can share with others. If the base is large enough, secure a log portion with pillow on it as well.

Remove the cord and shade from an old floor lamp. Wrap the lamp in carpet and let the cats enjoy. Shower curtain rods can be wrapped in carpet or vinyl, then wedged low, into a bay window or between two cabinets. Cats love wicker, too, so fill some wicker baskets with rocks or other weights for your pet to indulge. And, you can always get artificial trees which cats absolutely love. Some of them have the real bark stalks making them even more desirable to cats.

Heavy planters, turned upside down and wrapped in carpet or heavy cloth work well. Old, small bookshelves can be covered in carpet for a scratching post or an old bed footboard can be covered in cloth and mounted to the wall. An old wooden chair, barrel, mantel board or even a used porch swing, if you have the room, can be covered in cloth, carpet, vinyl and other goodies for kitty to scratch. If your cat goes outside, the scratching post doesn't have to be put indoors, but it's good to have a spare one inside if kitty takes a notion.

© Demand Media 2011