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DIY Sisal Wall Scratcher?

brooklynleather
brooklynleather
edited November -1 in Brooklyn Pets

My cats are going crazy with the furniture these days. The horizontal and angled cardboard scratchers aren't cutting it. I am thinking of buying a cheap-ish sisal rug and mounting it on the floor, 8" x 30" high so they can scratch something furniture-like without destroying the furniture....

Any suggestions on where to fnd said rug? This looks pretty good but I can't test out the texture to see if they could really sink their nails into it...

http://www.amazon.com/Extra-Weave-Clearance-30-Inch-Doormat/dp/B002L6I9LS/ref=sr_1_24?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1296691578&sr=1-24

All other ideas of course welcome, too!

Comments

  • domino
    domino

    A few options to stop the furniture shredding:

    1. clear packing tape on the spots where they scratch

    2. water gun if you catch them in the act

    (option b: soda can with some pennies in it)

    3. balloons around their favorite spots

    We nailed a 2 foot piece of wood (2x4?) onto a plywood base and stapled/tied a sisal type welcome mat from one of the local hodge podge stores around the wood. We also hung some of the flat sisal wrapped boards on the door knobs.

    It helped - until they discovered the clawing potential of the brocade bedspread.

  • tsarina
    tsarina

    be sure to clip their nails also. Shorter nails minimize damage to delicate fabrics.

    Rub catnip on those sisal cat scratchers, this makes them even more enticing.

    Try to make a taller (3') scratcher. cats use their nails to hook on and do their cat yoga and stretching.

    If you are uncomfortable clipping their nails, I would gladly come over and do them. we are not far from eash other.

  • homeowner
    homeowner

    My cats love our coco coir doormats. We have them at the front and back doors and they will go crazy sharpening on them. They require a little bit of cleanup as the coir can come out, but a good sweep every couple of weeks should be enough.

    In terms of the thickness, these are about 3/4 of an inch thick which allow for sturdy pulling.

  • brooklynleather
    brooklynleather

    Thank you everyone. I've tried the sticky tape, tin foil, etc....

    Here is the thing about nail clipping - I definitely can't do it myself and when I brought one of the two cats to my vet even though she is the absolute sweetest ever with me, she was hissing and clawing and so angry at the vets they couldn't do anything! I had to bring her home without her having anything done.

  • MOD
    MOD

    I have one of those "welcome" doormats like the link Homeowner posted. The cat loves it, claws it all the time.

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