DIY: Recycled Cardboard Cat Scratcher

We know it's not Pet Month yet, but we couldn't pass up this DIY cardboard cat scratcher we just spied over at Modern Cat.

Our cat Will, despite being presented with every type of scratching post imaginable, still prefers to scratch the couch and our bedspreads. We're willing to give anything a shot.

We've always got a lot of extra cardboard lying around, so we figure this project shouldn't be too difficult to pull off. We really like it, because it can be customized with colors that work in your home.

All you need is a bunch of carboard, an exacto knife, masking tape, and some colored paper or fabric for decoration.

Get all the details right here.

Via Modern Cat via Design Sponge

Comments (6)

i thought of making my own, since they cost abour 10 bucks each at target but they seem like too much work. I will try. BTW - My bastard cats still use the couch and bed as a sratching post even though they love their posts.

posted by chusmabilly on January 23rd 2009 at 3:08pm
view chusmabilly's profile

"my bastard cats".
Love it.
Will try this out for my own pretties. Not that they'll appreciate it, the assholes.

posted by Melba123 on January 24th 2009 at 4:16am
view Melba123's profile

This does take a little longer than I originally anticipated, but was a good project while catching up on DVR'd episodes of 20/20 (I'm not as handy with the blade as my wife but after years of architecture school she wouldn't have anything to do with it!)... The cat DOES seem to be taking a little less aggression out on my prized egg chair since presenting her with this.

posted by TheGoodBiGirl on January 24th 2009 at 5:37pm
view TheGoodBiGirl's profile

My cats are a-holes, too. Ha ha ha.

posted by jyw on January 25th 2009 at 12:10am
view jyw's profile

I saw this on Design Sponge last week and decided to make one for my cats. After I made the cardboard scratcher I sprinkled catnip on it. One of my cats has claimed it as her own. She scratches it and spends a lot of time just sitting on it. My other cat doesn't seem to know it exists, but he isn't into catnip in general.

Another idea would be to make a pillow case out of burlap/burlap-ish material and sprinkle catnip inside of it. Both my cats love the catnip pillows I made and prefer to sleep on them instead of my furniture, which means people can sit on my couch and not worry about being furry when they stand up :)

posted by Jenart on January 26th 2009 at 11:37am
view Jenart's profile

I tried to make this but alas it was very difficult to get the cardboard to curl up right and get it to be even.

posted by dominiquealis on January 29th 2009 at 3:13pm
view dominiquealis's profile