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Most often, preparations are made in advance for the appearance of a kitten in the house. Not only the breed is thought out, but also the details that can make his life as comfortable as possible – dishes, toys, a tray. However, are these items enough? As cats grow older, an important need arises – the need to sharpen their claws. And so that the dream come true to have a cat does not turn into disappointment, you should still pay attention to the need to have a scratching post in the house. If you do not want to buy it, then a cat scratching post can be made with your own hands from improvised means.
Why do cats sharpen their claws
Once upon a time, cats were wild animals, moreover, predators, which they have remained to this day. In the struggle for survival in the cruel nature, they had to carefully monitor their “weapon” – claws. After all, it depended on how sharp they were, whether the hunt would be successful.
The danger of starvation or death has passed, but the primary instincts remained. Cats continue to sharpen their claws, cleaning them from the keratinized top layer in order to release the overgrown young plate. And this requires a fairly solid surface, like trees, for example.
Today, the habitat of cats is no longer wild forests, but a cozy apartment, and trees can be easily replaced with furniture or wallpaper. A person can only offer cats a worthy replacement in the form of scratching posts.
In addition, claw turning is a physical exercise, and the location of the claw point depends on which muscle group will be involved in the process. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the animal with more than one “shell”, but to create a mini gym from several items.
Types of scratching posts
Felinologists – experts in the anatomy and physiology of domestic cats, recommend acquiring at least three different types of kotedralok and placing them where the animal most often stops to sharpen its claws.
The simplest and most affordable types of claws:
- corner;
- wall-mounted;
- poles;
- floor;
- complex.
They are easy to make with your own hands, spending a minimum of time and money. It can be a board, a sheet of chipboard or plywood wrapped in a thick cloth, burlap, a cut of an old carpet, or rough string purchased at a hardware store. If there is a container made of corrugated cardboard (corrugated cardboard) left in the house, then it can also be used.
There is another type of device where cats can sharpen their claws – this is a complex. You can build it for one pet, and for several. It requires more space and is more difficult to manufacture.
Before you start making scratching posts with your own hands, it is advisable to observe what your pet likes more. One likes to climb almost to the ceiling and look around his possessions from there. Another is comfortable in a cozy house with a small opening to the outside. The third, as a true athlete, is ready to overcome obstacles for days on end, jump and jump over everything that catches his eye. Having shown a little ingenuity, you can captivate your pet so much that, apart from the gaming complex, he will not see anything around.
Corner
Can be installed on both outside and inside corners. Corner scratching posts, like wall-mounted ones, unlike floor ones, require strong fasteners. The distance from the floor should be chosen based on the size of the pet, set in places most favorite for scratching.
You can install the corner structure on furniture. An aesthetically designed scratch will not greatly spoil the appearance of a sofa or chair, but it will protect the animal from the claws if it gets into the habit of sharpening its claws in this particular place.
How to make a beautiful corner scratching post
Wall mounted
The most economical option and easy to perform (see photo above). Fastening is carried out to the wall in the right place, but you can just hang it. The material can be different: wood, twine, etc.
How to make a wall claw
A stronger and more durable scraper will be a piece of wood. Cleaned from the remnants of the bark, sanded and wrapped in places with thick twine, the tree will turn into a necessary item for the animal. It should be borne in mind that the tree is quite hard and not all cats will like it as a “sharpener”.
To make your own wall-mounted scratching post, you will need:
- plywood or board 20 cm wide and 50 – 60 cm long;
- rope or fabric;
- glue, stapler;
- glue gun or just glue;
- screwdriver
You can make the board yourself or choose the right size. It is not necessary to blindly follow the dimensions – the main thing is that the animal is comfortable in height and width. You can also use corrugated cardboard glued in several layers as a base. You just need to think about a solid mount to the wall. We drill a hole in the board with a screwdriver for fastening. If you want to eliminate swinging, then we make two holes at the top and bottom, or both at the top.
Winding the twine around the base, in some places we apply glue with a gun and lay the thread on it. This is necessary to prevent displacement of the wound rope. If there is no such gun, then you can use a simple glue, applying it enough to attach the rope.
As a fabric for a scratching post, you can use drape, overcoat cloth, Chelsea, as well as fur or carpet. In this case, you can fix the material on the back side with a stapler.
Pillars
The post scratching post is often used by cat lovers due to its versatility. A cat can sharpen its claws both on a horizontal and vertical surface, climb up, drive a toy attached to a post. If you fix a horizontal platform on top of the column, then the issue with the stove bench will also be resolved.
Sometimes cats tear up furniture legs, most often these are table legs. Here you can improvise – wrap it with twine and get a ready-made claw-claw.
How to make a scratching post
Any material at hand is suitable for making a scratching post – a board or plywood for support, a small bar or a piece of plastic pipe for a post. After screwing the beam to the base with self-tapping screws or fixing it with metal corners, it is necessary to tightly wrap the beam with twine or sisal rope (available at Leroy Merlin) using a glue gun for fastening.
The base can be painted, glued with a piece of dense fabric, carpet, or the same bundle can be laid spirally, glued for strength. The main requirement for such a structure is stability. It is necessary to carefully calculate the proportions of the height of the column and the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe base, or “peep” the dimensions of finished products in pet stores.
Outdoor
Perhaps the simplest design to implement. They can be of various shapes and located on the floor or at an angle to it. In addition, they can be combined with some other elements, columns, houses.
How to make an outdoor scratching post
We offer to make a floor scratching post from corrugated cardboard yourself with step-by-step instructions. For work you will need:
- construction tape,
- pencil,
- ruler,
- scissors or wallpaper knife
- glue.
You can take a box with low sides for the form, but you can do without it by securing the finished structure with cardboard tape around the perimeter.
Cut the cardboard into strips along the length and height of the box. Glue the strips with glue, connect. It is desirable to use glue with a minimally perceptible smell, for example, PVA. After drying, the scraper is ready for use.
Corrugated cardboard bends quite easily, so the second version of the scratching post is a twisted long strip, fixed with glue or adhesive tape (adhesive tape). In this case, the size can be chosen at will, and in case of long-term use, simply add layers as the shaggy consumer grows.
Game complex
In pet stores you can find large play complexes, sometimes under the ceiling. However, it is possible to construct such structures with your own hands. For such a project, you first need to develop a diagram, make a sketch, having decided on the dimensions, tying them to the place where it will be located. If you can’t make a drawing of a scratching post on your own, then you can resort to the help of friends or look for something similar on the Internet.
The advantage of creating a gaming complex with your own hands is its lower cost, based only on the price of consumables, and the ability to choose a color scheme that fits perfectly into the interior.
You can start with a small module, making a simple claw-post with an open couch, a toy and a platform at an angle. All elements must be stable, well fastened to each other, and the joints and fastening accessories are carefully hidden under a protective layer of fabric or a thick bundle.
When the cat masters the toy, you can add a house for privacy and several posts, connecting them with rope ladders, hammocks, planks, pipes with a large diameter. It all depends on your imagination. On the posts, place several open areas at different heights – at a safe distance for jumping from each other. The basis for such a complex is better to immediately choose the required size, designed for additions. This will increase the stability of the finished structure.
Teaching a cat to a scratching post
To accustom an animal to a scratching post should be from the first days of its appearance in the house. Just like the pot. If the baby is taken from the mother, then there will be much less problems with him. To avoid problems at all, you can prepare a scratching post in advance and hold it for some time next to the cat’s mother. In the new home, the kitten will not only already know where to go to meet their physiological needs, but will also cope with the stress of separation much easier, smelling the familiar smell from the scratching post.
Pets from the shelter are often familiar with the scratching post, so at home it is enough to build an analogue familiar to them and the problem will be settled. But with cats picked up on the street, besides, they are quite old, you have to tinker. Accustomed to complete freedom, animals often refuse to reckon with anything even after the result achieved by the owner. This is not a sign of obstinacy or bad character, it is just a different way of life than a person, which we often forget about. The owner will have to work hard.
Do not place high hopes on valerian or catnip. Animals, like people, each have their own character. And what is sweeter than honey to one, does not cause any emotions in another. If herbs and charms do not help, observe where your pet prefers to sharpen its claws. What is the surface – horizontal or vertical. What he prefers – wallpaper, upholstered furniture, door upholstery or wall drywall. And then just a little imagination and love for this shaggy terminator is enough to restore the old order in the house. You can also play on his primary instincts. Put a scratching post that smells like another cat in the right place – success is guaranteed from the first days. The animal will carefully “scratch” the marks of a competitor that has encroached on its territory.
How to discourage a cat from turning claws in a “forbidden” place
In order for the pet to quickly switch to the scratching post, it is necessary to create unpleasant conditions for him in his favorite place for scratching. First of all, a certain smell will help. Animals have a highly developed sense of smell and some aromas are categorically unpleasant to them. The smell of alcohol, for example, or perfume. Cats do not like how all citrus fruits smell. At the pet store you can buy a special spray based on aromatic oils. Surfaces should be treated with them until the pet completely gives up the desire to scratch them.
You can speed up the weaning process by throwing slippers next to the wrong object at the moment when the cat tries to scratch it. Usually, animals quickly abandon places where they are supposedly in danger. Loud clap, strict hail, wrapping furniture with cellophane are also effective.
Many recommend “water procedures” from a spray bottle, but this is possible if a cat is somewhere nearby trying to sharpen its claws, and the owner is fully armed waiting for her. Everyone can invent a way to brave an animal, knowing all its pluses and minuses.
Violence is categorically unacceptable, because cats are easily stressed and such “education” will not lead to the desired result.
Is an onychectomy worth it?
Finally, it should be recalled that, in some countries, the operation to remove the claws of pets – onychectomy, is allowed. Yes, this procedure will save the owners from many troubles, save the furniture, but is it really harmless to the animal itself? Indeed, along with the claws, the anterior phalanges of the fingers are removed, which affects the operation of the entire musculoskeletal system.
A cat is a rather mobile animal and without claws is doomed to endless injuries – there is nothing to cling to. She will not be able to climb a low surface, it will be difficult for her to maintain balance. After the operation, he may suffer from pain for the rest of his life, which, due to the violation of his usual existence, is shortened by almost three times. In addition, having lost its claws, the animal becomes more aggressive, trying to solve all its problems with the help of teeth.
Materials for manufacturing
All items used in the manufacture of scratching posts must be safe for animals, environmentally friendly and, if possible, made from natural raw materials. Cats are often allergic precisely from poor-quality material, strong odor, synthetic coating, unstable paint. In addition, a strong smell can scare away, and you will get a structure that the cat simply will not approach.