We all know that cats love to have fun playing around with their toys, but they also love scratching. If you don’t want to have your furniture ruined and want to keep your home scratch-free, we’ve got you covered! With this step by step guide, you can build your own cat scratching post to help save your furniture.

DIY Cactus Cat Scratching Post

This cat scratching post is not your typical one, as it’s the shape of a cactus. You’re not only going to find your newest decor piece in this scratching post, but your feline friend will also love hanging from it and attacking it!

You Will Need

• 15 x 15 inch round plywood (the thicker and heavier the better, as it gives a
• stable base to the structure)
• 0.25 inch dia. natural sisal rope, 210 ft. long
• Green dye (for 160 ft. of rope)
• Glue sticks (warning: you’ll need lots, so the bigger the pack the better)
• Glue gun
• Green spray paint
• Electric drill
• 4 wood screws
• Stones or concrete to fill the ⅓  of the body of the scratcher
• Fake or felt flowers for a touch of cuteness
• 2 single tees
• 4 inch dia. plumbing pipe, 3.2 ft. long (or cut a longer one to size)
• 1 pipe lid
• 2 90° elbow pipes
• 2 3 inch polystyrene baubles

Instructions

1. Take a round wood board (the thicker the better), prepare a drill, 4 wood screws, and the lid of the plumbing pipe (which will be the body of the cactus).
2. Pre-drill the lid, then center it onto your board and mark where the screws will go with a pencil. Secure the lid to the board with wood screws (make sure it is placed right into the center!).
3. Insert a 3.2 feet long plumbing pipe onto the lid and secure it with hot glue. You can also cut a longer one into a 3.2 feet piece.
4. Fill ⅓ of the pipe with stones, concrete or cement to keep the scratching post stable.
5. Connect one of the single tees (pipe connector) with one of the 90° elbow pipes.
6. Connect the structure you put together in step 5 to the pipe. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to achieve the cactus look.
7. Cut 2 polystyrene baubles in half and glue one half to each of the ends including the 2 arms and the top in order to achieve the rounded look.
8. This is optional, but you can spray paint the cactus in green to prevent the grey color from showing through the rope. This is just an extra measure you can take, but if you glue the rope very tightly around the pipe, the tube won’t show through it either way.
9. Dye at least 160 ft. of your sisal rope green with pet-safe textile dye (but leave some plain for the board). You can find instructions for this on the dye’s packaging. As an extra tip, secure the ends of the rope that you cut as it unfolds easily. Also,
   leave enough time for the rope to soak up the liquids. Don’t forget to use gloves!
10. Start glue gunning the green rope to the pipe from the base to the first junction. 
11. At the junctions, use smaller pieces of rope and glue them on separately. Make them a little bit longer so you can cover the ends with glue and rope in the next step.
12. Continue wrapping the rope around the elbow, but make sure you cover the ends that you left sticking out at the previous step in order to prevent them from unfolding. Repeat steps 11 and 12 at the next junction, and finish the top by wrapping the rope around.
13. Cover the wood board with natural sisal rope by glue gunning it.
14. For a nice finishing touch, add some fake flowers or felt pom poms to the tops of the cactus, but make sure to secure them well.
15. You’re done! Now you and your cat can enjoy this glorious and unique scratching post.

Other Interesting Projects To Try

• Simple Caticorn Cake
• 8 DIY Cat Pillows
• DIY Chicken Wire Halloween Ghost
• 10 Beautiful Seashell Crafts To Make

Author Bio:
Timi teamed up with Buy Rope to put together this guide for every cat owner who wants to surprise their furry friend with a unique cat scratching post. As a cat mom and DIY lover she thinks this is the purrfect project that will make you and your cat happy.