our new cat toy

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)

This past Saturday my family and I made a huge cat scratcher. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=585901&id=631595051 (linked in title)

we used:
SUPPLIES
•10 x wide elbows (Lowes part number: 96076 A21 2X1 ANGLE)
•2 x narrow elbows (Lowes part number: 315683 STAN 1-1/2” ZN CNR BRC)
•22 x .5 inch washers
•26 x .75 inch screws
•44 x 1 inch screws
•2 x scrap lumber (½ inch thick, by 3.5 inches wide, by 36 inches long)
•1 x concrete tube (10 inches in diameter, by 48 inches tall)
•1 x edge-glued wood panel .75 inches thick, by 20 inches wide, by 36 inches long
•½ bucket of plaster (about 6 lbs) **WE modified this with a 50 pound bag of sand)
•A few feet of duct tape
•5 x rolls of sisal (.25 inches thick, by 100 feet long, for a total of 500 ft)
•1 x plywood circle (12 inch diameter or 18 inch if you have two or more cats)
•1 x circle of foam (12 inch diameter or 18 inch if you have two or more cats)
•1 x circle of cloth batting (12 inch diameter or 18 inch if you have two or more cats)
•1 x large bottle of fast-drying wood glue (16 oz) **WE used a hot glue gun
•1 x piece of cloth or carpet to cover the top platform (I used a cotton bath mat.) **and we used carpet that we pulled up in the summer when we were redoing the dinning room.
We also have “two or more cats” so we used the bigger options where they apply.


it only took about 6-8 hours to complete and our cats were trying to use it before we were done making it.
And my dad claims that they dont like it because he never sees them use it... But they use it ALL the time.. He is usually at work when they use it the most. :) i think they do it on purpose so he cant see them use it.

my cat, Famine, likes to perch at the top, and War likes to get a running start and jump as high as he can... Then spider-man around the side before he starts to stretch and scratch on it.