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Flickrhomemade cardboard cat scratcher
Maui loves his double-wide corrugated cardboard scratchers – it’s the only type he’ll use. The pet shops here are tiny, with very little selection, and this type of scratcher doesn’t seem to be available anywhere. Luckily, we have an almost-infinite supply of boxes stored in our garage, which I kept after our move for just such thrifty/crafty purposes…
Maui supervises as I get to work
The flaps of the moving boxes just happen to be exactly the same width as the length of Maui’s old scratcher, so I kept the old outer box and cut 1.75″ strips of corrugated cardboard to make a new scratching surface. Measure, mark, cut, repeat… I needed 60 strips to fill the old outer box.
Measuring and cutting strips of cardboard
After that, I just ran a line of white glue along the centre of the length of each strip, stacked them all together, and applied pressure for a couple of minutes so they are all packed tightly together. Edge on, you have the perfect scratching surface for the demanding kitty:
As good as bought!
Cutting 60 strips was a lot more effort than I thought it would be – I had to split the task over several days, as my hand holding the ruler in position would start to ache after 5 or 10 strips. If I still had access to buy a new scratcher instead, I would. But, as I don’t, it’s worth a little hard work to make one for Maui every now and then.
This is the state of the old one – better that Maui does this to the cardboard than to our furniture!
As a bonus, it’s fully reversible, so when it looks like the photo above, I can just flip it over, and Maui will have another new scratching surface to decimate before I have to make another one.
After extensive quality control testing, Maui proclaims it totally scratch-worthy.
A happy cat = time well spent!
Hi, I'm 
Else T said
June, I don’t have a kitty but I think this is the coolest thing ever! You are so clever. I am going to pass this post on to my cat-owning friends.
Michelle said
I really should do this, too. Our kitties have just about completely shredded their scratching box, and every other box in the house, for that matter. They have some kind of vendetta against cardboard.
Mimii said
Perfect ! i have to do this too ! Thanks for share
Morgan said
Very clever! I am glad to see that Maui has his claws. My cats do also. Declawing makes me feel bad…..so giving cats a place to scratch other than the furniture is great!
June said
I’m very glad to hear that your cats have their toes intact, Morgan. It’s strange that declawing is still seen as acceptable in North America – I was horrified when I arrived in Canada and first heard of the practice! I think it’s illegal in the UK, where I grew up, and definitely seen as barbaric in most countries, as it involves actually amputating part of the cat’s toes. Sorry to be a bit heavy-handed, but I do feel very strongly about this: to anyone reading this who doesn’t realised what declawing actually involves, please, please read up on it before you even consider subjecting your cats to this mutilation!
Katrin said
What a great idea! I wonder if my cat would appreciate such a scratch box.
Maybe I’ll give it a try and make one of my (or should I say her) own.
Thanks for sharing
June said
I think you should give it a try – you could always start with a smaller version (faster to cut and assemble) and see if your cat shows any interest. If not, try sprinkling catnip over the surface and see if that does the trick. I used to do that, but once Maui got used to a cardboard scratcher, the catnip was no longer necessary
Charlene Boardman said
Thank you so much for this. Poor me has shredded furniture below from Lola the (male, we got it wrong) cat and on top from Georgie the African Grey.
Bird Beak shredders next please
Shelly said
That’s pure genius! I’m gonna have to have a go at making one of those for my two!
val said
what a clever idea for Maui….I also love all your photos, just lovely!
pam said
Brilliant idea! B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!
We don’t have a kitty but i have sent this on to friends who do!
ANd BTW – Maui is beautiful!
Megan said
Your cat is adorable! My cat growing up was named Maui as well! Also, love the homemade cardboard scratcher. Great idea!