Scratching Chair

As long as I've lived there were cats in the house. A house without a cat is just not complete. Sadly, my sweet little feline-friend passed away last spring. Rest in peace, old lady.

Then summer came and I was away a lot, so that was fine. But then the days grew shorter and colder... and I knew for sure: This place needs a cat.

So I went to the animal shelter and found a new friend. He had been living in the streets for about a year and was now ready for a new home. Mine!

So there's that problem fixed.

But there was one more problem... I needed a schratching pole! He's not going outside the next 6 weeks so he's gonna need something to sharpen his claws on.

However, my expierence is that cats, although lovable creatures, are stubborn. something made especially for them? Not gonna use it, forget it.

Besides, most scratching poles are ugly. So I'm gonna end up with an unused ugly thing in my living room.

Then there was the money-problem, I didn't have that much.

Luckily I found an abandonned old chair on the side of the road some days earlier. The seat was worn out but the wood was fine. I was just gonna give it a new paintjob and a new seat, but with my new friend coming home I thought "Hey, why not make a scratching chair?"

And so I did!

Step 1: Deconstruct

So this is the chair I found. Doesn't look very good, does it?

Apart from the chair, I used:

-A sanding machine

-Sanding paper

-Woodglue

-Paint

- A nailgun

-Foam for the seat

-A piece of fabric

-Cardboard

-A doormat or sisalrope

I took of the seat first, then removed all screws and some loose pieces.

I cleaned it up a bit and using a sanding machine I sanded of the varnish. Which took much longer then I thought it would... But I did the best I could.

The better the sanding, the better the paint is going to hold.

Step 2: Paint

After that I glued the pieces together.

I also put cardboard on the centerpiece. At first I was thinking of using sisal rope for the schratching part, so I wanted to glue that on the cardboard once the chair was painted.

I then painted the chair.

I applied just one thick layer of primer. I would have applied another layer but then it wouldn't have been dry in time. But this was looking fine.

Step 3: Rebuild

As the paint was drying I took the old fabric of the seat.The old foam was far gone so I threw it away and used a new piece of foam.

I cut out a piece of fabric big enough to fold over the seat. I then fastened the fabric tightly with the nailgun.

As I said, I wanted to use sisal rope, but as it turned out I didn't have any... Luckily I found a cheap jute doormat. It wasn't quite big enough, so I used two. I folded them over the cardboard covered piece and fastened them with the nailgun. (Sorry, no pictures of this step.)

Step 4: Scratch!

Lastly put the seat back on the chair.

And that's it! Ready for use by either me or my new fluffy inmate.

It helps to encourage him with a toy. Get his nails on there. Great succes!