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- Liquid soap scrub brush
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Cable ties
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Scissors
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Catnip (optional)
After seeing my cats repeatedly rubbing against wire shelving,
I was determined to find some kind of brush material to make it more enjoyable.
This is part of (another instructable for) our 150-foot cat walk run WIRE SHELF ENCLOSURE. Please click on my photo icon to see links or see photo below to get the full picture. The cats are safe inside from basement to utility room to garage and in warm weather they will have access to a caged in porch outdoors. http://www.instructables.com/id/Cat-enclosure-with-high-cat-walktunnel-utilizes-/
SAFETY ISSUE
Inserted later: It's been brought to my attention to get a quality brush and also supervise the cat in case of loose bristles.
My cats only seem to chew on it when I enticed them for the video with catnip on the bristles. Or maybe they were showing off to Mom that they were brushing their teeth.
Panasonic has a nice camera out that hooks to your Internet ethernet for about $99 if you want to keep a close eye on your pet area from your smartphone or any Internet-enabled access point.
After a visit to the dollar store, I filled scrubber brushes with catnip (where liquid soap would be held) and rubbed catnip on the bristles. From there I attached the brushes in various areas on the wire shelving with cable ties. Remember to trim ties for safety.
I also have extra scrubbers to give them a "brush" once in awhile in passing.
Please see the photos and videos which should illustrate purring, rubbing and general content.
Green brush-like Christmas tree branches would fit very well into my wire shelving units that keep my cats safe from the outdoor coyotes. They would add some greenery to the room which might be pleasing.
Thanks for viewing my instructable.
May more and more cats find good homes which make people AND cats happy.
Below is spare brush used manually.
40 seconds of purring and scrubbing:
Please visit your local shelter today if you have the slightest inclination to adopt a homeless dog or cat. xoxo
Please forgive the soapbox.
One black and white was found after being lost 1.5 weeks-- in a very high tree on Mothers day 2010...I took a walk and heard him..had to get a truck to get him down...
the other one, I lost a cat to coyotes no doubt (cats got out). I put fliers in mailboxes for miles around. One night I got a call about a black and white....turned out NOT to be my cat but eventually it made it to our house and I was able to trap it and now we are one happy family. smile.
wire shelving............looks pretty neat and nice.....can be used later if a non cat owner gets my house (i hope that never happens!)
When in doubt, when your computer isn't working right, when you get an error message, google it!
Right now a cotton pork sock is pictured here:well, I'm not on safari, but on firefox, so I cannot imbed the link.
And yes, toxic tennis ball... this dog resolutely refuses any other kind! We have a vast collection of organic, and made for dogs balls but she won't hear of it!
So, our job is to make their lives better, not bitter... I cut down on toxic substances in other areas of her life by making home made diet and minimal vaccines.
I will replace eventually with higher quality.
Most likely they are made in China, so they are even less concerned in regard to health and safety than products made here in N America.
I've had some dollar store scrubbers and they tend to fall apart in no time compared to a quality made one - which is my concern about the cat swallowing bits of them by accident when fiercely attacking the brush, as my cats are inclined to do.
My parrot was accidentally poisoned when he swallowed the clapper ball out of a bell made specifically for parrots bought in a pet shop. The clapper was LEAD! I did several months of research on lead poisoning and was SHOCKED to find it is used in plastics to colour and to give the bright Whites! 10 years ago it was used in baby bottle nipples and soothers! Phthalates www.ourstolenfuture.org/.../phthalates/phthalates.htm are STILL used in baby products AND food wraps! Lead is used in all kinds of childrens toys, place mats, plastic cutlery, pencil boxes, rain gear and Barbies!
Now, if corporations don't give a fig for our children do you think they care about our pets?
I lost my sister at a very young age to cancer as well as two very dear friends not yet 50 years old even. I start where I CAN make a difference. Cats are short lived compared to us and I take every precaution to ensure I don't make their brief lives even shorter.
Sorry about your parrot. I stopped using teflon when I read in several places that high-heated teflon can kill a bird from the fumes, then how could that be good for US?
Vaccinations are not good for dogs and cats in some cases...be careful, I even heard flu shots (chemist thoughts) are a racket. I thought they tested many of our drugs and products on dogs...so should we be listening to holistic dog professionals? I think so! (Dr. Karen Becker is our local expert) www.DrKarenBecker.com
Teflon, gluten is bad? in our diets...when I went to a holistic consultant I learned about even more things...I try to think what products my Grandma who lived 104.75 years used...and go from there...she did not drink milk or eat eggs (unless in baked items).
Xylitol is in our gum, good to prevent cavities they say, yet it will KILL your dog (or cat?). I have a new dog that steals steaks, glucosamine tablets (overdosed but okay)...so I'm trying to keep up on that.
Onions are also toxic to cats and dogs...just some warnings as perhaps pet lovers would be reading here.
Good luck, as a friend emails, "live each day as if it were your last."
I now pick the best things out of the freezer and don't try to save the best for later. smile. age 53.
There are cat brushes made to be mounted on a wall that have a container for catnip and they are made of moulded plastics the cat can't chew or break off easily - $8 for peace of mind.