Cat Scratching Pole

Since we have 2 lovely cats, they need some playing space and a scratching pole to prevent the furniture from abuse ;-)

There are many scratching poles for sale - but it is much more fun to make one yourself. It saves you money too!

This build will cost you about 26 euro for the wood (3 x scaffolding wood ca. 32 x 200 x 2500 mm + 2 x Vuren lat 12 x 44 x 2400 mm) and a few euro's for the screws.

The satisfaction of your cat(s) is huge - at least, our cats love the pole and use it a lot.

This is my first how-to, so please ask me if something is not clearly explained.

I hope you have fun building one yourself.

Step 1: Building the Base

First, we need to make 1 base platform. This platform contains 3 wooden parts. Therefore, saw 3 parts off the scaffolding wood. Make the base square. As the size may vary, just multiply the width of the wood by 3 and thats your length, approx 60cm in my case. Saw 4 parts of the narrow shelf under an angle of 45 degrees, 60 cm each.

Glue and screw them on the bottom of the base. If you like, mill the edges to make them less sharp. Use sanding paper to make the surface and corners more smooth.

Congrats, the first step is done!

Step 2: Building the Platforms

Now we need to make 4 platforms. Each platform contains 2 parts. Therefore, saw 8 parts of the scaffolding wood.

I first measured the fattest cat to make sure he would fit ;-)

Make the platforms square. As the size may vary, just multiply the width of the wood by 2 and thats your length, approx 40cm in my case. Put 2 parts together to make 1 platform. Saw 4 parts of the narrow shelf under an angle of 45 degrees, 40 cm each. Glue and screw them on the bottom of the platforms.

Repeat this for the other 3 platforms. Use the mill and sand them smooth.

You are doing great, step 3 is here!

Step 3: Pole Position

Now saw the 4 poles. Depending on you cat-skills, you can vary the height but I used 70, 100, 130, 160cm.

Glue and screw the poles on the base - 4cm from the sides.

Repeat this for all poles and go on, you are almost done!

Step 4: Fix the Platforms to the Poles

Now we need to fix the platforms to the poles. Align them in the middle, glue and screw (2 screws) them on each pole.

When all the platforms are fixed, it is time to create some more stability: each platform can be fixed to another one (except the top platform). In my case, I had some gap between them so I used some parts of 10mm of a cupper tube with a long screw through them (see detail in photo).

If you like, you can attach an optional scratching part, or use some sisal rope.

Now lets have some catisfied friends, let me know if they like it!