Self Petting Station

  This is a fun little project that can be completed in an hour or two depending on what you have laying around the house.  It's a self-petting station for your cats so that they can get a good back scratching while you're at work or away on vacation.  I found the Ad while looking for toys to keep my cats active, I hate seeing them board.  Here is a link to the original Ad;             http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1897+26492&pcatid=26492 .                                                                                                                                                                            As you can see in the Ad, they want $18 for this product.  I made mine for about $6. 

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Here are the things you will need:  1. 2 toilet bowl brushes, the best color you can find.    2. A board roughly 12"x12", any shape you like.    3. A small block of wood 1"x1"x1", any shape you like.    4. Fabric or carpet to cover the board.    5. A drill and a set of drill bits.    6. Guerrilla Glue (the kind that expands) or Hot Glue.     7. Staple gun, this is optional.      8. Spraypaint, this is optional.     9. A yardstick.     10. A sharpie.

Step 2: Disassemble the Toilet Brushes

The first thing you will want to do is remove the brushes from the handles.

Step 3: Make a Spacer

  When you have removed the brushes, you will notice bare wire on either end of each brush.  These sections of bare wire will be used to connect the two brushes together.    Get your small block of wood, mine is a piece of closet hanger rod as you can see.  Drill a hole through the center, large enough for both brush ends to fit through.  Paint or stain this now if you want to.

Step 4: Connect the Brushes

Squeeze some glue onto one end of each brush.  Put one brush end through one side of the hole, and the other through the opposite side.  Now you have one long brush.

Step 5: Make the Base Board

 Take your base board and staple or glue the fabric or carpet to it.

Step 6: Holes for the Brushes

  Line up your yardstick from corner to opposite corner,  diagonally across the base board.   Find the center of the board.  Measure out about 4" to 5" on either side of center and make a small mark with a sharpie.  Drill a hole through the board at each Sharpie mark using a bit big enough to fit one brush end through.

Step 7: Connect the Brushes to the Base Board

Now squeeze some glue onto each brush end and fit them into the holes on the baseboard.  When the glue dries, you're finished.   To introduce it to your cat/cats, sprinkle some cat nip on it, sit back and enjoy!

Comments

[smcmasters1]

I love it. We made one for our bunnies a few months ago using almost the same method! My wife and I are constantly walking thru the pet store saying "we can make that!"

[Attmos]

Cool. Do the bunnies use it?

[smcmasters1]

yes, they love it!

[peads92470]

I made this for my two cats who are brothers,
one weighs 6 1/2 pounds and the other one 18 pounds. The disparity in
weight made some modification necessary. I used two spare 11 inch square pieces of plywood glued together for
the base to hold the brushes, then had to attach a main platform and hot glued
the base to that to accommodate the larger cat who kept knocking the smaller
based unit over. They seem to
really like it.

[Attmos]

Very cool! Wow! 18 pounds! Big cat. Sounds like he really likes it if he's knocking it over. Thanks for letting me know that you tried it out and I'm glad they like it.

[bartworker]

Great idea, I know some kitties who'll have a new toy today!

[Attmos]

Sorry for the decade that passed before this response, lol, but thank you. Was it a success?

[Attmos]

Thanks, I hope they enjoy it!

[bfk]

Attmos: You already know how I feel about your cat scratcher. The best ideas are the simplest because it takes an incredible amount of outward thinking to be able to break through traditional paths of logic. Your idea should have been invented centuries ago... It wasn't. And the reason it wasn't is because no one was able to put logic into practice until you came along and did it. Congratulations on a killer idea that deserves to be marketed.

[Attmos]

That is an incredible compliment, thank you very much!

[Treknology]

I love it! Unfortunately, the catnip won't help. He's Burmese and doesn't respond to it.

[Attmos]

Really. Burmese don't respond to catnip!? I thought all cats enjoyed the effects of the smell. Well, I think it's possible he might figure it out on his own but I doubt it. Thank you very much for reading though. How do you get him to play with toys?

[Treknology]

Siamese don't respond either.

At 18, he's not exactly the most playful, but when he plays he plays rough. He'll even run up behind me and nip me in the heel to start some rough-housing, but has always had little interest in toys and has even figured out that chasing the laser dot isn't the fun it once was, although if he's in the right mood I can still get him jumping halfway up the wall trying to catch it.

[MyMenagerie]

While I disagree with you about Siamese, I can't wait to make one for my Mr. E. Bean who is not a Siamese and is indifferent to catnip also. The Siamese I had growing up LOVED catnip. I guess it's an individual thing.

[Attmos]

I think it's an individual thing as well. You never can tell what your particular cat will enjoy or ignore.

[Attmos]

My cat Clyde is at least a little Korat, a close relative of Siamese apparently. In his younger years catnip was like cocaine for him, nowadays he just loves eating a bit, and rolling in a lot... lol. Like yours, Clyde is losing interest in the laser.

[GaleG1]

Good job! I've thought about making one of these, but never thought of the idea of joining two toilet brushes!! Great creativity! I'm going to make one for my 3 cats!.Thank you for sharing!!

[Attmos]

Thank you. It's been a while since your comment (sorry about that), did your cats love it as much as mine still do?

[DanièleQ]

If vibrators could be activated when the cat step on the board, and the brushes looped into a short tunnel with intermittent rubber fingers, it could be near heaven?

[Attmos]

:) Sounds like a hell of a project, but I agree; the cats would probably love that!