Taking the scratch-post to the cat with side-effect of neatened newel posts!

Step 1: Problem: Unsightly Scratched Newel Post.

I share my home and garden with 2 furry friends, I recently made-over the outdoor space, but my cats have taken a liking to the newel posts and have scratched them up.

Step 2: Materials Required

I bought 30m of 6mm diam. natural jute rope off eBay, scissors/blade suitable for cutting rope, staples and gun to fix rope to post, plus I like to use safety goggles when stapling.

30m was plenty for the coverage I needed, I had about 2m leftover, but this will depend on the height you need to cover and the girth of the piece you're covering. You'll need more than you think!

Step 3: Fixing Rope.

Start from the top of the post and wind rope down, or bottom of post and wind rope up, it doesn't matter, choose your start position and staple in place one end of the rope, don't staple right at the end of the rope, come in a little way, that way you can tuck this loose end under subsequent windings for a neater finish.

Start winding rope around post, keeping a good tension, and keeping the windings level.

I placed a staple every 5 turns or so.

When done covering your post, staple the end point a few times and cut off any excess unused rope, tuck the loose end under previous windings.