Hi,

I am building a kitty condo for my daughter's cats. I had planned on
using carpet remnants for the horizontal surfaces and microfiber
everywhere else. (The carpet remnants on hand are stiff so microfiber
would be much easier to work with.) However, she wants carpet
everywhere in hope the little darlings will sharpen their claws on the
condo rather than the couch. Is there a special type of carpet used
for kitty condos? Where would I get some?

Thanks,
Gary

"abby" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I am building a kitty condo for my daughter's cats. I had planned on
using carpet remnants for the horizontal surfaces and microfiber
everywhere else. (The carpet remnants on hand are stiff so microfiber
would be much easier to work with.) However, she wants carpet
everywhere in hope the little darlings will sharpen their claws on the
condo rather than the couch. Is there a special type of carpet used
for kitty condos? Where would I get some?

Thanks,
Gary

you just want to use a very short nap or even a berber remnant. add a
vertical piece with 1/4" sisal rope wrap. microfiber won't last.

i use http://softpaws.com on my cats (i volunteer at an animal rescue, and
am not affiliated with this company). you can get them on ebay cheaper than
directly from this site.

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

"abby" wrote in news:viYRk.423$bC6.113
@newsfe22.iad:

Hi,

I am building a kitty condo for my daughter's cats. I had planned on
using carpet remnants for the horizontal surfaces and microfiber
everywhere else. (The carpet remnants on hand are stiff so microfiber
would be much easier to work with.) However, she wants carpet
everywhere in hope the little darlings will sharpen their claws on the
condo rather than the couch. Is there a special type of carpet used
for kitty condos? Where would I get some?

Thanks,
Gary


I built a scratching post once, and used a carpet that was made with loops
of fabric. The cats didn't take to it, as they wanted to scratch, not
climb. Right now, they've got cardboard turned on end to scratch on.

Puckdropper
--
If you're quiet, your teeth never touch your ankles.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

abby wrote:
Hi,

I am building a kitty condo for my daughter's cats. I had planned on
using carpet remnants for the horizontal surfaces and microfiber
everywhere else. (The carpet remnants on hand are stiff so microfiber
would be much easier to work with.) However, she wants carpet
everywhere in hope the little darlings will sharpen their claws on the
condo rather than the couch. Is there a special type of carpet used
for kitty condos? Where would I get some?

Thanks,
Gary


Short answer: any carpet will do. And hemp rope that doesn't smell like
petroleum. And real bark from real tree branches/logs.

Long answer:
We have our own cats, plus we've fostered close to 70 in the past
decade. One thing I've learned is that figuring out cats is about as
easy as figuring out women. :-) It's hard to figure out what they
like and don't like, and when you do, they change their mind. They will
ignore a kitty condo for months at a time (cats, not women), then turn
around and make it their home for a few months... just about the time
you think about to moving it to the attic.

Most of the time, "sharpening" their claws on furniture has more to do
with marking territory than sharpening (removing the sheathing and
older, shedding claws, to reveal the new claws growing underneath).
Just like the glands in their cheeks, cats secrete scents from their
paws that tell other cats, "Hey, this is mine." You can google a
million suggestions for stopping the behavior, but I'll say what has
worked for us.

Positive reinforcement:
-- putting down those cardboard scratching pads with the catnip inside,
right next to where they are currently scratching. In our experience,
EVERY cat on planet earth loves these things and prefer them to
furniture. When they get used to using the pads, you can move then
elsewhere in the house and the cat will seek them out.

Negative reinforcement:
-- squirt with water when they attempt it. Use a water bottle with the
adjustable nozzle to "sniper" them with water when they start to do it.
It doesn't hurt them, but they *really* don't like it and it tells
them that scratching there makes them very uncomfortable.
-- tin foil on the floor under where they are currently scratching.
They *do not* like the feel of tin foil under their feet. It's fun to
watch, really. :-)



--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

In article ,
-MIKE- wrote:

abby wrote:
Hi,

I am building a kitty condo for my daughter's cats. I had planned on
using carpet remnants for the horizontal surfaces and microfiber
everywhere else. (The carpet remnants on hand are stiff so microfiber
would be much easier to work with.) However, she wants carpet
everywhere in hope the little darlings will sharpen their claws on the
condo rather than the couch. Is there a special type of carpet used
for kitty condos? Where would I get some?

Thanks,
Gary


Short answer: any carpet will do. And hemp rope that doesn't smell like
petroleum. And real bark from real tree branches/logs.

Long answer:
We have our own cats, plus we've fostered close to 70 in the past
decade. One thing I've learned is that figuring out cats is about as
easy as figuring out women. :-) It's hard to figure out what they
like and don't like, and when you do, they change their mind. They will
ignore a kitty condo for months at a time (cats, not women), then turn
around and make it their home for a few months... just about the time
you think about to moving it to the attic.

Most of the time, "sharpening" their claws on furniture has more to do
with marking territory than sharpening (removing the sheathing and
older, shedding claws, to reveal the new claws growing underneath).
Just like the glands in their cheeks, cats secrete scents from their
paws that tell other cats, "Hey, this is mine." You can google a
million suggestions for stopping the behavior, but I'll say what has
worked for us.

Positive reinforcement:
-- putting down those cardboard scratching pads with the catnip inside,
right next to where they are currently scratching. In our experience,
EVERY cat on planet earth loves these things and prefer them to
furniture. When they get used to using the pads, you can move then
elsewhere in the house and the cat will seek them out.

Negative reinforcement:
-- squirt with water when they attempt it. Use a water bottle with the
adjustable nozzle to "sniper" them with water when they start to do it.
It doesn't hurt them, but they *really* don't like it and it tells
them that scratching there makes them very uncomfortable.
-- tin foil on the floor under where they are currently scratching.
They *do not* like the feel of tin foil under their feet. It's fun to
watch, really. :-)

Great info here, we used rope for the verticals. I doubt I would use
microfiber for anything

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:19:48 -0500, "abby" wrote:

Hi,

I am building a kitty condo for my daughter's cats. I had planned on
using carpet remnants for the horizontal surfaces and microfiber
everywhere else. (The carpet remnants on hand are stiff so microfiber
would be much easier to work with.) However, she wants carpet
everywhere in hope the little darlings will sharpen their claws on the
condo rather than the couch. Is there a special type of carpet used
for kitty condos? Where would I get some?

Thanks,
Gary
Carpet is good for the surfaces that they lay on, but NOT recommended for the
parts that they scratch on..

I've built a few (we have 5 cats) and used sisal rope from good ol' Harbor
freight to wrap the vertical surfaces..
We wrapped it tight and fastened the ends, so that the cats claws didn't hit
staples, nails, etc..

Our most successful method of stopping furniture scratching is a combination of
plastic plant mister bottles and positive reinforcement..
Cat scratches the wrong thing.. Say NO sharply and spray a bit of water at them,
then put them on the scratching post with some petting and soft words.. YMVW


mac

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