We all have one problem child, right? One of my cats, Olaf is my trouble maker. He decided that he was done using his cat scratcher and it was time to take to all our upholstered items around the house. He pretty much shredded my chair in the bedroom, which I would always yell at him was my most expensive piece of furniture. No surprise he didn’t seem to care. So, of course, this prompted the need to put my thinking cap on and come up with a custom cat scratcher for the couch. He needed something soft, apparently his paws didn’t like the traditional sisal you find on other scratchers. Plus I liked the idea of getting something that would match perfectly with my furniture. Here is a look at our DIY Cat Scratcher for the Couch.
The Scratcher Building Process
To start you need to make sure you cut once and measure twice. Since every couch or sofa is different you should measure yours. Measure the width of the arm of your couch and then add an inch to that. This is the length of the first piece of board you need to cut. The next cuts will need to measure 11 inches and 2 feet. This should give you the three boards you need to complete the project.
Now it’s time form the “U” shape of the boards so you can start screwing it together. We added three screws on each side of the top that go down into each side panel. If you want to paint or stain your wood this is the stage that you want to stop and do so! Remember always sand in between coats of paint and stain for a superior finish.
I wanted to give you a quick peek at exactly how was placed all six screws on this cat scratcher.
Now it’s time to add the carpet that you picked out. The rug is going to wrap around the long board of your scratcher. The rug is slightly larger than this board so if you want to avoid overlapping the rug you will want to trim a few inches off.
We double coated our adhesive spray. We coated one layer on the board and then another layer on the back of the rug. Then it’s as easy as sandwiching them together. A couple of clamps may come in handy for this stage. You will want to hold and clamp the rug and board together for at least a couple of minutes. The glue will take at least 20 minutes to fully cure.
Items Needed to Assemble:
- 1 – 1″ x 10″ x 6′ Piece of Pine
- 6 – 3 Inch Screws
- Spray Adhesive
- Decorative 18″ x 24″ Rug
- Tape Measure
- Scissors
- Drill
Directions for the DIY Cat Scratcher:
- You’ll need to first measure the top of the arm of your couch. Measure the width and then add an inch. This will need to be the size of your first piece of wood. The other two pieces will need to be 11 inches and 2 feet. If you don’t have a saw to cut your own wood, the lumber store will usually do it for free as long as you’re buying the wood from them.
- Stand the two longer pieces of wood on their sides, parallel to each other and place the smaller piece of wood at the top of these two. It will look like a “U” with one side longer than the other. Place three screws on each side of the small board, straight into the top of each of the longer boards.
- If you don’t want the screws to show, you can use a wood putty to fill in the tops of the screws so they blend into the wood. There’s also the option of using a Kreg Jig which helps you hide screws as well.
- If you would like to stain or paint your scratcher instead of leaving it the normal pine, now would be the time. Use a coat of pre-stain before painting or staining your scratcher as pine has a habit of soaking up paint and stain if not.
- Put the longest board facing up and place the middle of your rug on the board, making sure to size up where you want it. If you don’t want the rug to overlap in the back, you’ll want to use scissors to trim about 3-4 inches off.
- Once you know where you want the rug to go, spray the adhesive on with two coats, one on the board and one on the rug and press it down on the board, holding it there for 1-2 minutes. Then spray and hold down both sides separately before finally spraying and holding down the back portion. Allow to dry fully for about 20 minutes.
- Place on the couch and let the kitties have fun with your all new cat scratcher for your couch!
If you make your own DIY cat scratcher for couch be sure to send us in your photos! And be sure to include your furry one too! If taking on a project with tools just isn’t for you we also have recommendation on The Best Cat Trees for Large Cats all of which can be purchase online!
