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DIY Ombré Pink Cat Scratching Post

Have you ever had a DIY a-ha moment – you know, the moment where you think to yourself, “DIY didn’t I think of this sooner?” Well, it wasn’t until after I went out and purchased the ugliest, brown, carpeted cat scratching post and then brought it home and set it up in my room that I thought to myself, “Why did I just purchase the ugliest, brownest, carpeted cat scratching post ever and why didn’t I just DIY an ombré pink cat scratching post that matches my room?!?” Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comI mean, look at this thing. Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comHow ugly is that? It does not match my turquoise dresser! It does not match anything I own, so why did I bring it home? And how much better does the ombré pink DIY post look?!?

Well, my DIY philosophy is that you should Do-It-Yourself if you can make it cheaper or better. And in this situation, the ugly, brown cat post was $24.99 from a discount store and the materials to make my DIY cat scratching post were $35 , so it definitely fits the latter part of my philosophy. But even though this cat scratching post cost me $10 extra and 2 hours of my time to make, it’s worth it because I don’t hate looking at it in my room. Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comAnd if you want to make one for yourself, I’ve got the full tutorial below, but first, you’re going to need some supplies. Note, not all of the supplies are shown, be sure to follow my list below.  Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comSupplies:

  • 1 or 2 -18″ Round Small Table Tops (I was going to put another one on top, but opted against it)
  • 1 4×6 post (I had mine cut down at the home improvement store into three 24″ parts and used 1 of them)
  • Pink or White Spray Paint (optional)
  • 100′ of natural jute (be sure to use a natural fiber and NOT synthetic)
  • 1 package of Fuchsia Pink RIT dye
  • 1 bucket
  • Gloves
  • Staple Gun and staples
  • 1 yard of white faux fur
  • Drill gun
  • Wood Screws
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Optional: Catnip spray

STEP 1:  Start with dying your faux fur and natural jute. Follow the directions on the back of the RIT box to dye the fur. To dye the natural jute, dye 1/3 of it for 30 minutes, 1/3 for 10 minutes, and dunk half of the remaining 1/3 in the pink a couple of times before removing. Leave the last bit un-dyed and natural. Let the faux fur and jute dry in the sun. Fluff the faux fur in the dryer for 5 minutes.Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comSTEP 2: Draw out where to drill on the wood table top base. I simply put my 4×4 post in the middle of the circle and marked the edges, then took a ruler and drew cross hatches on it so I would know where to drill the wood screws. Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comSTEP 3: Cover the table with the faux fur using your staple gun. Simply start at one point and continue to wrap and staple down.

STEP 4: This is optional, but you can spray paint your post if you think it might be visible through the jute. I did this just in case, but honestly, I probably didn’t need to.

STEP 5: Attach the base table top to the 24″ post using your drill gun and the wood screws. Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comSTEP 6: Attach a piece of un-dyed faux fur to the top of your post using your staple gun. Simply staple one edge to the post, wrap the faux fur around and staple the other edge in place. Then fold the top edges down over the top and staple down. Fluff up the fur so you don’t see the staples.

STEP 7: Wrap the post with your dyed jute. Use your staple gun to staple it into place so it won’t come loose. Be sure that every staple goes in and is not loose. Then, as you wrap, be sure to keep pushing the jute down so it’s super tight against the previous row. Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comSTEP 8: Continue to wrap the jute around the post all the up to the top. 100 feet of jute wrapped about 20″ of my post, so if you want it to wrap all the way up, have your post cut down to 20″ instead of 24″. Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comHate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comAnd that’s it! Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comI then sprayed the post with catnip spray to get Lucy to like it. Here she is investigating:Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comNow, DIY didn’t I think of that sooner? Again, here’s the “before” and the “DIY.” Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comHate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comSo much better! Plus, it goes perfectly with my flamingo! Hate the brown, ugly cat scratching posts? DIY one! And make it pink ombre! // saltycanary.comWhat’s your DIY a-ha moment? What DIY project have you made that made you ask why you didn’t think of just making it yourself sooner? Let me know in the comments.

 

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BB

Tuesday 1st of February 2022

where did you get the post that spray painted and used in the diy..?

did you make it or..? and if you did make it could you pleaseee show us how :3

Christine

Friday 17th of June 2016

This is SO cute! We currently have a generic, ugly, brown scratching post and I hate it but this gives me some inspiration. I spotted the little door on the cabinet next to the scratching post too, what an awesome litter box! About to check that post out now!

Rachel Teodoro

Wednesday 1st of June 2016

Genius! It does look so much better. Sometimes, that alone is worth the extra $10!

Jamie

Wednesday 1st of June 2016

That is adorable!! I love that you can make it part of your room...I'm sure your kitty loves it! :)

Darla from HeartWork Organizing

Wednesday 1st of June 2016

LOVE IT! Sadly, I don't have a cat anymore, but if I did, I'd definitely be DIY-ing cat furniture to fit in with the rest of the house. I mean, they don't really want "cat" things anyway. They want people things. I'm sure Lucy loves her perch because it fits better in "her" home.