If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
what material for climbing?
There has to be some material cats can use for indoor climbing
besides carpet or Sissel rope. Maybe something that also can be attached to a 2 x 4. Maybe some sort of plastic grating (yes, of course it will have to be safe). Next time I go to the hardware store, I plan to spend a lot of time looking around. If I were able to design it myself, maybe it would be plastic grating with 1/8" holes deep enough so that claws would not hook into it. Besides cost, the objective is to provide something which will last and won't disintegrate. Any ideas for something besides carpet or Sissel rope for cats to use for climbing? I suppose someday there will be a material like sponge rubber which claws can dig into but not penetrate. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
I wrote:
... I suppose someday there will be a material like sponge rubber which claws can dig into but not penetrate. My old female used to climb an eight-foot carpeted 2 x 4 in two leaps. I can just imagine a cat hitting a sponge rubber coated 2 x 4. BOING And I bet you they would take advantage of the springiness. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
John Doe wrote:
There has to be some material cats can use for indoor climbing besides carpet or Sissel rope. Maybe something that also can be attached to a 2 x 4. Maybe some sort of plastic grating (yes, of course it will have to be safe). Next time I go to the hardware store, I plan to spend a lot of time looking around. If I were able to design it myself, maybe it would be plastic grating with 1/8" holes deep enough so that claws would not hook into it. Besides cost, the objective is to provide something which will last and won't disintegrate. Any ideas for something besides carpet or Sissel rope for cats to use for climbing? I suppose someday there will be a material like sponge rubber which claws can dig into but not penetrate. Sisal rope is cheap and provides a good gripping surface. Better the material disintegrate and provide some "give" rather than another surface that is more durable yet harder on your cat... not only that but a cat may not like the more durable material. Old car tires come to mind, but that doesn't make a very good looking climbing post for inside your home. Other ideas: old fire hose, old rubber garden hoses (real rubber) |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Use the back-side of carpeting, not the soft front. Some carpet with wide
weave is excellent for them to get their claws into for climbing. I used the carpet pieces (samples) that you can buy anywhere from $1.99 to $3.00. I've also wrapped a two-by-four and four-by-four with thick sisal. Terrific for kittens, because you can just lay it on the floor for them to rip into. Stand it up as they grow! -- pj In article , Joe Canuck wrote: John Doe wrote: There has to be some material cats can use for indoor climbing besides carpet or Sissel rope. Maybe something that also can be attached to a 2 x 4. Maybe some sort of plastic grating (yes, of course it will have to be safe). Next time I go to the hardware store, I plan to spend a lot of time looking around. If I were able to design it myself, maybe it would be plastic grating with 1/8" holes deep enough so that claws would not hook into it. Besides cost, the objective is to provide something which will last and won't disintegrate. Any ideas for something besides carpet or Sissel rope for cats to use for climbing? I suppose someday there will be a material like sponge rubber which claws can dig into but not penetrate. Sisal rope is cheap and provides a good gripping surface. Better the material disintegrate and provide some "give" rather than another surface that is more durable yet harder on your cat... not only that but a cat may not like the more durable material. Old car tires come to mind, but that doesn't make a very good looking climbing post for inside your home. Other ideas: old fire hose, old rubber garden hoses (real rubber) |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
On 2005-04-19, John Doe penned:
There has to be some material cats can use for indoor climbing besides carpet or Sissel rope. Maybe something that also can be attached to a 2 x 4. Maybe some sort of plastic grating (yes, of course it will have to be safe). Next time I go to the hardware store, I plan to spend a lot of time looking around. If I were able to design it myself, maybe it would be plastic grating with 1/8" holes deep enough so that claws would not hook into it. Besides cost, the objective is to provide something which will last and won't disintegrate. Any ideas for something besides carpet or Sissel rope for cats to use for climbing? I suppose someday there will be a material like sponge rubber which claws can dig into but not penetrate. I got an Ultimate Scratching Post for Oscar, and it has a sisal weave instead of just rope. If you could get your hands on this weave, I think you could make a wall out of it and let climber-cats go to town. Oscar's never been a climber, but I've seen her on this scratching post with all four paws on the post. I really like the material. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Hmmm. I've just always found carpet best. When I was little my dad came home
with a HUGE stack of carpet samples and Liquid nailed them to one wall of my bedroom. For "insulation" he *said*. Yeah, right. Our cats enjoyed it for years. "John Doe" wrote in message ... There has to be some material cats can use for indoor climbing besides carpet or Sissel rope. Maybe something that also can be attached to a 2 x 4. Maybe some sort of plastic grating (yes, of course it will have to be safe). Next time I go to the hardware store, I plan to spend a lot of time looking around. If I were able to design it myself, maybe it would be plastic grating with 1/8" holes deep enough so that claws would not hook into it. Besides cost, the objective is to provide something which will last and won't disintegrate. Any ideas for something besides carpet or Sissel rope for cats to use for climbing? I suppose someday there will be a material like sponge rubber which claws can dig into but not penetrate. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
"kaeli" wrote in message ... In article , enlightened us with... Old car tires come to mind, but that doesn't make a very good looking climbing post for inside your home. Other ideas: old fire hose, old rubber garden hoses (real rubber) More ideas: * Wood (lumber already cut and cleaned) * Plyboard / cardboard * Tree stumps (fresh, with bark still on) * Carpeting turned inside out * Tent fabric (very sturdy outdoor) * Screening (like for screen doors) * Rubber mats * Old upholstery (people put old crap by the side of the road for pickup all the time...or visit flea markets, garage sales, and the like.) None of these are very attractive, but if you have a basement... ~kaeli~ How about cedar? I've heard that cats like scratching it; maybe they would like climbing a cedar board. I have see boards scratched down to almost nothing so wood isn't that much more permanent than rope or carpet. Besides, wrapping a hundred or two feet of 1/4" rope around a post is kind of relaxing. ron |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Monique Y. Mudama wrote: (...) Oscar's never been a climber, That's because he's never had a personal bouldering wall. Material for climbing? https://www.epusa.com/handholds/, of course! S. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
I saved a 15 feet high trunk of leylandii (Leyland Cypress tree), lopped
all the branches off, but left one to three inches of each to act as steps, stuck the lower end into a flat piece of timber with a hole in it, and attached the top end to the conservatory ceiling. Between the lopped branches there are segments of trunk which are wrapped in sisal, so the cats have 15 feet of pure vertical adventure on 1. sections of sisal rope 2. step-like branches 3. sections of bare bark. It's a bit of an obstacle course. I stand on a chair and hold biscuits at the very top and they scoot up to get them . . . that's if they're not already exhausted by some other activity! Nell. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|