We're huge cat lovers over here at So Fancy. Cat claw lovers? Not so much. However, scratching is a very necessary habit for kitties with claws. Instead of discouraging this behavior or buying some ugly cardboard or carpet-covered scratching post at the pet store, I decided to make my own out of an unlikely object: the rubber traffic cone. Instructions after the jump!
Supplies:
traffic cone (I used this one)
rope or cord (I used two packages of this rope)
hot glue gun and glue sticks
scissors
pom-poms (instructions at the end of the post)
spray paint (optional)
First, I spray-painted my cones with Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover Paint+Primer in white. This step is optional, but I chose to paint them so that none of the neon orange could peak through the rope. Spray with a couple of light coats and let it dry over night.
Starting at the bottom edge of the square base, apply a thin line of hot glue and press rope into glue. Continue to alternate between glue and rope as you work your way around, following the square shape of the base. As you get to the base of the cone, start working your way from wrapping in a square shape into a circular shape. If you miss a few spaces at the bottom, you can cut small pieces of rope and glue them in later. You can switch to dabs of glue every few inches as you work your way up the cone. Wrap tightly and push down the rope as you go to avoid gaps.

Levi approves! Tip: if your kitty is having trouble warming up to his new toy, rub some cat nip into the rope.
Supplies:
traffic cone (spray paint if desired as explained in Style 1)
rope or cord (I used three 6-yard packages of 12/32" cotton filler cord from Jo-Ann Fabrics)
1/2 yard of fabric (I found this pretty burlap with gold glitter at Jo-Ann Fabrics)
spray adhesive
hot glue gun and glue sticks
ruler
pencil
scissors
pom poms
1. To make the fabric cover, measure the diameter of the opening on the underside of the cone. Mine was 7.5 inches.
2. In the center of your fabric, draw intersecting lines the same length as the diameter of the circle into an asterisk shape.
3. Draw a circle around the lines. Draw a smaller circle an inch within your first circle.
4. Make a starting cut in the middle.
5. Cut out the smaller interior circle.
6. Make cuts every half of an inch from the edge of the smaller circle to the line of the larger circle.
7. Lay down some paper to protect your work surface and spray one side of your fabric and the square base of your cone with a light coat of spray adhesive.
8. Slide the fabric over the top of the cone and onto the square base. Stretch it over the base as you press it down and smooth out any wrinkles or puckers.
9. Trim excess fabric, leaving a couple of inches around the edge of the base.
10. Use your hot glue to glue the fabric to the bottom inside edge of the base.
11. Trim excess fabric.
12. Apply a thin line of glue to the base of the cone and apply rope or cord. Continue to wrap the cord up the base, applying dabs of glue every few inches. Apply pom-poms and finish wrapping cord as described in the last step of Style 1.
Supplies:
cardboard
yarn
scissors
1. Cut two donuts out of cardboard. Mine were about 3-4 inches across with a 1 inch hole in the center.
2. Cut about 25-30 3 foot strands of yard. Sandwich the two pieces of cardboard together. Taking your strands 2-3 at a time, begin wrapping them tightly around the donut. You want the strands to always start and end on the outside edge of the donut. Continue wrapping on groups of strands until you get all the way around the donut. The fuller you wrap your yarn, the fuller your pom-pom will be. To create the multicolored pom-pom on the first cone, I alternated between pink and white yarn, creating stripes around the donut.
3. Trim excess yarn down to the edge of the the donut.
4. Slide scissors under the yarn between the two pieces of cardboard and cut all the way around.
5. Slide another 3 foot strand between the two pieces of cardboard. You want it to be longer on one side than the other. Tie your strand twice to create a knot, pulling it very tightly around the mass of yarn.
6. Slide or cut off the pieces of cardboard and trim any extra long strands of yarn.
Hi Tamsen & Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased at Target a cone shaped cat scratcher which is just too short for my kitties, and as I recently inherited a traffic cone, I figured I could make one. My only concern is whether the hot glue will stick to the cone so I googled making one and found your adorable blog! How have the scratcher's been holding up? Is your cone made out of the softer / flexible plastic, or are they hard? I believe that the cones are manufactured out of various materials…. If you can contact me at aagulko@yahoo.com I would be super grateful!
Aiisa
Hi Aiisa, our scratchers have been holding up very well, even after daily use from the kitties. The brown rope seems to be their favorite for scratching! The cone I used was more flexible and rubbery and I linked to it in the supply list. Since the rope is wrapped tightly around the cone, it holds itself in place very well and doesn't even need much glue except on the square base. I chose hot glue so that it would be easy to pull off the rope when it needed to be replaced. If you are really concerned about the rope coming off, you could use a plastic-safe super glue instead. Thanks for reading! Let us know if you have any more question.
Deletelooks great at the end
DeleteAfter years of whining to my husband, we are finally getting a kitten next month! I found this pinned yesterday and already have the cone spray painted and ready to roll tomorrow. Thanks for the idea!!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if there should be a weight in the center of the cone, to keep it steady. Does that not matter? I have three cats, two boys and a girl, and the boys tend to throw themselves all over the toys they play with.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI'm about to go to Home Depot and buy mine, 18" tall. Online it says it has a 3lb base. There is a taller on, 28" that has a 5lb base. So given the base weight, then the rope weight, I'm not adding anything extra! We'll see how it goes. Good luck with yours!
DeleteHi Shivalry! We didn't weight ours, and my cat doesn't seem to need it. If your kitties are pretty rough, it wouldn't be a bad idea! If you find that they are toppling it over, you could try attaching the base of the cone to a piece of wood for extra stability. Good luck!
DeleteHi Shivalry! We didn't weight ours, and my cat doesn't seem to need it. If your kitties are pretty rough, it wouldn't be a bad idea! If you find that they are toppling it over, you could try attaching the base of the cone to a piece of wood for extra stability. Good luck!
DeleteI made mine yesterday, a bit time consuming, but well worth it! I don't think you could get a sturdier, more solid-built one in any store! My only complaint is the smell of the cone. The orange part STINKS!! Any suggestions for removing the smell from the rubber?
ReplyDeleteDid you also pay $60.00 just for the rope?
DeleteBefore I proceed..I checked the price of the rope...Did you actually pay $60.00,,$30.00 a piece for the rope?
ReplyDeleteWow! So cute! I really like this diy project. I'll try for my little dog.
ReplyDeleteCats have a natural hunting instinct and this type of game is so much fun for them. You'll have a million laughs watching the techniques that your kitty applies to try and get that toy!go
ReplyDeleteWhen your website or blog goes live for the first time, it is exciting. That is until you realize no one but you and your. check it out
ReplyDeleteThank you again for all the knowledge you distribute,Good post. I was very interested in the article, it's quite inspiring I should admit. I like visiting you site since I always come across interesting articles like this one.Great Job, I greatly appreciate that.Do Keep sharing! Regards, https://catthink.com
ReplyDeleteWe have sell some products of different custom boxes.it is very useful and very low price please visits this site thanks and please share this post with your friends. https://catthink.com/cat-litter-brands/
ReplyDeleteTook me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! giant dog house
ReplyDeletePretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info. thyroid support for dogs
ReplyDeleteI wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. front clip dog harness
ReplyDeleteHello I am so delighted I located your blog, I really located you by mistake, while I was watching on google for something else, Anyways I am here now and could just like to say thank for a tremendous post and a all round entertaining website. Please do keep up the great work. Cat food dispenser
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update, very nice site.. best cat carrier for car
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update, very nice site..
ReplyDeleteNháşp liệu
Giải pháp Call Center
You make so many great points here that I read your article a couple of times. Your views are in accordance with my own for the most part. This is great content for your readers. cat food for older cats with sensitive stomachs
ReplyDeleteThank you because you have been willing to share information with us. we will always appreciate all you have done here because I know you are very concerned with our. View More
ReplyDeleteI admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much. What to Do if Your Dog has an Ear Infection
ReplyDeleteReally I enjoy your site with effective and useful information. It is included very nice post with a lot of our resources.thanks for share. i enjoy this post. Click Here
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see the great detail here!. Check it out
ReplyDeleteThank you because you have been willing to share information with us. we will always appreciate all you have done here because I know you are very concerned with our. Read More
ReplyDeleteCats aren't purposely trying to ruin your sofas and carpeting when they scratch on them; they have a real need to sharpen their claws and exercise their paws. cat scratcher
ReplyDeleteMake sure to buy a durable device that your cat will enjoy using. cat condo
ReplyDeleteThank you because you have been willing to share information with us. we will always appreciate all you have done here because I know you are very concerned with our. Click here
ReplyDeleteSince a cat reacts more promptly to a high pitch than a low pitch, this may be the explanation a cat appears to like a lady better with a sharp voice top cat breeds
ReplyDeletei am browsing this website dailly , and get nice facts from here all the time .
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the post you do. I like your post and all you share with us is up to date and quite informative, i would like to bookmark the page so i can come here again to read you, as you have done a wonderful job. instagram for beginners 2020
ReplyDeleteWow, What a Excellent post. I really found this to much informatics. It is what i was searching for.I would like to suggest you that please keep sharing such type of info.Thanks cat eating blueberry
ReplyDeletevery interesting keep posting. where to buy instagram likes reddit
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this information. I have to let you know I concur on several of the points you make here and others may require some further review, but I can see your viewpoint. check it out
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a great post and the review, I am totally impressed! Keep stuff like this coming. Exotic Cat Breeds
ReplyDeleteJust pure classic stuff from you here. I have never seen such a brilliantly written article in a long time. I am thankful to you that you produced this! Aegean College
ReplyDeleteI was surfing net and fortunately came across this site and found very interesting stuff here. Its really fun to read. I enjoyed a lot. Thanks for sharing this wonderful information. Culture
ReplyDeleteWe guarantee to bring you the grand quality material and leather that includes Sheepskin, Lambskin, Faux leather, Suede leather, and Distressed Leather. Womens Flying Jackets
ReplyDeleteIf more people that write articles involved themselves with writing great content like you, more readers would be interested in their writings. I have learned too many things from your article. retractable leash
ReplyDeleteI have seen some great stuff here. Worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to create such a great informative website. Your work is truly appreciated around the clock and the globe. learn more
ReplyDeleteThis is just good read! After reading, It looks there's so much efforts you put! NomNomNow
ReplyDeleteIn designing income presentation, those elements that must do with individual traits and perceptions should be taken into consideration.www.teddyway.com
ReplyDeleteThank you because you have been willing to share information with us. We will always appreciate all you have done here because I know you are very concerned with our.
ReplyDeleteRegards: Schuhe und Zubehör
ReplyDeleteThank you because you have agreed to share information with us. Keep it up guys.
Oberbekleidung
ReplyDeleteThank you because you have agreed to share information.
Oberbekleidung
I can set up my new idea from this post. It gives in depth information. Thanks alot.
ReplyDeleteHaier AC in pakistan
I can set up my new idea from this post. It gives in depth information. Thanks alot.
ReplyDeleteHaier AC in pakistan
This can make the carriage an incredible spot for the feline to snooze, which is thusly useful for the individual, on the off chance that he is anticipating a total day excursion. Cat Strollers
ReplyDeleteWe believe in customer satisfaction. Our Leather Jackets are delicately and uniquely tailored, and the comfort of our customers is always prioritizing.
ReplyDeleteVirtual Assistants UK
The main visit to the vet should occur not long after you have gotten your cat, especially on the off chance that it was a wanderer and you don't have the foggiest idea about its clinical history. cat accessories
ReplyDeleteSuperbly written article, if only all bloggers offered the same content as you, the internet would be a far better place.. SHIH TZU DOG
ReplyDeletePretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon! Traffic secrets
ReplyDeleteThe arrangement? A solid strong little box, normally made of plastic, known as a feline transporter. Feline transporters arrive in an assortment of shapes, tones and sizes, however they all make them thing in like manner: they are made so a feline can't break out of them. cat bubble carrier
ReplyDeletevery interesting information, worth recommending. However, I recommend this.
ReplyDeleteRegards: Cordura Arbeitshose
You actually make it look so easy with your performance but I find this matter to be actually something which I think I would never comprehend. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I'm looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it! Associate Crypto
ReplyDeleteA lot of cat products and medicines are available online easily. The Cat site Shop
ReplyDelete