Cat Scratcher Stair Bannister.

What's that Olaf? you want to welcome everyone to my first Instructable???

If you need a cat scratcher and are short on space, why not turn your stairs into a cat playground!? Cat bannisters take about 10 minutes a spindle. They're fun to play with, don't take up any extra space and may deter your cats from scratching up things they shouldn't!

• Sisal rope (I used about 8m per spindle)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun (or superglue)
• Stairs with bannister and spindles
• Cat

Collect your building supplies and figure out where you would like to make your cat scratcher. Make sure you have enough rope for the project. If you have a large reel of rope cutting it to size will make wrapping it around easier, but be careful not to cut it too short.

Try not to annoy the miserable cat.

Pull your rope 2/3 of the way through bannister, and start wrapping the rope around the spindle, pushing it up as you go so that it forms one even layer.

Try to keep the rope tight enough so that it doesn't fall down, but have enough slack so that you can still push it all up or down the spindle as needed.

When you get to the end of your rope, push it to the top of the spindle.

Make sure your rope ends are nice and neat by trimming the ends. Fold the rope over and glue the ends to your spindle on all sides, as close to the handrail as possible.

Finish wrapping the rope down the length of the spindle.

Now it's time to tighten the rope. Go back to the top of the spindle and twist the rope, while pushing it up. Work your way down to the bottom. At this point, make sure there is no slack or gaps in your ropework. If you are struggling it may help to have someone pulling on the rope at the bottom, completely removing any slack as you go. If your rope isn't tightly wrapped, your cat won't be able to scratch on it properly.

Depending on the quality of rope you purchased, this can be particularly brutal on your paws, so watch out for friction burn.

Once the rope wrapping is as tight as you can get it, trim the bottom of the rope and repeat step 3, gluing it to the bannister.

Your cat scratcher is now finished!

Introduce your cat to the scratcher to see if they become friends. If your cat doesn't pay attention to it, try rubbing a little bit of catnip into the rope for encouragement.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you (and your pets) enjoy!