Furniture Protector/Cat Scratcher

Hi! During this pandemic we learned that everyone has been affected one way or another, and i mean EVERYONE, even animals. My wife and I have been working from home, and we had to lock our two cats in the living room so they wouldn't interfere with the meetings, interviews, etc. They didn't take it kindly. A couple of hours at the time they manged to almost destroy an entire couch, so I decided to try to divert their attention to something else.

Cardboard boxes

Scissors/Exacto knife/Utility Knife

Measuring tape

Squares (plastic or metal)

Glue

Paint brush

Lots of patience

Determine the size of your project with a measuring tape or ruler, in this case, i need to cover about 6 inches (15cm) to each side, and 20 inches in length (50.8 cm)

Disassemble your box, cut it to more manageable pieces and remove all the labels, stickers or tape that could prevent the glue from sticking

Lets start with a test piece to see if the measurements are correct and the piece cover enough of the affected area (A). Remember that you want an specific side of the cardboard, this side is more appealing to cats (B) than the other (C). Follow the lines of the cardboard and cut stripes to your desired thickness with the help of the square (D); the metallic carpenter square made this process quick and easy. Cut the strips to the desired length (5 and 6 inches in my case) (E)

Apply a thin layer of glue with the paint brush (A). Adding too much glue will make the cardboard soggy and will take longer to try. Use an even surface to align the side you want up. Personally I found easier to do this step in stages, gluing 5 or 6 strips and then gluing those sections together (B). Glue the sections until you reach the desired length (C). Cut another piece similar to your test piece from step 3 and glue them on top and bottom for stability (D). You can also add one of the box flaps in the back of your scratcher to increase strength (E).

You should have something similar to the first pic, or as an alternative, you could cut longer strips and glue them to make a scratcher/bed, my cats love them and i hope yours too. Thanks you ad see you soon!