How To Replace Sisal Rope On a Cat Tree

How To Replace Sisal Rope On a Cat Tree

Scratching is one of the cat’s favorite activities. They love to stick their sharp claws into objects. It is actually a part of their natural instinct. Sometimes the victim is your favorite deluxe furniture, your wall, wooden carpet or even the sisal rope scratching posts on a cat tree.

For those who don’t know, cat trees are usually pretty expensive. After a certain period of excessive scratching, the sisal ropes on the trees won’t be in the best shape. Would not it be great if you could simply replace the worn down sisal rope, in substitution to buying a brand new tree?

If you read this guide, you will not only know that it is possible, but it will show you how you can replace it on your own! Replacing the damaged sisal rope with a new one is the best way to keep yourself and your felines happy!

Just before you start this easy procedure, you will need couple of tools and items. They may require some expenses, but nothing too scary. It is extremely greater than buying a brand new expensive tree.

Tools And Items Required

  • Damaged scratching post to work on
  • One set of scissors
  • One package of simple sisal rope. Preferably 1/4 inches wide. (It’s cheapest on Amazon.com)
  • Hot glue gun or glue dots
  • Package of glue sticks (I personally need around five of those to replace sisal rope on a cat tree)

You should place all of these items and tools on a flat table. I recommend you place an old newspaper or a blanket underneath the working surface.

If you are inexperienced replacing the sisal rope, some of the glue may badly damage the table. You’d want to avoid this at all costs.

In some cases, you may even need a knife, staple remover or a box cutter. Usually, you won’t need these tools, other than a pair of scissors.

Now, it is time to start the whole process.

Step 1 : Cut The Damaged Sisal Rope

Cut The Damaged Sisal Rope

This is done by using your pair of scissors. They should be sharp enough to be able to cut this soft material. If they aren’t able to do this, throw them at the thrash can as soon as possible!

If the sisal rope on the cat tree is badly damaged, you can even take it off using your bare hands. However, if it isn’t, you should use the scissors. It’s a very easy step that shouldn’t trouble you too much.

Once you get to the bottom, you can see that sometimes the sisal rope is fixed into the base. No problem here! Use the scissors and cut the rope there.

Sometimes, the destroyed sisal rope may not be falling over easily. There may not be any place you could cut it with scissors. If this is the case, you should cut the rope at the very top with a box cutter. After you do this, it is time to take it off from up there!

Some current cat tree companies are using staples to enhance the rope to the post. This helps the glue hold the rope into place. It’s not a big deal. You can use some strength to pull out the rope until the staple falls off. If that doesn’t work, you can use a simple kitchen knife or a staple remover to do this.

This is everything you need to know to complete the first step. It is time to jump to the next one.

Step 2 : Glue and Twist Simultaneously

If you properly took off the old sisal rope off the cat tree’s scratching post, it is time to add the fresh rope. This is the hardest part of the whole replacement process. Not that it is difficult, but it is somewhat boring.

You should start this process from the bottom-up. Locate where the previous, damaged sisal rope was cut. Put some hot glue next to the old rope and try to place the new rope on top of it. If you do this properly, you shouldn’t be able to notice where the new rope starts. The two ends should connect smoothly and without any seams or obvious joints.

Next, place 1 inch of glue on the “naked” post, around 2 inches away from where you glued first. Then, pull and twist the rope tightly around the bare post. It should be placed on top of the glue so it will stick to it. Repeat this process and place another inch of glue, 2 inches away from the previous one. Do this repeatedly, until you get to the top of the scratching post.

Make sure you pull the rope tightly, so it will be able to withstand the cat’s paws. A lot of cat owners do a mistake of not pulling strong enough. They are afraid that they will break the cat tree’s scratching post. You shouldn’t be worried at all. It won’t happen! The cardboard scratcher usually has a metal fillings inside.

Step 3 : Slice The Rope

After you did the second part of the sisal rope on cat tree replacement process properly, it is time to cut the excess rope at the top of the post. At the end, find out by yourself where the rope needs to be cut. The sisal rope should fit comfortably in the gap next to the final layer of rope and the very top of the scraping stand. After you determined this, it is time to cut the rope.

It is an important step because hanging sisal rope can sometimes be a victim to your cat’s teeth. Then it can pull mercilessly taking the whole sisal rope off the cat tree’s scratching post. This is why the third step is utterly important. Sadly, this is an underestimated step that is why lots of cat owners get discouraged while replacing their damaged cat trees.

Step 4 : Put Dab Of Hot Glue To The Rope’s End

Put Dab Of Hot Glue To The Rope's End

This is the easiest and final step of the whole sisal rope replacement process.

You have to place a larger part of glue in the gap that is between the top of the scratching post and the last layer of rope. Next, push the end of the rope inside that gap. Be careful here. Sometimes the glue is very hot and can cause you an unpleasant pain if you aren’t careful. You can simply use the scissors to place the end of the rope in the gap. Then you need to wait a minute until the glue dries slightly.

After you did this, place another large layer of glue in the gap and on the top of the rope. This should hold the rope securely in place.

Then you should leave the sisal rope to stick strongly on the post for around 30 minutes. After that, it should be dried. It’s now ready, better than ever before to face the fierce cat’s claw attacks!

That is it! For some this whole sisal rope on cat tree replacement process is a difficult and boring thing to do. If you use my simple 4 step process, it could be done in around 10 minutes at most. Why the hell would you buy a brand new huge cat tree, just because the sisal rope on the scraping posts was damaged.

Dangers Of Previous Methods Of Rope Replacement

Some methods on “How to replace sisal rope on a cat tree” articles simply don’t work. Not only that, but they can also cause the cat some serious injuries. Avoid the methods that use nails at all costs. All of the nail’s job can be done by using glue.

There are sometimes extra large trees, mainly for big Maine Coons or Ragdolls with skyscraper scratching posts that need sisal rope replacing. That whole process is honestly boring and require more patience and time. You must be able to tightly wrap the rope around the post at all times.

If there is a loose part, it will be easily destroyed by your furious felines. So, the experts say that when you should place nails in the posts when you are getting tired.

After you are ready, simply start from the part where you placed the nail. As a result, you will have a cat tree with sisal posts full with sharp nails. A cat’s claw can be badly damaged if it gets caught behind the head of a nail that hasn’t been placed far enough.

No matter how regularly you check whether some nail head sticks out of the post, there is a high chance that at a certain period of time that will happen. Most of the times, energetic Bengals fall victim to this.

You must avoid using those methods and use glue instead! Think of safety above everything!

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