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After living with cats for almost three decades, one thing I’ve learned is that cat trees don’t last forever. With two cats for many years (and now four!), the wear and tear really starts to show. My oldest cat tree is easily 10 years old, if not older, and it was long overdue for a makeover.

Instead of buying a brand-new tree—which can be really expensive—I decided to try a DIY fix. After doing some research, I found out that sisal rope is the best choice for refurbishing scratching posts. Cats love it, and it holds up well to all the claw action.

I ordered 50 feet of ½-inch oiled all-natural sisal rope from Amazon. Looking back, I probably should have gone with 100 feet, since 50 feet turned out to be a little short. Still, I was really happy with how it came out overall.

For tools, I used:

• Gardening loppers to cut the rope into pieces
• #6 x 1-5/8″ screws to secure the rope
• A Ryobi Cordless ¼ in. Impact Driver (which made the job so much easier)

My oldest son helped me, and together we gave the cat tree a fresh new life. We did run out of rope toward the end, so one section still has the original worn rope, but the rest looks great and is ready for all four cats to enjoy.

All in all, the cost of the rope was much more affordable than replacing the whole cat tree. And honestly, it felt good to refurbish something old instead of tossing it. The cats seem pretty pleased with their “new” scratching spots, which makes the project totally worth it.

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