Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello!  We are always looking for safe but economical ways to keep our cats happy.  Anyone have a tried and true cardboard scratcher idea that will work well in shoreline kennels?  We purchase some but our volunteers and staff like to get crafty too.

Hello,

I requested the link and did not receive it!  I"ll try again.

i know you asked about cat scratchers, but there are some really fun and easy (easy enough) food puzzles that cats might get a kick out of. I will attach pictures 

These look fun - thanks!!  How do you attach the TP rolls to the cardboard in the activity center toy?

Unfortunately, these are not photos of my handy work. I’m not sure how they are attached, but that is a great question. I wonder if it is just a non toxic paste or tape?

I wonder too.  Most cats would likely be fine if a non-toxic paste or tape was used, but I tend to worry about the few tenacious or bored ones that might chew or lick things they shouldn't.

I highly recommend Scratch & Stretch scratchers, which are designed for shelter cats and can be attached to cage doors.  They've been used at 3 of the shelters where I've volunteered over the years, and the cats love them!  They not only allow the cat to stretch and scratch, they also provide another surface in the cage for the cat to deposit its scent on without taking up floor space.

The unit price is quite low if you order 25 or more:

25 = $2.12 per scratcher

50 = $1.48 per scratcher

    https://www.stretchandscratch.com/category-s/107.htm

Ditto! They're the least expensive ones I've found and they're good quality.

Stretch and Scratch are my favorite brand of cage scratchers, too. We also use the Humaniac Scratch Bricks (http://www.animal-care.com/product/humaniac-scratch-bricks/) which are nice because they're reversible, but they're not always the greatest quality-wise. Sometimes bricks will come with incompletely cut holes, or some bricks will have come apart into two pieces -- not huge deals, since you can easily just stick a screwdriver or something in the hole to get it punched the rest of the way through, and since the bricks are mounted with twist ties the tension keeps the two pieces of the scratcher together anyways. So they're still usable, just not the polished product you get from Stretch and Scratch. 

After shipping, the prices are pretty similar for 50 bricks. Humaniac is only a couple dollars cheaper.

This is more for free roamers, but this cat scratcher looks awesome. It *seems* simple to put together for someone who knows what they are doing: https://catswithoutjobs.com/

these look wicked cool -- I volunteer for a free-roam cat rescue -- we have a lot of 'alternate' highways up the walls for the cats -- using scratchers as a transport mode is wonderful!

Imperial Cat has discounted scratches for non-profits as well as other programs to provide cats with scratchers of all shapes and sizes.  Since we have some colony rooms and some kennels are big enough, we buy somewhat larger scratchers from them.  http://www.imperialcat.com/giveback.php