Hemp Rope Scratching Post

A simple scratching post made out of hemp rope, great for shedding season!

This is a really simple project that doesn’t require a lot of building or tools, it just requires some patience and lots of hemp rope! This scratching post looks great and is made from natural materials so if you give it to an animal that destroys is and ingests some of the hemp rope then it is really not a big deal. My plan with this hemp rope scratching post is to give it to an ungulate during shedding season and once they have had some fun with it and finished shedding ill give it to a large cat when it’s still all covered in hair and they can have fun with it as well. This design is also great because the chain allows you to easily secure it to a variety of enclosure setups from fence posts to chain link.

Building Materials

  • Two 6″ 4×4″s
  • About 100 feet of hemp rope
  • Two lengths of chain
  • Drill and drill bits
  • Two small pieces of plywood
  • Screws
  • Gloves

Building Instructions

  1. The first thing you want to do to make this hemp rope scratching post is to line both 4×4″s up and drill a hole all the way through both, making sure they both stay lined up throughout the drilling process. Make sure the holes you are drilling are just large enough for your chain to fit through because this is how the posts are going to stay together.
  2. Once the holes are drilled you can now thread your chain through both posts on the top and the bottom of the post. If you are having trouble getting it through I found it very helpful to tie a piece of baling twine or rope to one end of the chain and threading that through first.
  3. Now that your chain is threaded through the top and bottom of the post we can now start wrapping them in hemp rope. To start this, simply take one end of the hemp rope and put it under a small piece of plywood and screw the plywood down to the posts. This will give you a secure end to begin the wrapping process. (Make sure you wear gloves when handling the hemp rope, your hands will thank you!)
  4. Make sure to wrap the rope over the end that you just secured in order to hide it and make it safe. Then slowly pull the rope tight and wrap the rope around the posts being sure to pull it as tight as you can every time you go around the post.
  5. Once the post is wrapped all the way with hemp rope you can now secure the other end of the rope (preferably on the same side of the post as the other rope end) the same way you did the other side being sure that it’s tight and very secure.
  6. Your hemp rope scratching post is complete! To hang it simply wrap the chain around a fence post or a tree with the back side (with the ends of the rope) facing the tree or post and lock the chain together with some locks or carabiners.

Tips/ Comments

If you liked this project but wanted a scratching post for some smaller species, check out our tortoise shell scratcher! This project may also be an interesting one to try to hang from a zip line!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe To Welfare Wednesday!

Every Wednesday you get an email containing:

  • One summarized  journal article featuring the latest in animal welfare research
  • One enrichment idea for you to try