6 Quick Steps to Replacing Old Sisal Rope on a Cat Tree

Cat trees are expensive.

Most of the time the cat tree is in good condition but it's just the rope that needs to be replaced.

Here is what our medium size cat tree looked like

You don't need to buy a new cat tree just for the new rope scratch post.

Here is how we quickly replaced the old rope with new rope on a cat tree.

Commonly Asked Questions

What rope to use?

You need sisal rope. Same rope that is used on all cat trees. We bought 3/8 and 100 feet on Amazon. Thick and long enough.

How to attach the rope to the rope to wooden scratch post?

We used a hot glue gun and Gorilla Glue sticks.

Important: Gorilla Glue is poisonous to cats and dogs if ingested. We only used a very small amount to hold an inch of the rope in place on the bottom and top where cats don't usually scratch.

If you don't want to use hot glue, use a heavy-duty staple gun. Put staples in only at the beginning and the end to hold the rope.

What did you use to remove the staples?

We used curved pliers.

How long the repair took us?

About 1-1.5 hours.

Overview of Tools Used

• Sisal Rope bought on Amazon (we got 3/8 at 100ft)
• Hot glue gun
• Gorilla glue sticks bought on Amazon
• Scissors and knife
• Something to remove staples with (we used a set of curved pliers)

Step 1: Remove the Old Rope and Staples

Remove the old rope from the post using scissors and a knife.

At the bottom and the top there are staples that you will need to take out. Some cat trees might have more staples than just at the bottom and the top.

Remove all staples.

Removing the staples

Step 2: Supervision

Check with the supervisor to see if everything is going according to plan.

Check with the supervisor

Step 3: Glue the Beginning

Glue the beginning 1-inch of the rope and hold it in place until it dries. We started at the bottom on the back.

We used a very small amount of glue (about 1-inch) to hold the rope at the bottom and top.

Step 4: Run the Rope Around the Post

Run sisal rope around the post very tight without any glue or staples.

Step 5: Glue the Top

Cut the rope and glue 1-inch of the rope at the top. Hold it in place until it's dried.

Place the last inch of the rope with the glue is high as you can into an area where the cat doesn't scratch on.

Step 6: Result and Cat Test