r/catwalls • u/witchyreadr • 5d ago

Fabric climbing wall

I want to have a section of wall for them to scale up. Even the cheapest carpet at home Depot would be 50$. Any other recommendations that I can use? There's that sorta office carpet type stuff but does it have enough for them to grab onto??

15 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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24

u/DumpsterAflame 5d ago

I just used an old carpet runner and they've LOVED it. I'm moving soon and I was at Walmart tonight so I picked up a new runner to use at the new place, I think it was $15. I like these runners bc they have loop pile so their claws can grab. I've never had any of them (4 of my 5 cats use it) get a claw stuck.

4

u/rosaxtyy 4d ago

How did you attach it to the wall? Amazing btw

7

u/DumpsterAflame 4d ago

Initially I used a staple gun, but the rug got so much use that it started to come loose after a few months. I added nails at the top (only useful where I hit a stud) and restapled the loose spots occasionally. I'd guess we had it up for at least 2 years.

I will say the wall was a disaster when I took it down recently from my attempts to add nails along the length of the runner (didn't stay without a stud behind). With the amount of spackling, sanding, and painting I did in preparation for moving, I could have simply used glue or even construction adhesive to tack the rug to the wall here and there and probably had the same results.

5

u/rosaxtyy 4d ago

Hmmm I wonder if attaching the rug to a wooden frame first would help, and then attaching that to the wall

3

u/DumpsterAflame 4d ago

That's a great idea! Even a piece of plywood. You could secure the carpet to the wood in any way you wanted and only have to hit a stud or use anchors at the top, +/- a single attachment point at the bottom if the weight of the whole thing isn't enough to keep it staying still when they climb.

One day, I was about to throw out an old area rug and put into the basement a long piece of closet shelving (actual wood) when I decided spur of the moment to combine the two with my trusty stapler. One of the cats had been crying for me to put him on my closet shelf, and then crying for me to get him down. No more! They run up and down the ramp during zoomies and it's a favorite scratching post for some of them. I could glue and staple the new carpet runner to this board, even folding the edges over for neatness since the runner is wider than the board, and secure this to the wall at my new place when I move.

Thanks for the idea!!

3

u/DumpsterAflame 4d ago

Not sure if the picture of my hideous but well used and loved ramp attached to the my last comment.

2

u/rosaxtyy 3d ago

Thanks for the meaningful replies, I wish I had more confidence with DIY stuff but you make it seem quite achievable

13

u/mahogany818 5d ago

Go to an actual carpet-and-tile place and ask if they have any of the sample books from last season, or offcuts that you can get cheaper.

I got a couple of books of carpet samples from a retailer when I was building a cat wall a few years ago - when the staff found out why I wanted it they went into the warehouse and pulled me a few more offcuts so that I'd have some larger pieces to work with.

10

u/_Bo_9 5d ago

Off cuts are a really good way to do it. I have two different jute floor runners that I've put up. If you want something a bit chunkier that would probably be the route to take.
The one pictured here I just put up today. It's as much to protect the wall behind the climber as it is another way for the crew to move up and down without flinging themselves off of high spots.

The other rug doesn't have a climber on it but they still love zooming up!

8

u/scyntl 5d ago

If you're in the US, maybe a Habitat for Humanities Restore or something similar?

4

u/ggc4 5d ago

Seconding this. I visit the Goodwill near me every few weeks, and they often have good carpets for great prices

2

u/pompadare 3d ago

go to thrift store. buy tough looking rug. staple to wall. profit