DIY toy guide
Re-Wrapping a Worn Sisal Post
Rescue a shredded cat tree for the price of a coil of rope
Cat trees rarely fail structurally — it is the sisal that goes, unravelling into a fluffy mess after a year or two of enthusiastic use. Re-wrapping the posts costs a fraction of a replacement tree and takes an afternoon.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Time
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Around £12
🧺 You will need
- 30–40m of natural sisal rope, 8mm or 10mm diameter (measure your post first)
- A staple gun with 8mm staples, or a hammer and small galvanised tacks
- Sharp scissors or a craft knife
- Pliers for pulling the rope tight
- A screwdriver to dismantle the tree if the posts come apart
- Gloves — sisal is rough on the hands over an hour of pulling
🔧 How to make it
- Dismantle the tree far enough to get clear access to the post. On most trees the platforms unscrew from underneath.
- Cut away the old sisal and pull out every remaining staple with pliers — a leftover staple is a genuine injury risk once the new rope is on top of it.
- Measure the post height and multiply by roughly four to estimate the rope length needed, then add a couple of metres for safety. Running out three-quarters of the way up is the classic mistake.
- Staple the rope end firmly at the base of the post, ideally in a spot that will sit under a platform when reassembled.
- Wrap tightly, keeping each turn pressed hard against the last with no gaps showing. Use pliers to haul the rope snug every few turns.
- Add a staple every 15–20cm as you climb — enough to stop the whole wrap slipping if one section is clawed loose.
- At the top, staple the end down two or three times and trim the tail flush.
- Reassemble the tree, then check the whole post by hand for protruding staples before letting the cat near it.
💡 Tips
Buy natural, unoiled sisal rather than the treated marine variety — some marine rope is coated with oils or preservatives you do not want a cat mouthing. Tension is everything: a loose wrap unravels within weeks, and it is genuinely hard to over-tighten by hand. If the tree has several posts, do them all in one session while the technique is fresh. Save any leftover rope to wrap around a chair leg your cat has taken a liking to.
📝 Notes
A re-wrapped post typically lasts as long as the original. Doing it before the sisal fails completely is easier than doing it after, because the old wrap comes off in one piece.
