I was helping my sister put together some scratch pads for her cat when it occurred to me that Scamp would love this too. So here is how to make a cat scratching pad / bunny lounging mat / dig n shred toy.
Step 1: Find a Box
To start you need a box with a base about this size you want your finished pad. This ones about A4. You’ll need to remove any tape/labels so it’s bunny safe.
Step 2: Chop the Bottom Off the Box
Using a knife or scissors chop around the base of the box so that you end up with a tray about 1-2″ deep. Don’t discard the rest of the box – you’ll need that next.
Step 3: Make a lot of Strips of card
With the left over cardboard (you may need an extra box) cut strips the same length as the length of the tray and the same width or slightly more than the depth of the tray. So if you tray is 12″ long and 2″ deep, then cut strips 12″ long and 2″ wide. The easiest thing is to cut one, pop it in the tray to check and then use that as a template. Don’t worry about being too perfect – it’s probably going to get shredded anyway! How many you’ll need will depend on the size of your tray and the thickness of your cardboard.
Pro tip: finding it a bit of a flaff with craft knife or scissors – use a bread knife – it whizzes through cardboard!
Step 4: Slot the strips into the box
Once you’ve got a good handful of strips you can start slotting them into the box. The strips go in on end.
Pack them in so they are wedged in tight:
Stop at the point you try to wedge one more in and the whole lot pop out in protest … then put them all back in minus that last one.
Step 5: Add Rabbit
You should now have a lovely dense cardboard mat perfect for sitting in, digging at and generally shredding.
You could make it more fun (and encourage shredding) by sprinkling some dried herbs/plant mix on it for your bun to root out.
Scamp loves a mat to sit on and this one was really quick to make, much faster than the woven mat I tried, and just used free scrap cardboard so cheap too. Let me know if you give it a go and what your bunny thinks!
