... on 'The Best Time Waster EVER!'

Things have suddenly changed around here; time is flying by in the most delightful way. I never thought I'd be able to spend hours participating in games like 'Hole' and 'Chair' and 'Red Snake' and 'Foil ball', none of which I invented, but there you go. I've found myself speaking in a high voice, and smiling a lot, as the days whizz by in whirlwinds of energy followed by a sudden deep slumber that not even the coffee grinder can disturb. I'm besotted, and so is C.

This is Oliver. He is... oh boy. He's just the best little dude, I don't know where to start in describing his awesomeness to you. His feet are huge. He's tiny. He's a Maine Coon: he won't be tiny for long. His miaow is the most squeaky tremulous sweet sound, and his purr is all-encompassing and feels like an electric toothbrush in my hands. He falls asleep in my arms.

He did, as predicted, totally demolish the wandy-pompom-feathery-cat-toy I made a while back, which has been adapted to be somewhat more indestructible with a strip of one of C's old t-shirts. It's amazing how many cat toys you can make out of one old t-shirt - in fact I may do a post about that soon.

For now, I'll share with you the corrugated cardboard scratching pad I made for him.
It's made of:
Lots and lots of old cardboard boxes.
One piece of threaded steel rod - cut in half, thanks C!
Four wingnuts of a size compatible with the diameter of my steel rod.

I started by cutting up my old boxes into regular-sized strips: mine were about 30cm x 4.5cm. I needed way more cardboard than I expected - I had one massive box that my computer came in but ended up scouting about the house looking for more.

Using one strip as a template, I marked and then punched two holes through each strip in the same place. I used a nail to make the holes, and just pushed it through with my hand, but you could use a hole-punch if you had one up to the job. I wanted to thread the strips onto the two pieces of threaded steel rod to keep everything nice and secure.

I used the base of one of the boxes I cut up as a tray to hold it all together. I might replace it with some kind of wooden frame or box but I wanted to see whether Oliver was remotely interested in it first. I'm using a temporary 'washer' made of cardboard until later. Hello wingnuts!

Finished! Oliver is interested in it, but mostly for playing or snoozing on. The knobbly carpet is far more attractive for him to get his claws into, but thankfully the carpet is holding up well. So far.

The question is - how will I get anything done ever again? Frankly, I would rather play with a kitten!