DIY: Monster Cat Tree

Check out these great instructions for a beefy cat scratching post/cat tree. It’s a no-frills, utilitarian design, but it looks easy to build and that it will last forever. You can make it fancier by painting the shelf supports and by the color carpet you use to cover the shelves. And if you don’t cover the center post in sisal, you could paint it too.

You will need a drill, a saw, and a good staple gun (I recommend an electric one to make sure you get the staples sunk deep.) And be sure to stagger the shelves and make them large enough that your cat can actually climb the tree.

Don’t miss these previous posts on a DIY cat tree and a DIY scratching post.

U.S. Marshalls Raid PETCO Warehouse

Rat droppings

Feds seized undisclosed pet food products at an Illinois PETCO warehouse at the request of the FDA because they were stored in unsanitary conditions. In April, the FDA found “widespread and active rodent and bird infestation”. Apparently PETCO didn’t take these findings too seriously since a second inspection in May found “continuing and widespread infestation”—including “live and dead rodents and birds on or around the food containers, some of which had been gnawed and defiled by excrement”.

This one warehouse supplies 16 states:

  • Alabama
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Nebraska
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Wisconsin

Although no illnesses have been reported yet, the FDA warns that people who have handled PETCO products in these states should thoroughly wash their hands in hot, soapy water. Surfaces and food bowl that came in contact with PETCO products should also be washed. Products packaged in can and glass containers should also be thoroughly washed.

If your pet has become sick from eating PETCO food, you need to file a complaint with your local FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator. I would assume that this also applies if people have become sick as a result of handling these products.

At this time, PETCO has nothing on its website about the raid.