Cat lovers in Mumbai, your SOS (Save Our Sofa) calls have finally been answered. No matter how much we love our feline friends, they’re far from adorable when they ravage your precious furniture. Some pet parents buy cat scratchers, but these are usually of low quality, and exorbitantly priced. But what if you could just make your own?

Here’s a first-of-its-kind workshop to show you just how to do so, hosted by Navi Mumbai-based couple Shruti and Gaurav Gotarkar, who are co-founders of pet furniture shop, Chota Pakoda. Frustrated by the quality of commercial scratching posts and towers, the Gotarkars learnt to make their own, eventually going on to sell several different models. Now, the couple hopes to teach this essential skill to more cat owners. “You could always buy a cat scratcher, but once it’s worn out, you’ll have to buy one again, and they’re not cheap. We want to show people how to make their own scratchers, so they don’t always have to wait till salary day to appease their cats,”
says Shruti.