After lots more use, currently there are two 8 foot 1x4s covered with
1/4 inch recycled car tire rubber ramping up to their Skyway.

The cats have been clawing at them but there are no shreds/debris
falling off of the ramps. The experiment was a success. Not too
expensive, easy to assemble, and clean. That's what I was looking for.
And there is probably even better plastic/rubber material for the
purpose.








Bought some recycled car tire rubber 1/4" mat. Obviously car tire
rubber is perpetually reengineered to withstand physical abuse. But it
also depends on how well they glue/melt the shreds together.

It certainly is easy cutting and hot melt gluing the strip of rubber
to a 1x4. I put the newcomer on it and it appeared to grip better than
on the prior climbing material. I doubt this is the best rubber for
the task, there are a jillion other rubbers that are engineered for a
wide variety of applications. Time will tell. Might take weeks before
they even use it. But it's on a ramp to their Skyway that is normally
frequently used.

After explaining what I need, a rubber that will grip but will not be
shredded by cats' claws, the rubber company quickly mailed samples to
me, hopefully at least two different types and not including the one I
bought.

The objective, besides being functional, is that it be easy to apply
and be easy to keep clean. Gripping better than the usual climbing
materials would be a plus.








I'm convinced that there is a better material than carpet for
attaching to 2x4s for climbing. For example, I have a ribbed rubber
doormat that looks close if it were cut lengthwise and hot melt glued
to the 2x4. Something longer would be better. Some ribbed rubber mat,
maybe something used for exercise equipment area, or whatever. It
doesn't have to be cushy when it's used for climbing. It just has to
provide traction and hold up to the abuse of their claws without
fraying and making a mess.