Best kind of scratching post for cats?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at
1:29 am
What is the best kind of scratching post for cats?
I just bought a 1-1/2 yr old cat the other day and he’s been clawing at my carpet and ripping it out next to my sons room.
Today I was going to buy a scratching post, but there are different kinds. Which do cats prefer?
1.) All carpet ( straight post )
2.) All carpet ( kitty condo )
3.) Carpet on parts, rope wrapped around other parts
4.) Other (please explain)
Filed under: Cat Scratching Post
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All cats are different, My cats like their carpet one which i bought cos they like scratching carpets! When i first bought it i put it near where they like to scratch, rubbed it with catnip and tied a toy catnip mouse on a bright shoelace to it. they took to it immediatly and rarely scratch at the carpet now. one of them also likes the disposable corrugated card ones, the other wants nothing to do with those.
Key things to remember, make sure your cat has at least one post that is tall enough for him to really stretch out, it’s an important part of their health to stretch those back muscles. Make sure it’s strudy and won’t fall over.
Some stores like Petsmart have a return policy if your cat doesn’t like it, so I’d start with a carpet one (since your cat likes to scratch carpets!) and if he doesn’t like that try him on one of the others. I have a straigt post one which is good and tall fopr them to stretch and nice and sturdy, I’m thinking of investing in a kitty condo at some time too, they’re a little pricey though and more of a luxury than a neccesity.
One more thing… cat’s like to scratch in multiple places, put your main post where he likes to scratch most but i’d reccomend getting a few smaller ones (like the refillable card ones if your cat likes em) and putting them around the house. I have two 8 month old, energetic cats and my apt. is largly unscratched. It’s not hard to teach a cat to scratch the right places if you learn a little cat psychology and work with your cat to find what he likes.
Good luck
This depends largely on the personality of the cat. For my cat, we have a "sticky paws" thing which works wonderfully. It is very cheap to buy because it is essentially a small box filled with strips of corrugated cardboard with catnip mixed in. He scratches that and leaves the furniture alone. You can buy those at any pet store.
You can also try spraying the furniture and rug, whatever you don’t want scratched, with a spray that you can buy in pet stores that contains a smell cats don’t like. There are several brands available, some more effective than others, so ask around.
Good luck with your cat!
The ones with the jute rope seem to be preferred by my cats and last longer.
My cat hated the cardboard and catnip things but my MIL’s cats liked it. But they do make a mess.
My cat loves a straight post with carpet on the base and rope on the post. Its not very tall but has a mouse on the top that goes in a circular motion when she plays with it. She also usues a "smart Kitty" scratcher. You lay it on the floor against the wall or something and they can use it that way. It has catnip in it.
We found out by accident when my son built a stand for his aquarium that our cats like plain wood, they shredded the wooden legs of the stand. When he moved and took it, we got a piece of two by four and just put in on the floor where the stand was, and they use that. My cats have never used a scratching post, and we have bought several kinds.
No matter what kind of post you get them they seem to love clawing at the sofa. If you could find a scratching post with that material maybe it would work.
Sisal material posts are the best for cats. The material shreds which is something that the cats desire. Carpet posts are not recommended since it entices cats to scratch similar textured objects around the home such as rugs, carpet and couches. Make sure you get a post that is sturdy and will not tip over easily.
I have a scratcher/perch that is mainly carpet but has about a 2 foot long post that is covered with the sisal rope. My cat LOVES it! The rope section gives her something to dig her claws into and really scratch, but she also enjoys tugging at the carpeted section.
My advice is to get something kinda tall, like maybe around 4 feet, because most cats like to stand up and stretch when they scratch. You also want to make sure that the post is sturdy so that when your kitty does scratch he doesn’t knock it down on himself.
I got mine for about $70 at PetSmart and theres a perch at the top where my cat can lay out and watch the going-ons around her.
No. 3
The only scratching post I have EVER gotten any cats to scratch are those ones that are cardboard on an incline and have the cardboard scratching part. You can turn it around when one spot gets worn, or flip it upside down. They last forever, and you can buy refills. They also come with a bag of catnip. My cats are obsessed with these and don’t scratch anything but them. I have tried every other post out there and nothing else has worked! Here is it here, but they make other variations of it
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779310&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302033747&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1180632204323&itemNo=11&Ntt=scratching+post&In=All&previousText=scratching+post&N=2
lol… your couch
I GET MINES FROM:
http://www.purrfectpost.com/
THE TALL SCRATCH POSTING POLE IS GREAT!!!!!
I’ve done some research on this, and sisal seems to be preferred by most cats because of its rough texture, but then again, it depends a lot on the cat! Some cats do only like regular carpet, some like canvas-ey textures like that on some fabric sofas (my girl cat was one of those!) and some really like plain old wood.
Some of them do fine with the corrugated cardboard scratchers (see 1st link). The one I gave you the link to is called the Alpine scratcher by Cosmic Cat, and it is set at a 45 degree angle (vs horizontal or vertical) which allows cats to also stretch while they scratch. This one in particular seems to be very popular with cats, and I’ve heard cat behaviorists recommend it. It’s not expensive either, between $15-$20 and you can buy cardboard refills for it. My girl cat went for this after I put Sticky Paws all over the sofa to avoid her scratching it up! *lol* Just place it on top of the spot of carpet next to your son’s room that your cat has been ripping up.
A post with sisal rope (see link 2) is your next best option. I would stay away from anything completely covered in carpet, as, like another poster said, this will actually encourage your cat to scratch the carpet more. He’s probably scratching the carpet now because that’s the roughest surface in the house at the moment. Sisal rope is good, since, like I said above, it is nice and scratchy enough to wear down his claws.
Even better though, is if you can find a post with sisal carpet. It is the same material as the rope, but woven like a carpet. It’s more satisfying to most cats than the rope, as they can really rip into it without it falling apart. See links 3-5. These tend to be more expensive, but they also last a lot longer than most scratching posts. My boy cat used to scratch up all of our wood furniture until I got him this-I placed it right in front of his favorite spot (the corner of the bed frame!) and after about a week he started using this instead. He absolutely loves it! He was a vertical scratcher (he likes stretching up while scratching) so it worked really well for him. I was able to find one at a local Pet Smart for $30, which is odd since they don’t even feature this kind of post online on their website. They usually cost between $50-$70 depending on height (there are extra-tall models available for cats that like to scratch vertically.) If you’re not sure if your cat will like this texture, especially since these posts are pricier, get something like Pet Smart’s Mr. Spats Scratch R Cizer-it’s less than $10 (see link 6) and it’s basically a slab of sisal carpet mounted on a plastic frame that you can either install vertically on a wall or place horizontally on the floor. Since your cat is scratching up the carpet, he might actually prefer the horizontal positioning of this scratcher versus a post. Just place it right on top of the spot he’s ripping up next to your son’s room. If you want, rub a little catnip on it to make it more enticing, and give him a week. It’s very likely he’ll go for it-he’ll like this texture a lot more than your carpets! This will also last longer than the corrugated cardboard scratcher, but either one is an inexpensive option you can try.
Hope this helps, and good luck!