Cat Trees & Scratchers

Scratching is not bad behaviour. It strips the worn outer sheath off the claw, gives the shoulders and back a full stretch, and leaves scent from glands in the paws on a spot the cat wants to claim. Take away every acceptable place to do it and the cat does not stop; it picks your sofa, because the sofa is tall, stable and in the room you all sit in, which is exactly what a good scratcher should be.

The trick is to give them a better option in the same place. A cat that scratches the arm of the sofa wants a tall, vertical surface by the sofa. One that shreds the carpet by the door wants a flat scratcher by the door. Move the post to the spare room and it becomes furniture nobody uses.

A post needs to be taller than the cat stretched fully up on its back legs, which for an adult cat means at least sixty centimetres of scratching surface and more for a big cat. The Tall Cat Scratching Post in strong natural sisal and the Rosewood Turin and Dijon posts are proper adult height; many cheap posts are kitten height and get ignored once the cat grows.

The base matters as much as the height. A cat leans its whole weight into a scratch and a post that rocks is one they will not trust twice. Look for a wide, heavy base or a tree with a broad footprint, and for a tall tree such as the Feandrea Multi-Level Cat Tree Tower or the Multi-Level Cat Tree with Condo and Scratching Posts, stand it in a corner or against a wall so an enthusiastic leap does not tip it.

Sisal rope is the surface most cats prefer for vertical scratching because it is rough, it shreds satisfyingly and it does not snag claws the way loop carpet can. Corrugated cardboard is the favourite for horizontal scratching: cheap, recyclable and replaceable, with the Catit Play and Scratch Pad and the wavy and box scratchers all doing the same job at different sizes. Offer one of each and you cover both instincts.

Carpet-covered posts are the ones cats ignore most often, partly because the carpet feels like the carpet they are being told not to scratch. Bare wood and jute work for some cats, and the wall-mounted jute climbing steps and shelves suit a cat who wants height without a tree taking up the floor. Replace a scratcher once it is worn smooth; a smooth surface is no longer a scratcher.

A cat tree is mostly about height rather than scratching. A perch above head height with a view of the room is the single thing most indoor cats are missing, and a tree with a condo or hammock gives a nervous cat somewhere to retreat that is not under the bed. Sisal-wrapped posts on the tree cover the scratching; the platforms cover the climbing and the sleeping.

In a small flat, wall-mounted shelves and window perches give the same height without the footprint. Kittens and elderly cats need wide steps and short jumps between levels rather than one tall pole, and a cat that has never used a tree learns fastest if the first perch is the height of a chair and the top perch is where the sunshine lands.

Put the scratcher where the scratching already happens, or where the cat sleeps and stretches on waking, which is usually by a sofa or a bed and never in a hallway. Cats scratch after a nap and when they greet you at the door, so those two places are where a post earns its keep. If the cat is targeting the sofa, the post goes right against the sofa arm for the first few weeks and can be moved a little at a time later.

Rub a little catnip or dried valerian into the sisal, drag a wand toy up the post so the cat’s claws catch it, and reward the first scratch. Do not carry the cat to the post and place its paws on it; most cats find that rude and avoid the post afterwards. If the sofa still loses, cover the spot with a sisal corner protector or double-sided tape until the habit moves.