Cardboard scratchers make mess, which is the standard complaint and usually a fair one. The shredded flakes come off the board and end up spread across the floor within a day. Here the scratching surface is recessed into the top of the box, so the debris falls into the well and stays there until you tip it out. It is a small design decision that decides whether the thing stays in your living room.

Underneath sits an enclosed den. Cats sleep better in a box with a roof and one entrance, because it removes most of the directions they would otherwise need to keep half an eye on, and a novelty cheese wedge happens to be exactly that shape. Dense corrugated cardboard takes the clawing on top, gives their nails somewhere legitimate to go, and is light enough to pick up and move to wherever the sun has landed.

• Two levels: scratch surface above, enclosed den below
• Recessed scratcher keeps shredded paper contained
• Dense corrugated cardboard construction
• Novelty cheese-wedge shape
• Light enough to move around the house
• One version only, with no size options

On sizing and lifespan. And cardboard is meant to be worn away, so it will need replacing eventually, which is rather the point of it costing what it does.

Who it's for: Cat owners who want a scratcher and a hiding place in one, and who have given up on boards that shed paper across the floor.