Scratching post?

Hi:  My two cats that I had for 16 and 18 years (got them together) never used the scratching post.  They preferred scratching the furniture.

However, luckily, the cat I rescued a year ago (who is 3 or 4 years old) went immediately to it, and goes crazy on it, and doesn't touch the furniture.

However, although the post lasted those 18 years, barely used, after being used all the time for about 8 months, it started shedding the carpet on it, and getting it all over the rug.

So, I bought a new one online.  I just wanted a simple pole and everything in stores was too fancy........The problem with this one was first that it was too light and the cat knocked it over with one swipe.........We worked on it, put weights into it, etc. and that part got fixed.  But, it immediately started shedding it's carpeting.  It was really not made well at all.

Now we got one from the store that is simple, but with regular carpet on top and the bottom, but the part where she would scratch is like a rope like material............She hasn't touched it!  And, now is back to scratching the furniture (which the times where we were without one - in between pole 1 and pole 2, etc. - is what she does.  She'll use the pole 100% of the time if it's a good pole and certainly doesn't mind shreading it..........But, if there's no pole, or this one - she'll gladly attack the furniture instead.

Any ideas?  Are there good carpet remnants that could be put on it that won't shed?  Or is there a good pole that I could just buy?

Most cat scratching posts need to be very sturdy and very tall. Cats want to stretch way up high and arch their back while they dig in their claws. If the posts are too short or flimsy, then cats will pick the couches, etc. You can put some sticky tape on the edge of the couches or the furniture they are scratching. There are also the floor cardboard scratchers that most cats just LOVE. All five of my cats use the floor type cardboard scratchers. There are many styles to choose from as well and you also sprinkle those with catnip.

I have some posts that the cats just do not use too but mostly they scratch on the tall cat trees that I have all around the house. The cat trees come with sisal posts and carpeted posts. The carpet fibers will come out a little bit in the beginning and you just have to vacuum them up. I do have some carpet type posts that do not shed at all so I think it depends on the manufacturer of the varying styles. For sisal posts, you can rub on some catnip to get them started and interested in scratching.

Helpful article for more tips/suggestions: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/problem-scratching-and-how-to-stop-it

ALSO - check out our Review Section on scratching posts and other styles of scratchers: http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/scratching-posts

Thank you very much!  You don't happen to know the manufacturers of the posts that do not shed?

Have you tried (any sort of) a carpet remnant, but instead of having the carpeted side facing outwards for the cat to scratch, you reverse the carpet remnant & attach it to the pole so that the underside of the remnant is exposed? Usually the undersides of carpets are a sort of woven, sisal-like type of mat... and some cats like that kind of scratching "pad". It's like a cross between carpeting and a "normal" sisal scratch post.

I haven't tried a remnant yet.  I was thinking that I would but was hoping that it would be the short shag type like on the two posts that she goes crazy on.

I never heard of the word sisal before this thread, and looking at google images, I guess that is the material on the new one I have that she hasn't done any scratching on that I've seen.  (Usually I see her several times a day going nuts on the pole)

So, I was hoping there was either a ready made pole or a remnant that is more carpet than sisal - that isn't so easily shedded.  My first pole last quite a while before she wore it down so much that it was finally shedding.  Of course, that was a pole I got 18+ years ago, and it didn't even have a brand name on it. 

I have a 6 foot ArubaCat tree: http://www.arubacat.com/productpics.html I've had it for about 4 years now and it's very sturdy and still in good shape. The carpet does shed a bit but I think that's a problem with carpet in general. The sisal rope does look "fuzzy" but it's still intact.

Angelical Cat makes good sturdy trees: http://www.angelicalcat.com/main_cat_furniture.shtml

Mountain Cat trees makes all-wood trees: http://mountaincattrees.com/ No worry about shredded carpet or rope with these trees.

I also have the tall cat trees.  To me, those little posts are a waste of money.

You can train cats to use THEIR furniture and not yours.  You need a spray bottle, white vinegar, and lots of catnip.    Fill the spray bottle with equal parts water and white vinegar ( 1 cup of each, or 2 cups of each).  Spray this on your furniture, especially the back, corners, anyplace the cats go to scratch.  One problem you are going to have is that they have marked the furniture for 18 years so it has their scent on it (cats have scent glands in the feet somewhere).  The SAME TIME that you spray your furniture, rub catnip on the cat trees.

This 50 - 50 mix is mild enough that we humans do not notice the vinegar smell.  Cats being low down and getting close to it WILL smell it, and move away.

Do invest in come climbing trees in place of the post.  Aruba cat makes good ones, also Armakat.   Since you have not purchased this sort before, be sure to look closely at the picture.  You do not want one with the landing spots as flat boards; sleeping cats can fall off.  Be sure the landings all have sides.  I just pulled up 2 quickly to show what I mean:

This one on the left has flat boards for landings; I avoid this sort:   This one on the right has sides to prevent a cat from falling off.  My first cat used to get himself so worn out, he'd go into a deep sleep on a chair, flat board, and fall landing on his head!  So I learned what to look for to keep him and other cats safe.

 
You will see different forms for sides, but for me as long as they have carpeted sides to prevent a cat from falling, that is a good sign.  I actually have the one on the right in one bedroom; it always has 2 cats on it sometimes more, lol.

Yes - good suggestions above !!!!! :bigthumb: I also use Aruba and Armakat http://www.armarkat.com/ scratching posts and trees.

You can look at Petco too - I found a nice wooden one with tight knit berber carpet and sisal posts. We had to put it all together at home as it was sold in a box (with a floor model for display) but it has lasted for YEARS!!

My indoor cats use the sisal rope on the cat trees or the scratchy mats that I have on the floor.  If you are handy you can make your own cat scratching post pretty cheap.  Here are two pictures of the 2 my DH has made.  The more weathered one has been outside for 2 years.  He just built the new one with the astroturf last weekend.  They are each 36" tall.

A kitten I am fostering is just now deciding she likes the cardboard kind; it comes with its own http://www.petco.com/product/105853...o-Scratcher-Cat-Toy.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch. Before she liked an heirloom bedspread and mattress (:
On the other hand, an adult cat I was fostering ONLY liked bark as a scratching surface (custom made cat tree with sisal and carpet)--perhaps because he had lived on the streets for such a long time.