TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Care & Grooming › What kind of scratching post does your cat like?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

What kind of scratching post does your cat like?

post #1 of 29
9/13/05 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 
I am trying to find out what the cats are loving out there, and what worked/what hasn't, and what kind of post do you have now.

I have one, but my cat prefers the couch So want to get her a new one that she might like better.
Reply
post #2 of 29
9/13/05 at 7:01pm
I have a small condo, carpet covered, that will soon need to be replaced. Bailey runs to that and scratches whenever she's excited. It's a round tube for a base, with a hole cut out, but she never goes inside. It has a platform on top that she sits on, but mostly she loves to scratch it.

They also use their turboscratcher - which lies on the floor, and is cardboard.

Bailey loves scratching big cardboard boxes that are full of heavy stuff, so they don't move.

They ignore their sisal scratching post, I think because it's not very solid, and tips when they stretch up to grab it.

Bailey also loves a new thing I bought - it's an s shape, carpeted, with one hump of the S covered in sisal matting. It sits on the floor with one hump in the air, sort of, so one concave section, and one convex. She loves it, she plays with it, hides under the hump, snuggles into the concave bit, and sleeps draped over it. And scratches it, a lot.
Reply
post #3 of 29
9/13/05 at 7:28pm
i just got a 10 dollar simple one from wal mart and my cat loves it! lol i hope to get him a little condo when i get more money!

it has a small carpet base with a thick pole with rope around it..
Reply
post #4 of 29
9/13/05 at 7:31pm
My boys both use the sisal rope posts on their cat tree, which they really enjoy. Chaynal will use the cheap carpet covered scratching post I got them. Of course, he also uses the floor carpet, and the couch, and the bed, and my jeans....
Reply
post #5 of 29
9/13/05 at 7:33pm
I just got this one and she loves it!

www.purrfectpost.com
Reply
post #6 of 29
9/13/05 at 9:39pm
I have a duplex one.. they sleep in it.. but they don't scratch it. They prefer to scratch the furniture, or the carpet thats on the floor. The little boogers
Reply
post #7 of 29
9/13/05 at 9:45pm
All of my babies use the sisal rope posts on their cat tree. They have great deals on them, check out ebay.
Reply
post #8 of 29
9/14/05 at 5:26am
If your cat is preferring the couch , it may be because s/he prefers clawing in a horizontal position. Maybe try tipping the scratching post over on its side? Another thing to do would be to upholster a board for her (easy to do with some polyester batting, some stout cloth, and a decent stapler) and then try spraying it with cat-nip while trying do discourage clawing the couch using various methods. I had a cat at one point that preferred upholstery, the post I had made for them at the time was a plain 4x4 attached to a cross base. My male used the 4x4 exclusively (he liked smooth things to scratch on) but Annie, his mom, preferred the couch until I upholstered one of the cross-pieces for her. She would still go to the couch occasionally (mostly if she just woke up and was stretching) but finding out what SHE wanted cut it down by at least 90%.
Reply
post #9 of 29
9/14/05 at 7:46am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies, will look into a new post on the weekend, will also apholster a board and see what happens
The couch is pretty much destroyed as it is, so there is nothing I can do about that...we want to buy a house sometime this year, and will get new furniture, (will keep the pink sofa for the cat), but I hope I can find something that she likes so that the new furniture doesn't get destroyed as well..
Reply
post #10 of 29
9/14/05 at 8:09am
Sisal mats on the floor work for us - I have them in each room.
Reply
post #11 of 29
9/14/05 at 12:13pm
Mine likes the wing chair best. It is the biggest 'cat post' ever.
Reply
post #12 of 29
9/14/05 at 5:24pm
A nice big sturdy cardboard box. Well used as you can see, and most importantly the little devi....darlings leave the furniture alone.
Reply
post #13 of 29
9/14/05 at 5:46pm
They love the cardboard scratchers, well, the clawed cats do.
Both the clawed and declawed love the sisal board we have hanging on the water heater closet door.
Reply
post #14 of 29
9/14/05 at 5:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coeluracat
A nice big sturdy cardboard box. Well used as you can see, and most importantly the little devi....darlings leave the furniture alone.

that picture is just so funny.....I have cardboard boxes around as well but she won't scratch them, she climbs in and sleeps in them or takes her little mice in there hides them and what not...But that picture says it all
Reply
post #15 of 29
9/14/05 at 8:53pm
I got the tallest vertical one I could find at Petsmart and put it in front of the couch arm that they like to tear up. That helped a LOT because they like to stand up, stretch, and scratch at the same time. I think that's why they were using the couch. Unfortunately they also like to use my computer chair for the same reason!

They don't like sisal at all so I stick with the carpet covered ones. They ignore the ones you can hang from doorknobs so I stopped buying those. They don't like the ones that sit on the ground. Even the cardboard ones with catnip sprinkled in doesn't get any attention!
Reply
post #16 of 29
9/15/05 at 4:45am
Reilly has a round cardboard scratching post, he loves it
Reply
post #17 of 29
9/15/05 at 10:06am
Cupid uses a sisal scratching post and my mesh computer chair.
Reply
post #18 of 29
9/15/05 at 10:42am
Prego and Polly use a homemade scratching post made by my husband. It's sisal rope wrapped around a scrap piece of pipe (we're remodeling our master bathroom.) It's attached to the wall. Hubby made it because Prego is such a big cat that I couldn't find a post tall enough for him to stretch all the way up. Polly likes to climb it too.

They also have a sisal mat and a turbo scratcher.
Reply
post #19 of 29
9/15/05 at 11:54am
I was an uninformed cat ownder when I had my cat declawed. After the fact, I learned that scratching was just part of their nature, whether they had claws or not. So, I got her one of the horizontal carboard scratchers with the catnip in it. She loves it!
Reply
post #20 of 29
9/15/05 at 11:57am
My 3 like the sisal ones!
Reply
post #21 of 29
9/15/05 at 2:46pm
I have a variety and they like them all:

- angled cardboard scratchers that lay on the floor
- tree trunks bolted to a plywood base - with or without sisul
- tall posts that they can fully stretch out on
- shorter posts that they can squat on
- full sized cat condos with tall posts wrapped in both carpet and sisul

The biggest hits are the ones where they can stand on their hind legs and do a full body stretch - at least 3 feet tall or more.
Reply
post #22 of 29
9/21/05 at 1:21am
My cats really love this one:



It's a small local product and it's great:

First of all, its extremely durable, some of my friends have had theirs from the 70's. When the rope becomes shaggy, you can just send the cat tree to repair. Second, it stands firmly without drilling holes in your house. The cat tree is sort of jammed between the floor and the ceiling with a spring. Virtually impossible for cats to take down. It comes in several colours to match your furniture. My favorite thing about it is the fact that it works sort of like legos: All parts are sold separately, and you can remove, add or change places anytime. And I even got it together without my husband!

The set we've got it quite basic, I'm plannig on ordering another tree and a cat run to connect them.
Reply
post #23 of 29
9/21/05 at 7:13am
My cats have been indoor-outdoor until lately, and what Red Cat and Purdy like best are the posts to my deck. They are of the pressed wood that has all the long slits in it. Unfortunately they were mutilating those so bad that I decided to have them covered with another board they could use as a scratching post, which could just be removed before I sell the house. I used cedar boards for their scratching posts, with the rough side out. And they do like those, too. I'm considering getting just plain cedar boards and making one for inside, but haven't figured out how to make it sturdy enough without nailing it to a wall or something.

They all also like the cardboard scratchers next best. They won't use the sisal ones.
Reply
post #24 of 29
9/23/05 at 7:00am
I have tried so many different types over the years but the absolute favorite for a majority of my brood has been a piece of oak with the bark still on...my neighbors burn wood so I have a neverending supply...and I nail a scrap piece of lumber to the bottom and set it in a corner.Over time the bark on one side will be gone and I just turn it so they can access the bark.I've used all different sizes of wood and the larger ones they sit on,curl up on,play king of the hill with....keeps them occupied!
Reply
post #25 of 29
9/23/05 at 9:46am
I've got a variety spread throughout the house: sisal-covered boards on the wall, a sisal rug, a few throw rugs placed carpet-side down, a scratching post with slanted sisal-covered boards on the sides, and - Jamie's favorite - a floor-to-ceiling tree.
Reply
post #26 of 29
9/24/05 at 12:39pm
My cat has 3 cat condos; he never uses them for scratching, only lounging. My neighbor suggested this $10 Superscratcher from walmart, it's a cardboard box with corrugated cardboard inside. My cat LOVES it. We have 3 in various areas of the house. Oh and it comes with catnip. Every few days we put a small pile of nip on one of them. He plays there, even sleeps there. And he loves to scratch, scratch, scratch.

I highly recommend it!
Reply
post #27 of 29
9/27/05 at 8:45am
Lucas only uses the sisal scratcher once in a blue moon, but he loves the cardboard ones, and the rug in the kitchen
Reply
post #28 of 29
9/27/05 at 10:42am
The door facings. And not just the area in his standing reach. Ari will jump up and hang 3-4 feet from the floor.

Also the corner of Mom's mattress.
Reply
post #29 of 29
9/27/05 at 11:44am
Ours use a heavy oval rag rug, their carpeted cat tree, their sisal post, and a log with the bark still on laid horizontally in the corner. They've worn all the bark off the vertical log tree we built - time to replace it. We scout the neighborhood at brush pickup time, find a nice wide heavy log {check for bugs!}, and screw it to a sturdy wooden base. They love the cardboard scratchers too.

If your cats seem determined to damage your furniture, you can trim their nails to blunt them & cut down on the damage. There are also nail caps you can use to prevent any damage to new furniture while you train them where to scratch.

I love Ryn's cat tree, and JC's too. One of these days I'll get a nice one!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Care & Grooming
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Care & Grooming › What kind of scratching post does your cat like?