Sisal or manila rope scratching posts?

[tick-n-thistle]

I'm looking at a line of wood cat trees that offer either sisal or manila rope scratching posts.  Obviously they look different, with the sisal being a light tan and the manila being brown.  But that's more a human option - I don't think the cat cares what color it is!

So I'm throwing it out to all of you - what's your experience with the two ropes?  Is one more durable than the other?  Do the cats seem to have a preference?  Do they notice any difference in texture or smell?  What will last longest and be best for the cat?

 

 

[tumbleweed01]

Last year, I got my cat a scratching post that had sisal rope around the post itself but with a flat carpeted base and a carpeted "cap" over the top 3 inches of the post. The rest is sisal rope. She loves the sisal rope and is using it as I write this but after slightly over a year's use, it is pretty much destroyed over the top 12 inches of rope. This is the part of the post that her paws reach when she is standing up to scratch. The lower part of the rope where she usually doesn't scratch is of course, almost completely intact.

I have the scratching post pressed against one end of my sofa so that she can also lie on the end of the sofa and scratch the carpeted "cap" on the post, something she also enjoys doing very much. The problem I've had with the post is that the carpeted "cap" is attached to the wooden posts beneath with staples and after about a year's use, the carpet has begun deteriorating and which in turn has exposed (and pulled out one end of) the staples on top. Had I not caught these when i did and pulled them completely out of the wood, she almost certainly would have injured her paws on them.

I really can't speak for the difference in sisal versus hemp ropes however since sisal is the only kind I have ever used. It has seemed quite durable however and I consider it to have held up well after CONSIDERABLE scratching over slightly more than a year's time. Like you, I am now searching for a new post to replace this old one. I'm actually considering getting the exact same post again if I can find it again since other than the staples, it was very popular with her and worked out well  for her. I figure that this time, I can watch out for the staples and pull them before they have any chance of becoming a problem.

 

[catspaw66]

Sisal is more durable than manila rope. It also doesn't shrink as much when wet, and doesn't unravel as quickly.  (according to Wikipedia)

Hemp rope is not really made of hemp.

Minila rope is made from abaca, and sisal is made from agave.