If you have a kitten (or perhaps an older cat) that is prone to scratching furniture or other items inside the home then a cat scratcher is a must have accessory. Scratching is a natural instinctive behavior in cats and they do it because it provides them an outlet for exercise, hones the muscles and tendons of the claws and to mark territory.
Simply speaking cats cannot be trained to stop scratching and it is not practical to expect them to stop scratching entirely, so it is important to remember to avoid physically punishing your cat for scratching furniture as it will cause it to become fearful and frightened of you.
Many cat owners these days make the mistake of neglecting this important accessory in favor of a cat post made out of the wrong materials. For example, if a cat is kept indoors most of the time or even in an outdoor cat enclosure it would not be able to adequately sharpen its claws properly if it only had a fancy fluffy post to scratch.
I am often asked what would be the best type of scratching post for a cat and my usual standard response is something solid and sturdy wrapped with a cat-safe material that a cat can dig their claws into. I have found that most cats have a personality and mind of their own and it is therefore difficult to know whether a certain cat would prefer a tree, a piece of scrap carpet or a strong stable post to scratch.
I recall many years ago when I had a playful cheeky new kitten called “Jody” who had the unpleasant habit of scratching furniture and pawing anything that happened to be hanging from a door or chair, including drapes. I recall spending many hours lying on the carpet trying to cajole Jody into scratching a fancy expensive scratching post I had bought from a local pet store without success.
Although it was a solid scratching post wrapped with durable sisal rope, Jody for some reason took a dislike to it and simply refused to go near it. Despite my efforts and with hands and arms covered in scratches I eventually gave up. Well not entirely, because after some thought I decided to use my home handyman skills and make my own cat scratcher for Jody.
This was a simple matter of cutting a 15” piece of square wood from a length of timber I found in the shed. As a covering I used an old piece of green carpet that I wrapped around it. My home-made effort was a success because Jody was much more accepting of my back-yard scratcher than the shop bought model and over the next few years it was often used inside the home as a scratching post.
This told me that some cats can be very fussy and that a home-made cat scratcher can in some cases be very effective and certainly a good alternative.
Tags: Cat Scratchers