Cat owners who love their pet cat certainly love their furniture as well. And they don't have to be torn between giving away their worn out furniture or the beloved cat if they will include a cat scratching post in their list of cat supplies. Aside from a cat collar and a cat bed, a post is an important supply that will provide the pet cat a suitable place to scratch.
Every cat should be able to indulge in it's unique nature and urges, including scratching. Cats have the natural tendency to scratch to clean their claws and pet owners can train them to use scratching posts instead of furniture in the house. This will protect their furniture and can be a much less expensive solution than getting a cat declawed (and much less painful for kitty!).
No matter how picky your cat is, the wide variety of materials available means that there is probably a product out there that your cat will love sinking its claws into. There are many kinds of cat scratching posts in the pet supplies store. The ideal ones are made of wood that stand vertically at 24-36 inches or 2-3 feet. They may be covered with upholstery fabric or sisal fiber. A wide base where the post is mounted will allow cats to scratch and stretch upward without turning the post over. If the post is too short or wobbly, they will be turned off because they will not be able to fully extend its body.
You may have to try some different solutions to find one that suits your pet, especially if you have a really picky ot particular cat.A cat scratches in a preferred surface, so a pet owner sometimes need to experiment in which texture is useful to his pet. Some cats prefer rough surfaces like corrugated cardboard or sisal rope. Other cats will scratch in just plain wood.
Scratching posts come in a very wide variety of styles, colors, looks and designs. There are many designs of cat scratching posts in pet stores. There are elaborate posts with several platform levels to allow climbing. "Cat trees" are scratching posts that are very tall and supported by tension rod extending to the ceiling for stability. Some cats need only scratching surfaces like a carpet turned upside down or a piece of doormat made of rough material. The are many that are made to look like decorations, so they sort of blend into the decor of a room. In any case, a pet owner should train a cat to use an acceptable scratching area.
