Is Your Cat Scratching Up all your nice Furniture?

Cats scratch trees in the wild, the reason for this is because they do not have the same kind of scent strategy as dogs and in their paws they have scent pads therefore when they are scratching they are imprinting themselves for all cats in the area to smell. Imagine a blank wall and then paint it, now take the same wall and score out some grooves and then paint it. Can you guess which will last the longest?

 
Before you buy a cat scratching post or tree

First of all you need to determine which cat scratching post would be best for your cat depending on your cats size, your cats climbing abilities and your cats age.

What size cat scratching tree is good for kittens? What is better for cats? Huge Cat scratching trees or small cat scratching trees? For kittens, I recommend you to buy a small, wide cat scratching tree, since most little cats (especially kittens) are careless and jumpy and can easily fall of a tall cat scratching tree and get hurt.

What is good for a cat may not be suitable for a kitten or an old cat and vice versa and this is simply because they are differing levels of development. A kitten tends to be nervous and jumpy, it hasn't yet fully learnt how to use all of its faculties and can easily fall and get hurt. On the otherr hand an older cat does not have the same flexability as a fully grown cat and might end up falling off the other side. Funny for youtube, not so amusing for the cat.

For a kitten you need to make sure that your post or tree does not have high, narrow ledges for the cat to fall off therefore wide and squat scratching posts are best; for kittens and old cats alike. A fully grown cat only has itself to blame if it does something monumentally stupid like jumping too far and falling off the other side.

Why does a cat scratching tree entertain my cats?

Cats in the wild naturally like higher ground due to them being small, if a predator is around then they are in trouble if caught out in the open on the plains so they will find themselves a high place where they are protected. They also like climbing too which helps and when you get three or more cats they will often play tag.

For younger cats and kittens it is recommended to buy some toys to place in the lower branches so that they neither get bored or restless and start taking it out on your furniture and they can hone their hunting skills, which for a cat are very important.

If you have got yourself a big cat then you will need to get a larger tree for obvious reasons...if you liekd climbing trees as a child would you have been happy with a twig?

An older can needs a scratching tree with more room and places for them to stretch out on, they are past the prime of life and their days of running like a bat out of hell are long over, by getting them a scratching tree though you are saying "this is your area, that is mine" since even though they are older, they still have cat instincts to scratch.

What Color Cat Scratching Tree Matches My home best?

The colour you choose of course is entirely up to you but try not to get a polka dotted one, they look ridiculous and they are almost akin to dressing your cat up as a clown.

It is recommended to get a cover for your post or cat scratching tree also, not only will this make it last longer but often covers are impregnated with fascinating smells and will further reinforces the cats desire to scratch only there. Not only this but splintering wood will cause you a massive headache when they get into the paws. Spend a little more on a quality scratching post or tree and your cat will appreciate it more.

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