Don’t wait up until your cat shreds your couch to invest in a scratching post.
“Domestic felines share a lot of behaviors with their wild counterparts, which includes scratching,” says Bruce Kornreich, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, and director of the Cornell Feline Health Center.
Felines scratch to mark their areas, remove the dead nails, and express emotion. While it’s a natural habits, it can likewise be devastating, and it’s one of the top factors cats are given up to shelters, according to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals– Angell Animal Medical Center. It’s important to offer your feline with a scratching post so she has an acceptable area to please her urge to scratch and promote her mind.
Kornreich states that it can take some experimentation to find the ideal match: Some cats choose scratching on a horizontal surface area while others choose a vertical option. Material matters, too! Cats might show a choice for a scratching post made from carpet, sisal, wood, and even cardboard.
Luckily, there are numerous options on the marketplace, and we’ve rounded up 10 of our favorites to satisfy your clawing cat.