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Your cat needs a place to scratch. Many people consider their cat’s scratching behavior to be “bad” but for a cat, it is natural and necessary to scratch. As far as indoor scratching, a sisal rope scratching post is the best option for your cats. They will love it!

Not all scratching is the same. Cats scratch to sharpen their claws and remove the old sheath, and they also “scratch” when they stretch. They also scratch to mark their territory. One of the best ways of preventing a cat from scratching for claw sharpening or stretching is to provide a good cat scratching post.

Scratching posts come in different types of coverings for your cat to scratch on. One of the best, if not the very best, is sisal rope. Sisal rope scratching posts are often considered the best kind of post by cat behavior experts.

Cheap Scratching Posts

Most people think of scratching posts as disposable items and so buy the cheapest they can find, such as a carpet-covered post. The problem with cheap posts is that they are often unstable, not allowing your cat to get a good stretch and to effectively scratch with her front claws.

These cheap carpet-covered posts wear out quickly, especially with frequent scratchers. And, perhaps the biggest problem is that they are not tall enough.

For a cat who prefers to stretch vertically, by reaching up with her front paws, a short cheap scratching post will just not do the job. So, she will prefer to stretch on taller pieces of furniture.

And, while she’s stretching why not do some scratching? Even when your cat simply stretches on the furniture, her claws may get caught in the fabric. Since she will pick the same spot over and over again, this will eventually shred the fabric.

Carpeted Cat Scratching Posts

Carpet-covered scratching posts often have all the disadvantages mentioned above. As well, they have the added disadvantage of encouraging your cat to scratch the carpet.

Carpet, though, does not have quite the right feel for most cats. Sisal feels more like what a cat would scratch in the wild.

Advantages of Sisal Scratching Posts

Sisal is simply more durable than carpet. When you buy cheap products for your cat to scratch that become shredded and get thrown away, you are making a fundamental mistake.

Cats don’t throw away old stuff like we do! Cats like familiar items. And, remember, they leave their scent all over their scratching post. Leaving a good post in a place that they scratch to mark their territory, such as by a doorway, can be a good way to solve this type of problem. When you throw away a post, you are encouraging a cat to go right back to scratching other things.

Cats who scratch at a post will not henceforth associate all such objects with scratching and automatically designate any other good scratching places as off-limits. When we throw away their posts, we take away a familiar and much-loved object. But, there are many other familiar object covered with your cats scent. See the problem? A material that your cat likes to scratch which will not wear out, will allow your cat to keep the same familiar posts for years, so that you do not have to convince him to use a brand new post with strange new smells.

The Pawnee Scratching Post, below, has two different fabrics, with a very strong woven carpet on the bottom and sisal rope up top.

Types of Sisal Posts

Sisal scratching posts come in rope and fabric. Some cats may prefer the fabric over the rope, but posts with rope can be re-wrapped with new rope, should the need ever arise.

Some higher quality posts are the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post, which is a best seller in cat scratching posts at Amazon. Another, more expensive option are the sisal fabric posts from Purrfect Post, which are hand-made in the USA.