It may seem like deliberate destruction but, for a cat, scratching things is a natural act, designed not only to keep their claws in shape, but to mark their territory as well. However, as happy as you may be to have your lounge used as territorial grounds, I’d wager you’d rather not have your sofa shredded in the process, right? Claw damage is covered by cat insurance; cat damage isn’t necessarily covered by contents insurance!

For this reason, scratching posts were invented, to allow owners to redirect their pet’s scratching tendencies. They come in a range of shapes and sizes not only to appeal to our sense of aesthetic variation, but also because different cats scratch in different ways. Some cats stretch out their whole body when they scratch, making a tall and sturdy scratching post the ideal choice. Other cats only really scratch with their shoulder muscles and will be perfectly content with a smaller post.

Whatever kind of scratching post you provide for your cat, it is wise not to buy a carpet-covered post. The reason is simple; having bought a post to train your cat not to scratch the furniture, you don’t want to inadvertently train it to scratch your carpet instead! The best idea is to buy multiple scratching posts and put them around the house, in the rooms in which you spend the most time.