Last weekend we were at Petco buying cat food when Rose decided the cats needed another scratching post to help encourage Chris to scratch on things other than her chair. We have plenty of approved scratching places in the house that Chris ignores but I figured it was worth a try.
We decided to get the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post because it was tall and heavy and seemed like it might be different enough to encourage Chris to use it. It had a hefty price tag of $80 but we decided to spend the money.
I put it together and Puck scratched on it right away but not Chris. I decided to sprinkle a little catnip on it to see if that would help but most of it fell to the ground where Chris and puck fought over it while ignoring the scratching post.
It has now been in our house for six days and Puck’s orientation scratch was the first and last time I saw a cat use the so-called ultimate scratching post. To add insult to injury, I just found the same thing on Amazon for $45.
Update (September 1, 2014): This scratching post has now been in our house for over a year. After publishing this post I moved it to a higher traffic area of the house and can report that it does get more use where it is at. It does not get a lot of use but the cats use it enough to justify keeping it.
Bad Cat Chris 
We have two of those scratching posts…one we use and the other not so much. It could be the location of the post. The one we use is in an area we walk by every day and we’ll give the post a scratch when we do. The other is next to the sofa (to stop us from scratching it) and we don’t seem to use that one very much…but we haven’t been scratching the sofa there either!
Try rubbing some catnip on it. It may entice the cats to scratch it. As far as scratching posts are concerned, it really is a good one.
I just moved it. It is worth a try. Thanks for the tip.
Amazon is definitely the way to go. Mom always checks there first for anything cat related. She says that you can get catnip spray (check Amazon or Drs. Foster and Smith, or just Google it). That may give you a better chance at getting the kits to use the new post. We like the sisal the best for scratching (or the living room chairs). Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Catnip spray is a good idea. It is hard to get regular catnip to stick. Thanks
If they are scratching on your chair it makes me think that maybe they find that material’s texture more satisfying to claw into. Would it be possible to find something similar to the chair for scratching?
It really is hard to stop them from scratching on object once they have their little hearts set on making it “theirs”. Good luck!
The chair is cloth and if I were a cat, I would want to scratch on it. I think you are right and it is a habit now but new habits can be developed. It may not replace the old habit but it might reduce it.
Sticky tape! Have you tried sticky tape?
For the chair? No but at this point it is too late to save it.
shoot just make a post lol find some material that is like your sofa, get some material to put under it and get an old piece of wood or two. One for base and the other to go up in the air. Put it next to the chair, probably keep them from going after your chair lol. I’m lucky and my cats use the ones that you put on the floor. The corrugated cardboard ones. I have one at each end of my L shaped sofa and they haven’t touched the sofa! But I did keep an old chair for them to use that they liked previously.
Maybe I can just wrap cloth around the scratching post. Then it will be the ultimate. 🙂
I always dread the word Ultimate…usually they fail to include the word letdown! we have had similar issues it seems they get one object in their sites and go for it non stop…good luck wth the hints from the other bloggers 🙂
Thanks
🙂
Happy Labor Day! By the way, I’m a new follower via Bloglovin. Looking forward to visiting often.
Thank you. I’m happy to have you here.
Reblogged this on Bad Cat Chris and commented:
We bought this scratching post almost three years ago. When I wrote this blog post, I thought we wasted our money but location is everything. We now have it in a high traffic area and all the cats use it, not only for scratching but also as a perch. It also is still in good condition.
YAY! It was a good buy after all! Sometimes it takes us a while to “warm up” to something new…….
Hugs, Sammy
I’m glad it worked out.
Location is everything 🙂
Cats like convenience. I found that out.
I am glad they are using it but I will say that Cody isn’t a big fan of Sisal or scratching posts period…..he much prefers the bedroom carpet lol!!!! catchatwithcarenandcody
That’s a problem. That’s why I like not having carpet now.