Cats scratch. It is their medium of communication. Therefore, scratching is an important aspect of living together with cats. Cat scratchers and scratching boards help to prevent savage scratching on furniture and wallpapers. At the same time, they challenge the interior design of the house as they are used to be more practical than decorative.
The material of the cat-scratcher is important for their health and should be as natural as possible. During the scratching process the material gets destroyed and fine particles of the material may be inhaled by the cat.
The quantity of scratchers in the house, their form, material and position, depend on the cat´s preferences. At least one piece of scratching furniture should be placed in the centre of family-life (see blog catification) to avoid scratching on the Hooman´s favourite places (e.g. sofa). Therefore, the scratcher should be placed beside the sofa or the wall, Kitty is decorating scissor-style now. As a consequence the cat-scratcher has an important impact on the interior design and decoration.
Observing our cats we identify 3 scratching – angles:
Horizontal: on a scratchpad, scratchboard or carpet,
Incline, obtuse angle: on a scratchboard or a curved scratchboard
Vertical: on a trunk or cat-scratcher high enough to extent its body to its full length and to present it in its glory to the whole surrounding. High cat-scratchers offer good and secure viewpoints in the house at the same time
MATERIALS
There are a variety of materials for scratch-posts available: in nature cats prefer to scratch on inclined or horizonal trunks of softwood. Frequently shedded claws will remain in or on the wood of the cat’s favourite tree trunk! For private use we are happy with scratch furniture made of wood, sisal, sisal-carpet or carpet material. Scratchers and scratching furniture made of cardboard are even very popular. Regarding the choice of material, cats prefer the possibility to intrude into the texture with their claws and pull strongly.
