Cat Scratching Your Carpet? Tame the Beast Within

Although many cat owners attribute their cat tearing and scratching the carpet as “bad behavior,” the truth is, cats need to scratch on all sorts of firm surfaces. Scratching allows them to shed off the castings of their claws, sharpen their tips while leaving their mark stating they have been there. Scratching on solid objects also permits them the opportunity to stretch their back muscles. They don’t scratch out of boredom or to upset the humans in their lives. They scratch purely by instinct.

When the cat scratch box arrived, my cats were immediately intrigued running over to take a look at the newest cat product in the house. Set in an attractive mahogany frame, the scratching pad measured 14”x28” making it large enough for more than one cat at a time to enjoy. Immediately, my alphas’ Matuse and Oliver claimed their right to this fine piece of feline furniture. As their claws found purchase in the filler (heavy-duty industrial corrugated cardboard, I braced myself waiting for the filler to fly across the room. It held fast. The noise of the scratching brought the other cats in at a run. They jostled each other striving for better position as they all marked this scratching pad to claim ownership.

The catscratch box has been here now over two weeks. Besides adding a touch of elegance to our front room, the catscratch box also doubles as a cat bed for my crew. More than once while making my rounds at night (doing a head count) I find three or four of the kittens laying on the cardboard surface purring their night’s content.

Our “sacrificial sofa upstairs (this old sofa was purchased at the thrift store) for the sole purpose of being a scratching post for the cats isn’t getting much action these days. During vacuum sessions, it only takes a minute to sweep across the corrugated surface and suck up any loose pieces wedged inside.

The beauty of this catscratchbox over the rest not only lies in the custom craftsmanship, but when one side of the cardboard wears down, all you have to do is simply flip the box over and you have a brand new scratching pad!

Although catnip arrives with the box (as an added enticement) the use of catnip wasn’t necessary. My cats gravitated towards the box, first of all because it was a new smell in their territory, and second of all, because cats are highly curious creatures. They are using this box and are purrfectly contented to give it a high mark on their appreciation scale.