I never thought I'd be praising cardboard...
Written: Sep 30 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Popular and frequently used by my cats, cheap, made entirely of cardboard
Cons: Might not appeal to all cats
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| imbrium's Full Review: WorldWise Cat Scratcher |
I never thought I'd be praising cardboard...but I am!
I have two cats, a male and a female. Neither one is very bad about scratching, but there have been some problems; cardboard scratchers have solved most of them. They come with catnip, which attracts the cat and entices it to initially explore the scratcher. The scratchers are made entirely from cardboard, so I don't feel bad about throwing away an old one (much more ecologically sound than scratchers made with plastic or carpet).
On to the scratching. I divide scratching into two kinds - item/location-based and emotion-based scratching:
Item-based and location-based scratching: Cats sometimes seem drawn to certain objects; perhaps they are just convenient, or perhaps they have a pleasant texture for scratching. Try placing a cardboard scratcher near the affected item or place. In my household, there was a problem involving the oak scratching post (well, oak bookcase, but I couldn't convince my female cat of that for the longest time). I was able to train her away from scratching the bookcase by placing a cardboard scratcher in front of it.
Emotion-based scratching: The main source of this is frustration and anger.
Frustration: Place a scratcher near any source of feline frustration. I keep a scratcher near my bird cage. The cage is much too high for my cats to reach and this causes occasional frustration. The frustrated cat can take its feelings out on the scratcher instead of redoubling his/her efforts to reach the birds.
Anger: Scratchers also help reduce tension after a tiff or other problem - the loser stalks over to the scratcher, tears into it for a bit, then gets on with life, happy as ever. I am intrigued by my cats' intent expressions as they scratch immediately following a scuffle. This stress release is especially useful in a multi-pet household, but humans are sufficiently annoying to warrant getting a scratcher for a single cat as well. Keep a scratcher in every large room (bedrooms, living room, etc.) so that an angry cat always has an outlet for its emotions. Ta-da! Cat therapy!
My two cats love their cardboard scratchers. My mom's cat, however, is a bit confused by hers. She likes it. She rubs against it, she naps on it, but she hasn't figured out how to scratch it (rubbing her paw against the cardboard doesn't work). She enjoys the catnip, though.
At $6.00, this is definitely a good purchase for cats who scratch inappropriate objects. Your cats will enjoy the catnip even if they don't like the scratcher and, for $6.00, this is the cheapest scratcher I've found.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
imbrium
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Member: Deborah Flores
Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I love reading, languages and zoology. So many interests, so little time.
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