best scratching post

[TheFurryMenace]

I have a 4 month old kitten, and we have a basic vertical scratching post. She does use it sometimes, but much prefers the sofa it is placed in front of! I have sent off for some feliway, and would like to get her a more sturdy and possibly interesting scratching post as it wobbles a bit when she is on it and can knock it over. I have tried giving her treats for using it, but unfortunately, Im not there all the time to catch her quickly enough using it. Any recommendations? Any advice on the scratching front? (she also cant leave the curtains alone if we close them, so are bloody freezing!).

I've also tried shaking a rattle or spray with water when she does this behaviour, but I've read that it is not good and can make them aggressive. I also tried double sided sticky tape on the sofa and curtains, this kind of worked but got stuck to her fur and she peeled bits off to eat, so we took it all off. Since then, she's gone right back to scratching the sofas. She is otherwise a happy kitten so I dont think its stress.

We are waiting to have her spayed (vet not really keen to do it before end of Jan when she will be 5 months), so we cant really let her out yet other than for very short supervised periods (which she loves). Will the behaviour settle once she has outdoor access? Im guessing she does it because she is bored, and we do play with her quite a bit, but nothing so far seems to deter her.

Thanks

She'll calm as she gets older yes for now but some spray to keep her away from the areas she's scratching. They scratch to mark there territory and it helps wear down there claws, if you don't use the spray she'll just continue to mark it as hers. I have a couple of cats and have 5ft scratching post with a bed at the top, the bigger the scratching post in general the harder it is to knock over. They can be a bit expensive but as long as you re rope them when they start getting tatty rather than just chucking them away they're worth it and they'll last for years. Spray bottles fine as long as it's or over used :)

My boy just loves the basic £4.99 one from Home Bargains. The post screws into the base so it's pretty sturdy. he doesn't get on it though - more kind of pole dances with it!

Have a look at the selection on Zooplus. I rate the taller ones if you have an active cat/ kitten. I'd look for at least three levels. You can even get ones that attach to the ceiling. They also sell brackets for about £5 which will provide stability (you only need one really).

Our cats like the "cat scratch sofa" you can get on Amazon. They were not interested in the pole types. They still scratch the sofas as well though

Thanks for all the recommendations, I will have a look. Froglou, when you say use a spray do you mean the Feliway stuff or spray her with water to keep her off?

Sorry! Sray the sofas with Get Off or any anti chew stuff and when I said about sprays bottles are ok if not over used I mean water in a bottle.

Sadly, I tried an anti cat spray, but its just made it worse - I think she's trying to cover it with her own scent.

We have the banana leaf cat tree from Zooplus. Expensive but used constantly and our kitten (also 4 months) never scratches anywhere else!

Blimey Nick, that's a whopper! I live in a postage stamp sized house so not sure if I could accommodate one this size, but amazing that your kitty doesn't scratch anywhere else, impressive!

Ps, cute kitty!