Cat scratchers and sofa protection

A cat does not scratch to destroy. It marks territory through the glands in its pads, it maintains its claws by removing the dead sheath, and it stretches full-length on waking. Three real needs, none of which disappears by shouting.

The sofa corner is attacked first because it combines everything: a vertical surface, a texture that grips, and the central place in the room — the one a cat wants to mark. Forbidding that spot without offering another simply moves the problem to the armchair.

Two answers combine, and taken separately they work badly. Make the corner uninteresting, with smooth tape that removes the point of scratching there. And put something more satisfying beside it: a vertical post, tall enough for the cat to stretch fully, and heavy enough not to tip — a post that moves is abandoned within two days.

Sisal beats carpet: it frays along the grain of the claws and does not resemble a rug, which avoids teaching the cat that rugs are for scratching.

See also our **A place in the sun** and **A corner of its own** aisles.