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Cats are the most popular companion animal in the world, with 42.7 million households in the United States with at least one pet cat. Archaeological evidence suggests that cats and humans may have had close relationships as far as 9,500 years ago.

A cat’s ability to adapt to life in a home with a human stems from its unique set of behaviors that aren’t too different from its wild ancestors'. Scratching is an important one of those behaviors, having a number of different possible purposes such as to sharpen and remove nails, to aid in visual and olfactory communication, and exercising the body. Kittens begin to scratch around 5 weeks of age.

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Depriving cats of the opportunity to scratch appropriate items may result in the destructive scratching of household items, such as rugs and couches. Destructive scratching has been reported to be the second most common complaint among cat owners and is a reason owners relinquish their cats to shelters. Each year, approximately 1.1 million cats are surrendered by owners into shelter systems across the United States .

Some owners resort to declawing their cat to prevent problematic scratching. Declawing is a painful surgery which involves removing a cat's knuckle at the first joint. The American Veterinary Association discourages the procedure.

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A cat’s level of comfort with its environment is deeply linked to its physical health, emotional well-being, and behavior, and addressing its environmental needs, including providing scratching surfaces, is essential (not optional!) for a cat's well-being.
Punishment does not seem to reduce inappropriate scratching; a more ethical option is to redirect the behavior to a scratcher that is appealing to cats. It is reported that scratching exhibited on furniture may be redirected when a preferred scratcher is placed next to the furniture.

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So what scratching surfaces do cats prefer?

Unfortunately, published studies on cat scratching preferences are scarce. Most studies have been based off of owner surveys but sometimes the data obtained from owner surveys has been disproved by evidence obtained from controlled experiments by researchers.

Often times, pet stores carry many scratching post options with no data to support one type over another.

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When it comes to studies using information from owner surveys, one study found that adult neutered males tend only rarely scratch or not scratch at all when provided a scratching post.

Another reported, based on owner surveys, that cats prefer scratching posts over scratching pads.

In 2015, owner survey responses reported that rope was most frequently used by cats when offered vs. cardboard, carpet, and wood. They also found that simple posts of at least 3 feet high with two or more levels, as well as narrow posts were preferred by cats.

These studies indicate that cats appear to prefer certain types of scratchers, but surveys are based on human perception of cats’ use of toys and may not provide objective evaluation of scratcher effectiveness.

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The first evaluation of cat scratchers in a controlled setting occurred in 2018.

Researchers found in these experiments that that 8 week old kittens preferred S-shaped horizontal cardboard over most of the other scratchers compared: over longer, flat horizontal cardboard, standing and laying board covered with carpet and window screen, a horizontal scratcher covered in bubble wrap, and standing scratching posts covered with rope. They also found that dried catnip, catnip oil spray, and the hair from other cats did not alter kitten scratching behavior. While immature kittens lack the needs of scratching for signaling purposes as adult cats, it has also been said that scratching may be expressed more often in young animals because of increased exploratory behavior and play. Kittens likely are less interested in stretching and scratching vertically given their underdeveloped sense of balance and muscle strength.

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A second series of experiments were performed in 2020.

Surprisingly, it was the first study to report cardboard as one of cats' favorite scratching materials. Researchers found that adult male neutered cats preferred vertical cardboard posts to S-shaped horizontal cardboard, while spayed females displayed no preference, and that when presented with rope, cardboard, sofa fabric, and carpet covered vertical scratching posts, adult cats preferred the posts covered with rope and cardboard.

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More research is still needed!

If veterinarians can make appropriate suggestions from the first veterinary visit, owners will be able to implement effective strategies to develop appropriate scratching patterns for life.