Cats have an entirely natural urge to scratch. For the animals to feel consistently at ease, they should be able to live out this urge and have their own furniture for this purpose. Otherwise, it won’t take long for sofas, carpets, wallpaper, or curtains to be misappropriated for scratching. Scratching boards, mats, or trees prevent your cat from satisfying its natural need on your favourite furniture.

Cats scratch for various reasons. On the one hand, they are marking their territory because their scent is released through their paws while scratching, which lets other cats know “this is my home”. In an apartment, cats like to mark easily visible, central areas that their caregivers or fellow cats walk past. Apart from marking its territory, your cat also scratches as a way to care for its claws. Old claw sheaths break away, and the claws are sharpened and shortened again.
Scratching boards & cardboard scratchers are usually made of robust sisal carpets and plush – materials that invite cats to scratch. Depending on the design, the boards are secured to the wall with nails or screws. In order for scratching boards and scratching mats to fulfil their purpose, they should be replaced when the scratching surface begins to fall apart.

With scratching boards or cardboard scratchers mounted or set up in the right places in your apartment, you can offer your cat alternative scratching options in order to protect your furnishings. It’s best to offer scratching boards & cardboard scratchers from the very beginning so that your cat doesn’t look for alternatives from which you will need to wean it in the future.
Spots near sleeping and feeding areas, which your cat often walks past, are popular locations for mounting or setting up a scratching board or cardboard scratcher. Offering your cat both vertically mounted and horizontally positioned scratching furniture is ideal because cats have different preferences, and many cats enjoy variety. Scratching boards & cardboard scratchers are available in different shapes and sizes. There are even special scratching boards for room corners. A corner scratching board can be bent at a right angle, for instance, and can therefore be mounted in the corner of a room as well as on a straight wall. A scratching mat that invites cats to play as well as scratch offers your cat an additional way to occupy itself. Apart from the scratching option, these products are equipped with various elements that encourage your cat’s instinct to play, like a plush tail, for example. Discover scratching boards & cardboard scratchers made by renowned manufacturers like AniOne, Kerbl, Silvio Design, and many more in our online shop.