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My 8 month old kitten loves to sharpen her nails on HARD surfaces...including a hand-carved wooden table from India, and other things like cement, or the wooden edges of our fireplace. Has anyone heard of a cat that prefers surfaces like that to scratch on? Of course she ignores the scratching pad and hanging door thing we got her. My only concern is she will continue to attack wooden furniture and fixtures from now on. Any suggestions for a substitute?
-Laura

You might try bringing in a log and putting something she likes (catnip if she's a niphead LOL) on it to attract her. I'd try to find one with a smooth place already there so she'd have the choice of bark or smooth surface on the wood. Put it beside where she likes to scratch. Just a thought. Other thing that came to mind was sandpaper but not sure about that since she might ingest the sand but maybe not. I'd try the log first. Maybe someone else has had that problem and has a better answer for you. Good luck! Katc

>>My 8 month old kitten loves to sharpen her nails on HARD surfaces...including a hand-carved wooden table from India, and other things like cement, or the wooden edges of our fireplace. Has anyone heard of a cat that prefers surfaces like that to scratch on? Of course she ignores the scratching pad and hanging door thing we got her. My only concern is she will continue to attack wooden furniture and fixtures from now on. Any suggestions for a substitute?
>>-Laura

My cat Ashley prefers wood to carpeted surfaces for scratching. They sell sratching posts with wood, so you may want to buy one of those for your cat. She may also prefer sisal roping to scratch on as well as that is a course surface. You should also keep your cats claws trimmed. Get one of the posts that have uncovered wood and sisal so she has a choice. And spray some bitter apple or cat deterrent on the furniture she is scratching.
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Dottie
Proudly owned by The Catnip Crew...Munchkin,Casey,Maddie,Harley,Meadow,Ashley,Nicky and Mushka

Cats have scent gland in their claws, so where they've scratched before they will continue to return there. Because of that, you will need to block access for quite some time to the places she has already marked as "Mine to scratch."

Most cats do not care much for door hanging scratchers because they move around too much to really get in a good scratching. And floor pads are a fun thing to have, but can't be their only option. They need to have something tall and sturdy enough to climb or really go to town on with a really hard scratching, and they need to be able to stretch and work their shoulder muscles -- something hangers or pads can't provide.

She's telling you exactly what she needs to scratch on, so I'd take her advice. Get a log and a sisal rope, tall post both and place those very near her chosen scratching area or areas. Don't forget to block the other objects!

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try it out by giving her some sturdy wood things to scratch on (scratching posts with wood, a log or something) and blocking the other things. Hopefully it works!
-Laura