Scratching is normal feline behavior. Apart from sharpening their claws, cats also scratch to mark their territory, exercise and reduce stress.
When shopping for scratching posts for my cats, I don’t quite get down on my hands and knees to scratch for myself, but I do try to view the scratchers from the feline perspective. I have no complaints about horizontal scratchers. In fact, there’s a plethora of wonderful shapes and sizes out there. It’s the upright posts that are a problem for my cats, because most of them are too short.
Like many of their furry relatives, Cali and Fudge like to stand up, stretch and scratch vertically. When Fudge stands on her hind legs and puts her paws up, she reaches nearly 3 feet long. And she isn’t even a big breed! So what is a bigger cat such as a Maine Coon supposed to do apart from attack furniture in its quest for something tall to get its claws into?
**Get the June 2009 issue of CAT FANCY to read the full article.**