Why Your Cat Won’t Use the Scratching Post

Why Your Cat Won’t Use the Scratching Post

It is possible to teach your cat to use the scratching post. A very basic yet frustrating question that’s asked of me all the time is: With all of the scratching posts I buy for my cat, why do they still scratch my couch?! There are easy fixes once you understand your cat's behavior and get to know your cat just a little bit better — and that’s what I’m here for!

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We have some excellent scratchers on our store. Pick up one today!

00:00 Cat Advice Intro
01:09 My cats are still scratching the couch
03:05 Where to place the cat tower
03:39 Why cats scratch the couch
05:22 Is your cat a horizontal scratcher?
07:45 Another option for cat scratching couch
08:28 Common mistake cat owners make

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[JacksonGalaxy]

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[britfrie]

Hey! It's ME! Thank you so much for responding to my video! I will definitely implement your suggestions! I have other questions about our favorite boy Ron and will submit another video as soon as I can catch him in the act. hahaha! Also, if you like my cat scratch items in the hall way I will hook you up with the link! Thank you so much again! I am so excited Ron and Ginny are now cat famous! hahaha!

[mscrabson]

Thankfully my cat isn’t picky and he’ll claw anything: scratch posts I made for him, my chairs, my sofa, my knees...

[tineputzeys]

This is why I love these so much more than the "my cat from hell" videos. Usually, those people are clueless and it's just about basics. The youtube crowd has clearly done their homework and we get to see advanced cat stuff. Keep doing these! :D

[spiralflash]

My cat would always scratch the carpet, so I bought her a cat tree with sisel on the post/leg which she ignored. Then I bought her some horizontal scratchers, flat and curved ones, which I placed over her favorite parts of the carpet. She found other areas of carpet to scratch instead, while I tripped over the scratchers every day. She often would scratch the carpet first thing in the morning, so I slept next to my phone so I could "catch" her with a video to consult The Cat Daddy. Suddenly she started using the sisel post and loves it so much now she stopped scratching the carpet, to my delight. So Ms. Pewter missed being a movie star because she's such a smart girl, but she is very grateful to Jackson for her new wet food diet, and the daily play sessions. Jury is still out on the harness. Meow.

[raptureday]

The best cat scratcher is the heavy duty WELCOME mats. (Weight about 5 pounds and not great for bare feet, coconut husky-type.) I put one near my new leather-ish futon and 6 months later, no scratches! They step on the mat and can't resist it. I feel like I won the lottery and put one in every room.

[dixoncider]

My cat was declawed (by a previous owner 🤬), and he still uses his scratching post. He likes to rub his toe beans on the top of the post.

[Nikki]

I had to laugh when she said "talk to you later, " because that's 100% something I would do.

[jesslikescoffee]

One of my cat’s favorite scratching spots is an old rug rolled up. We got a new rug, rolled up the old one, and left it just sitting there for a bit before taking it out. She hopped right on to scratch it, we weren’t bothered because it wasn’t getting used, and now she loves it so much that we’ve just kept it for her 😅 It’s ugly, but she’s spoiled.

[tararoast]

That explains why my cats will not use flat scratching products, thanks Jackson.

[IloveOtherPplsMsry]

No wonder my cat keeps going for the carpet, he's a horizontal scratcher.

[eileenlester]

I sprinkle a little catnip on the post areas and our cat's love it.

[manxie]

Whenever I introduce a new post, I always scratch it first to entice my cats to scratch at it and understand that this is where they're supposed to scratch. I didn't know I was 'marking' it, which would make them want to mark it too LOL

[meowdventure]

Jackson, took your advice time ago...Animal Planet days and it's been working for us since. You have saved us from frustrations over scratching! 🙏🙏Yes, not all cats are the same when it comes to scratching, Maxie is a vertical scratcher.

[kellyngrey]

My cat tends to be a horizontal scratcher too. Something I've found that works is one of those flat cardboard scratchers - I tend to pick it up and move it around often for sweeping/cleaning. When I'm done, I'll toss it out somewhere on the floor. As soon as it hits the ground my boy goes for it. I think for him, he likes the novelty of "reclaiming" it every time I throw it down.
(He also loves to scratch the entry rug. I don't bother correcting him because it's cheap and I can replace it, and I'm happy he's not scratching elsewhere!)

[TmHasuSnow]

Thank you so much for these videos. Well I am 13 and can’t have a cat until I move out, yet I watch these 🤣 but anyway I want to be super prepared for one day when I get a cat, and your videos are gonna make me the best cat mom ever 🥰

[Alien--Bunny]

My cat will scratch both vertical and horizontal. It depends on the texture of the post and if it's stable. He has a huge one, but because he dislikes the texture, he just sits on it.

[Vessenkestrel]

We moved the scratching post that our first cat rejected into the room our new cat likes to hang put in. Now the first cat suddenly loves it 😝

[dragonofmordor]

Jackson, I just want to thank you for all the advice you give us. I just recently moved a couple of weeks ago, and I was so worried my Joanna was going to get sick because she's a cat who reacts to change often by getting sick. But I followed all your advice for setting up her base camp in my bedroom with all her things, using holistic wall plugins that seem to help her stress levels, making sure the new house smelled like both of us, keeping her litter box smelling like her, and then slowly allowing her to explore the new house as she became ready. And she's done amazingly well. She actually loves the new house, she's been exploring all the counters, shelves, and other high spaces and spending hours in the new windows bird-watching. And I've seen barely any signs of stress after the first couple of days. Your advice on cats always works wonders with my girl.

[Jaygerix]

jackson, thank you for everything man! I recently adopted a "wallflower" cat in a sense from the SPCA, he was very shy, shaky and timid. But hes come out his shell a lot the past couple days, had him for about 4 days now, Your videos have helped me so much, especially covering up any places he could go hide behind, cucoon > caving! Going to buy some horozontial scratchers today to stop him scratching at my dining table seats!