Why Your Cat Scratches Furniture — and What to Do

It removes the outer sheath of the claw, stretches the shoulders and back, and deposits both visual marks and scent from glands in the paws. It is a communication behaviour as much as a maintenance one.

Cats choose scratching surfaces by texture, stability, location and height. A wobbly 40 cm post in a spare room loses to a solid sofa arm in the middle of the household every time.

Place a tall, rock-solid sisal post directly beside the furniture being scratched, add horizontal cardboard options, make the furniture temporarily less appealing with double-sided tape, and reward every use of the post.

New or intensified scratching, especially near doors and windows, often signals stress — a new cat outside, a household change, or competition indoors. Address the stressor rather than only the scratching.