SmartCat Pioneer Pet Ultimate Scratching Post (Beige)

OMG - Insanely good and sturdy. OK, now for why I say that. I used to have a huge carpet covered cat tower with a pagoda type house on top (still have it, just not in the living room any longer). First thing each morning and thru out the day, my indoor/outdoor (ie has claws) female cat would just shred the daylights out of it. And there would be plastic strands sticking out all over so every month or so I had to give the cat tower a "hair cut". Finally it looked so bad I moved it out to the porch. Which started Ms Claws (Tootsie) going after a couple of recliners, and (her favorite) the wicker shelving in the bathroom. I needed a scratch post for inside. I looked at ALL of them on Amazon. I read HUNDREDS of reviews. While sisal covered things never excited Tootsie, it became obvious any scratching post with carpet would be quickly dispatched to the dump once she laid into it. So sisal it would have to be. Then everyone said having the post be tall enough so the kitty could stretch was very important. Made sense to me as she would stretch out on the wicker shelf unit in the bathroom before reducing it to rubble even further. So I found this one. Kinda pricey I thought but at 32" high, it was the tallest one on Amazon. And reviewers said it was sturdy (don't need some tippy piece of crap). So I got this cat scratching post. And some of the catnip spray that some reviewers used to entice kitty to like the scratching post. And I got a dealie bob that is covered in sisal to hang from the front door knob (hoping she'd scratch that to go out rather than the trim around the door) (that hasn't happened yet). Before we see how it worked, let me tell you how it's built. I come from an engineering background as does all my family. So I can recognize sturdy and well built from cheap piece O crapola. Ha! Even tho it said it is 32" tall, it doesn't really register until you see that it stands taller than the bathroom vanity. The base is 16" x 16" which others have said gave it stability. They are correct. And then if you look real closely at the base of the sisal part you'll see some molding that rings the square vertical post. Because that part is screwed firmly into the vertical part covered in sisal, it increases the stability factor a great deal (someone was thinking when they designed this). The wood surfaces have a nice finish on them. It's a nice nuetral color overall so will match nearly any decor. Oh, and the sisal covered part is approx. 6x6" so quite stout compared to a 4" cardboard tube with carpet stapled to it. And it is bombproof. I first tried squirting the catnip spray on it. Meh! says the cat, the wicker shelf unit is more fun. Then I take the peacock feather that I use for the "behind the bathroom door" game and wiggle the eye end of the feather up by the top of the post. Tootsie sees it. She crouches. She wiggles her butt in the pre-launch stage. Then she LEAPS up, landing clinging by front and back claws to the upper part of the post, nailing the feather and hanging well above the floor. Whoa! and the post didn't even wobble or jiggle or lean. Ninja Kitty made a flying leap and the post just sat there, all nice and steady. After a few rounds of flying kitty onto big tall sturdy scratching post, she got the idea that THIS was the new Scratchable of Choice. And it is definitely tall enough that nearly any cat (even the Big Boys) can get a good long stretch - fully extended my cat doesn't reach the top. I did read that the same company makes a shelf that can be screwed on top for your cat to lay on ($15.99 elsewhere on Amazon). But that person said they thought you could as easily make a better one by taking a piece of board, putting foam on it, then stapling fabric of your choice over that. While that is true, I figured what is the real chance of me doing that? (like in the next 5 years - let's be real - not very big). I don't really need a laying place on top of this but just thought I'd mention the options because others might like that. What we're doing now is I put one of her toys up on top of the post. She sees it up there sometime during the day, and has to leap up and cling to the top of the post so she can knock it off. Then later I find it and put it back on top. You get the picture. Anyways, this gets a 2 thumbs up as a big beefy cat scratching post. Oh, and another side note: My Maine Coon kitty (Cassie, built like a tank - a biiig girl) who had no front claws when I got her - she also likes to "scratch" and stretch on this sturdy post. So she can lean her big self against the post and remains rock solid. Love it!

I knew I needed to get my cat a great scratching post. She was scratching up all of our furniture and the scratching post she had was too small and just not very nice! After we placed an order for new furniture, we knew we had to get her a post that would stop all of her scratching! After doing extensive research, I found out what is really important in a scratching post is size, it must be big and tall so that the cat can stretch out. It must be sturdy, so the cat cannot easily knock it over, and it should have a favorable scratching material (sisal is preferable). Well, this post meets all of those criteria. So I bought two posts, this one - after finding this incredible deal on amazon (29.99 with free prime shipping when I purchased), and a very expensive competitor post developed by a veterinarian. A small note on cost - buy this from amazon! It is so much cheaper than at the pet stores, they cost upwards on 80 bucks at the pet stores, so stick with amazon! Anyway, my cat likes this post better than the more expensive competitor and it truly is perfect! She no longer scratches any furniture at all, our new furniture looks perfect! When she wants to scratch, she goes straight to this post and scratches away, stretching out and fully enjoying herself. I never thought getting a good scratching post would solve her scratching problem, but it completely did! This was absolutely worth the investment. A few notes - you can buy a topper for this scratching post so that your cat has a comfy perch to sit on. It is small and red and does not look very comfortable. I recommend making your own! This is what I did and my cat absolutely loves it! I simply got a piece of wood (you can size however you wish, mine is a nice square fit to her size), added a piece of foam and upholstered fabric on top! If you want your cat to have a scratching post and a nice little perch, this is the way to go. My cat lays on her perch on top of this every single day. She loves scratching her post, and loves laying on top of it. I never thought she would love it more than her expensive trees but she absolutely does. Also, we attached a small toy to the post. There are numerous things you can do to make this even better for your cat, although it is perfectly fine on its own! In conclusion, this is a great scratching post and I cannot believe how cheap it is compared to others! It might just solve your problem if your cat wont stop scratching all your furniture! It absolutely solved mine. One more thing - my cat plays hard on this post and uses it multiple times a day. It has held up extremely well and has never once toppled over!

I had 2 persian cats over 30 years that I just trained to not scratch using a water bottle when they were kitties, so I had never bought a scratching post before. However, I inherited my mother's cat along with all of her cat stuff. Mama's cat is now 16 and has been with me for 6 years. She had scratched up a smaller, cheaper cone shaped scratching post that was also wrapped in rope. I got a new boy kitty in June after my last persian passed away from old age. This was my first boy kitty. Right away, he took to the old scratching post and completely tore through the rope inside of a month. I re-wrapped the rope and duct taped it back together and began to look for other options since I knew this new kitty would quickly tear through my quick fix. I found this large post here at Amazon. The price was OK for me and I was looking for something sturdy. I got it. This pole is very sturdy and well constructed. It was totally easy to put together. It came with dowel pins to help keep the ends together, however, I wanted a more secure connection, so I added elmer's glue to the dowel pins as I put this thing together. This product did not come with any glue or call for glue to the dowel pins in the instructions. However, I have a very rambunctious and strong boy kitty, so I wanted the base and top to be very secure and solid. Once I put this scratching post together, I rubbed all 4 sides with catnip and made sure the catnip was nestled in the scratching area. Immediately boy kitty took to this thing and older girl kitty ignored it and continues to use her older scratching post next to this big one. When I got this product, I had no idea my new little boy kitty would grow so big, so fast. This cat is a lynx pointe tonkinese type of cat (rescue kitty), and when he stretches, he now uses the entire length of this post, so I am glad I spent the extra money to get a taller, sturdier scratching post. When I looked at this design here at Amazon, I wondered how steady it would be. I have it standing next to my wall unit, so the base is right up against the wall unit, keeping 3 sides available for the boy kitty. He uses all 3 sides. He enjoys stretching along this tall post as much as he enjoys scratching his claws onto this post. It is very sturdy and surprisingly, doesn't tip over. Again, good engineering design. Well worth the money and I recommend this for all cat owners. I think the trick to getting a cat ti use these posts instead of furniture is to catch them when they are brand new kitties and introduce them to the post early. Keep a water bottle handy to discourage scratching on your furniture or carpets. So far, I haven't had to use this training method on this new boy kitty at all. He liked the first post and enjoyed destroying the rope and now proudly stretches out and uses "his" own post often each day. He completely ignores the shorter post next to it, while the older girl kitty continues to use the older post. I wish she would have adapted to the new one because it is an eyesore, but we cat owners adapt our homes for the kitties, thus the eyesore stays.

I have two cats and ended up buying two of these towers for different rooms. One is right next to the family room leather couch. This has accomplished that they don't run to the leather couch and claw it. The tower is right next to the side of it which is the high-risk side. When they run into the room, they immediately claw this tower instead of the couch. I'm not saying that cats will never claw a couch if you have this next to it, but I'm just saying that it has worked out this way for me. Thank heavens. They love the towers and use them everyday. they like the platform on the top also. Bow towers, amazingly, are still going strong. Very sturdy build and very good value. I love these towers.

Incredible! A must buy! Sturdy, cats love it! Durable. I have 13 cats and this is one item I would recommend and buy again or buy a second one. Sprinkled a bit of cat nip on it for them to get started and it’s their go to for scratching and stretching. Stopped furniture scratching up to about 97%. If you have a lot of cats it’s a big help.

Both of my cats use the scratcher all the time. I was tired of them ruining my couch and rugs. Took a shot, didn’t think they use it but they both surprised me. My 15 year old son put it together on 5 minutes. At first we thought it would be better if the toys were lower so they could reach them. So he only used the bottom part then realized the toys were in their faces. Then he screwed in the top part. It’s the perfect height because they stretch up while scratching on it. They don’t play with the toys on top, probably because they are a little too high but that’s fine. They also don’t play with the bottom part. I thought they’d love the balls in there but it doesn’t hold their interest because they stop moving after they’re hit. They’d played with them when it was first put together but that was it. It looks like the balls just fit in it. They’d move better if they were smaller. I tried putting cat nip in there and showing them by hitting the balls on multiple occasions but no such luck. My son said to buy those nano bugs and put them in the bottom to push the balls around. Great idea but I haven’t tried it yet. Still worth the $33 or $38 I paid because I give them a treat when they use it. Now they go right to it to scratch instead of using my furniture. I’ve had it for about 3 months and it’s holding up great. It doesn’t take up a lot of room or look add to clutter in a small room.

I have never before written a review for an item that I bought from a non-Amazon source, but I feel so strongly about the SmartCat Scratching Post that I'm making an exception. During my four years as the head of the cat program for a major rescue organization in Atlanta, I bought a number of these scratching posts for our cats. I put them in our small adoption center at PETCO. (In the old days, we actually got an adoption room from this store, as opposed as those horrible built-into-the wall cages with no room for cats to stretch out and play, and totally at-risk if one escaped into the store. But that's another story.) One of the issues we tried to educate our adopters about was the inhumane practice of declawing cats, including frequent life-long nerve pain for declawed cats and a much higher incidence of not using a litter box because of this procedure. (Many declawed cats end up in shelters because they don't use the litter box because of increased sensitivity of their paws to the litter. Talk about a double whammy.) And, not to belabor the issue, people need to be reminded that many vets will no longer perform declawing. It doesn't matter that it's usually done now by laser removal. Who cares? It's still amputation of the cat's digits (i.e., fingers) up to the first knuckle. Would you subject your human child to that? At any rate, we taught new cat owners that there were many things they can do to avoid inappropriate scratching, and the most important one is to have a good scratching post...or several of them depending on the size of a home. Most scratching posts sold in stores and online are worthless. The ones covered in carpeting simply teach cats it's ok to scratch the rug, and also don't do much for the claws themselves. So the sisal covering is essential (or something similar). Also, most scratching posts are WAY too small and flimsy. You need a very sturdy post that won't tip over and which is tall enough to allow the cat to stretch up to its full height while scratching it. The SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post meets all of these requirements. It's also pretty nice looking, and doesn't look out of place in a room. And they last FOREVER... Most importantly, the great majority of cats I have fostered and in our adoption center used these and liked them. I have read a few of the reviews about cats not using it, but also was interested to read updates on several of them that said eventually the cats did start using it. I always immediately rubbed good catnip all over my posts, and I had very few cats that showed no interest. Put it by the corner of a sofa or other furniture that you particularly want to protect...and consider buying several to maximize the prospects that your cat will use these exclusively. So you spend a little bit of money...isn't it worth it to save your furniture and have a happy cat and happy owners? I always recommended this post to our adopters, and got great feedback. Here are a few other tips as part of an overall strategy of discouraging inappropriate scratching: 1) keep your cats claws trimmed on a regular basis. If you start out when the cat is young, perhaps just by clipping one or two nails at a time initially, you should be able to do this fairly easily. For particularly touch-to-trim cats, however, you can just run them to your vet's clinic every month or so. (If you ask your vet for a lesson in trimming the nails, you'll probably end up doing this yourself.) 2) Buy two-sided tape and place it over the section of the furniture that the cat is scratching. They don't like the sticky feel of the tape and won't scratch on it. The pet stores carry this product, as does Amazon. (Pioneer Pet Sticky Paws Tape is one version.) 3) Another thing you can do is use aluminum foil to cover an area (which also works to discourage a cat from jumping up on something). 4) Use a spray bottle or squirt gun on a particularly persistent cats. What NOT to do: NEVER, EVER swat at or hit a cat for doing what is a very natural action for them. Using the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post will help A LOT...and it's probably the single best thing you can do. However, when it's all said and done, if you still have occasional scratching on your furniture...who cares? No one will like you less, and your cat will be happy and well-adjusted in your home.

This scratching post is perfect for cats who like to use things like this. It is worth the price when you consider that it should last a very, very long time and due to how heavy duty and stable it is compared to others. It also claims that it is made with sisal fabric that is of superior quality to sisal rope. This was very easy to assemble and feels very good quality compared to some cheaper options out there. Another great thing is how tall it is, it allows even grown cats to stand up and stretch their muscles while they scratch, which they enjoy and is good for them. So far they've not had issues with getting their claws stuck. This scratcher is very stable. My cat is able to even climb on it without it tipping, which is in part due to the large square base. Even when it isn't being climbed, I would think a cat would like for it to be stable while scratching on it rather than wobbling around as some cheaper posts can do. Though if pricing is a priority, you can get cheaper posts that will serve their purpose well enough. All it took to get him to use it for the first time was for me to scratch on it with my own nails because he associates the sound with other scratchers (like the smaller ones on his cat tower) and also because he likes to try to catch my hand when I do that on things. Once he knew it was for him, he uses it every day and our other cats do to maybe a slightly lesser extent. A cat may not spend a long time on it at once, but they definitely seem to appreciate it being there and being able to do so when they want to or when they enter the room it's in. Some cats don't seem to care as much for scratching posts in general, even if they like to scratch rugs and furniture, so if that's the case, this might not change that. But if you have a cat that does enjoy things like this, I definitely recommend this one.

I have four fairly large cats (ranging from 6kg to 9kg) who have tested this product for me. This product sat in my Amazon shopping cart for some time while I pondered whether it was crazy to spend so much money on a scratching pole. After having had the pole for approximately three months now, I’m comfortable to say it was worth the money as my cats seem to love it and it’s a quality product. The pole is much taller than your average scratching pole (approximately 85cm from the base to the top) and very sturdy. It doesn’t show any signs of wobble despite my cats sitting on top of it, applying their amble weight to it while scratching and scratching while hanging upside down from the top of it (some pictures are included to show this). My cats are very destructive and I generally find that any scratching toy I purchase them starts showing wear and fluff almost immediately - I’ve included a picture to show the condition after three months of active use and it’s fairing really well. One downside to this product would be is that I’m not sure there’s a way to replace the scratching sections once worn and/ or destroyed - however, if the life of the product is lengthy I’m comfortable with this. One other thing I’d add is it took almost a week for my cats to show any interest in this product at all so don’t give up on it (and feel enraged about wasting your money) if your babies don’t show immediate interest !

Pesado e robusto. O meu gato de 7Kg consegue arranhar sem o derrubar e até subir lá para cima.

In my view a little expensive but this one stands out. With our prior scratch posts, our cats were cutting through the wound hemp rope and in no time the stands looked ratty. This is built with sisal carpet is really sturdy. So far so good after 2 months of heavy use. Time will tell, but I bought a 2nd one after a month (to place on a different floor) based on the cats really enjoying the 1st one. They were checking them out minutes after I had the posts out of the box and while I completed the assembly. I should add that one great feature is the height of the posts being tall for average sized cats. This is great as they love to hang from it using their front claws. The final comment is that I think that these scratch posts look really good while our cats just like them for the scratch factor. They use them multiple times every day and it is so great that our furniture has never been a target.

The product is good but the top is smooth and not covered with cat's covers . my cats slipped from it and they love to sit on top which they cant with this product so they just use the stand

Worth the buy and try! Our cat loves to use for stratching. The high and the quality is really great. We recommended it. Thank you for being the part of our family. ❤