Gratuitous cute kitten photo...
Got cats? Got scratched up walls, window sills, chair & table legs, carpeting and worst of all – your own leg?! I hear ya! Here’s our story about cats & scratching…
(Keep reading to find out how you can WIN AN ULTIMATE CAT SCRATCHING POST for your cat!)
Our two little demons… I mean kittens… are not being declawed. We have opted to train our cats so as not to put them through unnecessary surgery.
Right from the very start, we bought a couple small cat scratchers, and always encouraged our kittens to use them. We’d play scratch on the scratcher ourselves, which would entice the kitten to come check it out. We started buying some other varieties as well – small standing ones, scratchers you can hang on a door knob (Ritter LOVES this), and then even some full-fledged cat furniture. Whenever we would see one of the kittens begin to “scratch” somewhere inappropriate, we would scoop them up, place them by the nearest scratcher, and encourage them to have at it! We would sprinkle catnip on the scratchers to try to entice them as well. Little by little, it seemed to work. Our cats are often seen happily scratching away at any of their multiple scratchers, and NOT ripping up our furniture or carpets. Yay for cat scratching posts!
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<UPDATE: Giveaway ended> To win an Ultimate Cat Scratching Post for your cat, simply comment in this post explaining why your cat deserves or needs the scratching post…it’s that easy! |
For a chance to win this Ultimate Scratching Post, simply leave a comment in this blog post explaining why your cat deserves or needs to win it. Comment by noon CST on 08/17/10. Limit one comment per person. We will pick one lucky winner. No purchase is necessary to participate. You should be a legal resident of the United States and 18 years or older. Void where prohibited. Shipping to winner will be supplied by Drs. Foster and Smith. To see who won, go to http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2010/08/cat-scratching-post/. Sponsor: Foster & Smith, Inc., P.O. Box 100, Rhinelander, WI 54501-0100. Employees and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter.
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My cats deserve a new scratching post because they put up with my seven year old son, who is autistic. He likes to pull their tall condos over and play on them himself. I actually have one condo that I had to attach to the wall so he wouldn’t break the window it is next to with it. I really need to get the other on fastened to the wall also, because he pulled it over last night while Connor was asleep in the top bed.
We have a scratching post in front of a stereo speaker, because one cat decided he liked the speaker. It works, because they use the post instead of the speaker for the most part. And they love those cardbaord scratchers thet you put on the floor. Unfortunately, they also love the fabric seat on my dining room chairs. One cat even likes to sharpern her claws on the plactic laundy hampers.
My cats deserve a new scratching post because they thoroughly destroy them! They are really good about not scratching up other stuff, so I am not complaining, though. They will completely fray the sisal on a post to the point where it looks like a hula skirt!!
My “grandkitty” Khensu, the bengal cat, will be coming to live with his “Grammy” (that’s me
soon. My son Jonathan, who lives across the country from me, has been best friends with this little guy ever since he adopted him from a family who no longer wanted him. Unfortunately, my son’s fiance is very afraid of cats and my son has had to make this very hard choice. Poor little Khensu is about to travel from California to North Carolina to what will be at least his third home. He is loving cat and very special to me … but Khensu has a particular talent – clawing furniture!! What a welcome sight a new scratching post would be to him when he comes to his new home 
I have two Maine Coons, Milo and Connor. They are monsterously huge, with claws to match. We too chose not to declaw, but oh my goodness, we’re spending our life savings in cardboard refills for their various scratching paraphenalia! They would love this scratching post more than I can say. And so would I!
My cat Roxy is a “C H” cat. She has cerebellar hypoplasia. She was born in a feral colony to an unvaccinated mother and humanely trapped at 4 weeks. After being fostered, I adopted her. She is lucky. Her “C H” affects mostly her hind legs, which are weaker. She can not use the large, climbing cat tower type scratching posts. She needs to be able to hold onto something solid in order scratch. This type of scratching post would be easy for her to use.
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for posting the cat scratching post giveaway! I know my kitten (Suki) deserves this post is because he’s the kitty I’ve been waiting for… Every day since we’ve adopted him – he has filled our hearts with joy – I even speak for our old dog and say he’s amused by Suki. We’ve built several cat post for him so he will stay away from the furniture and rugs… but now hes newest thing is climbing the walls! He just got him neutered – hoping that will calm the lil devil down – but I know all in all – he’s a kitten – not yet 5 months!
Thank you again – it amazes me how much joy animals bring into our lives and I’m blessed.
Enjoy your animals!
Regards,
LeeYong
My cats -Jade & Toby – deserve a new scratching post because they have been putting up with their mom (that’s me) giving away all of their scratching posts!
You see, they are not declawed (obviously!) and all three of us agree that declawing is an inhumane and unnecessary surgery. But, their mom (me again) is the most vocal of the three. Well, actually, their stepdad would argue that Toby is the most vocal especially around 6 am. But, getting back to the reason their vocal mom keeps giving their scratching posts.
While there could become debate who is the most vocalic the family, Toby and Jade’s mom is most certainly the most vocal in a way that humans can understand. And, their most vocal moms the MOST vocal about the harm declawing does to cats. So, whenever she encounters a fellow kitty-owned human who is considering declawing their cat, she will passionately discuss the cons involved with this procedure with the human. When the inevitable question “but won’t he/she/they ruin my furniture?”, Jade and Toby’s mom will take the opportunity to educate the human about scratching posts and how to teach their kitty too use it. She even has been known to invite other kitty moms and dads to her house to show them the variety of scratching posts she has in her home and let them see Jade and Toby using the posts. Then without fail, she will send the kitty mom or dad home with some sort of scratching post that Jade and Toby aren’t using much (after treating with an enzyme scent remover of course). Or, she will go to her stash of unused kitty stuff in the basement (yes, she has very spoiled kitties who have three times more toys and gear than they will ever use!) and send them home with a brand new scratching post.
Over the years, she has given away free standing posts, scratchers that hang over door knobs and even honest-to-goodness cat towers/furniture. Jade and Toby still get a little upset when they remember the tower with the enclosed roost at the top and hoops to jump through that she gave away! But, being the sweet loving the kitties they are, they have continued to use the old, beat up cat towe that has been recarpeted twice over the last 8 years. Until yesterday when mom caught Toby scratching her Berber carpet covered stairs. His mom couldn’t get mad at him. She realized the carpet was very similar to the carpet he had been taught to use on his scratching tree. But, she did realize that she had maybe given away one too many cat trees and probably could use one upstairs instead of just the one beat up one in the living room downstairs.
So, Jade & Toby really do deserve a new scratching post because their mom – while well intentioned – has given all of theirs away!
I have 2 cats I adopted as kittens that I love very much. They are always there for me when I have a bad day, or when I am sick. Even when I am batteling my major deporessive disorder and panic disorder, they always come purring to help me calm down and put a smile on my face. In short, they are basically my thearpy pets. My cats deserve a new scratching post, because I want to give back to them as much love and joy as they give me.
my mom just got me my first kitten we adopted it from the pound and her name is snoopy. i love her. we just got her last week and do not have a post like this but my mom got one that is on the floor so i think snoopy would love this. rachel
My husband and I have been fostering kittens from our local SPCA for the last two years. So far we’ve helped save the lives of over 30 kittens using our spare bedroom. We take in one litter at a time and raise them in our home, opening up space in an already crowded shelter. We raise these kittens until they are old enough for spay/neuter surgery, then they go up for adoption- and we start over with a new litter! Because these kittens are raised in a home environment, they learn how to be house pets, and members of a family. Right now our fosters stay in our spare bedroom. We try to do all we can to keep their environment enriched; a nice scratching post would be an ideal tool for our fosters to use and learn where they can scratch and stretch. Currently our foster room does not have any scratching post or board, and we would love to provide this enrichment for our kittens. It would be a great addition to our designated foster space, and countless foster kittens would enjoy scratching, playing and pouncing on and around it.
My 1 year old cat, Groucho, deserves an Ultimate Cat scratching post because he likes to claw everything, including my backside. He has other scratchers, all different styles. He does not, however, have one that is made of sisal rope and stands straight up. He has cardboard ones that are different shapes and an emerycat. He does not use any of these.
He would also benefit from the height of the post. He could use it to sit on to escape from the 4 month pug puppy that just loves to love on him, giving all kinds of slobbery kisses and cuddles with him. Groucho is such a good cat. He loves to play with the puppy, even though the puppy gets a little rough at times. Groucho just leaves and finds a place to hide (he has a “safe room” to go to that the puppy cannot get in) and is never mean to the puppy.
Hi! My name is Izzy Peebles. I am an Amazon Parrot and my cats deserve a scratching post as a measure of National security, or more specifically….. personal security! Honestly, I can only assume that it’s a much healthier exercise to sharpen their natural offenses, I mean defenses…… on such a high quality piece of equipment, rather then their unassuming house mates. Cats everywhere need to know exactly what an official scratching post is, as compared to poking avian pincushions like myself.
Our Siamese kitty, Romy, would love a scratching post, even though she only has three claws. We adopted her from the county shelter. The shelter personnel told us she had been declawed, and that three of them had grown back. We’d never heard of this even being a possibility.
She was ill when we got her, with some sort of respiratory infection, so we took her to the vet. We told the vet what we’d been told about her being declawed. The vet looked at her paws, and said it looked to him as though Romy had not undergone proper surgery by a vet to remove her claws, but rather because of the extensive scarring, and how her toes are misshapen, it looked like whoever had her before had pulled her claws out themselves. The three claws she still has did not grow back. He said whoever had done this must’ve stopped before finishing the job. Those three little digits extend from her paw because they were pulled in that attempt to declaw her, but the job wasn’t finished. We can only hope that whoever did this to her at least anesthetized her before brutally yanking her claws out one by one.
She’s ok now. She recovered from her respiratory infection, she is fed good food, has her own bed to sleep in, although she usually sleeps on the bed with us, and she gets lots of love. We didn’t think she’d need a scratching post, but that instinct is still there, and even with just three claws, she’s done quite a bit of damage to our box spring and sofa.
We would all be very grateful to win a scratching post!
My cats need the scratching post because they’re currently using my carpet – and literally ripping it out of the floor! I’m currently blocking their progress by placing heavy books where they like to pull – they have a scratching post downstairs after all.
Unfortunately, the thing that’s also downstairs is our big scary dalmatian puppy. And she’s REAL scary if you’re a cat. Imagine a huge white and black mass running full bore at you – and whats worse – she’s slobbery! The horror!
So, I can’t REALLY blame the cats for not wanting to come down right now to use the posts on their cat tree. But another place for them to scratch would really come in handy!
With three kitties this would be a purrfectly pawsome addition to our home.
=^-^= the kitty krew; Lili, Luci, and Mimi and their human mommeh, Shelley
Never enough scratching posts in the house…
We have two Scottish Folds. Theo is our tender soul. He is such the scard-y cat, neophobic, but still loves us in his own special way. Sofie loves everything. She loves the carpet, she loves the stairs, she loves the bed, the blankets and pillows, as well as my cabinets and walls, and even my legs and hair. When she was younger, we had to put up felt in our hallway. She would use this to climb along the wall, which was better than the door frames.
Since, we bought our house, we try to keep as many scratching posts for her as possible….she now has 5 along with a cat tree. The hanging one is not acceptable in her eyes so that makes 4. And she uses every other one. However, she still uses everything else as well.
One can never have too many scratching posts around for her…the taller the better it seems Since she likes to stretch and scratch at the same time. Theo is slowly taking after his sister and has found his interest in my carpet on my stairs. I want to keep this house nice for a while, but they keep pulling up the carpet fibers. They’ve ruined many a bamboo basket, and all the unusable blankets now reside in their sleeping areas. My pillows are ok, but the sheets and pillow cases bare their threads. It is amazing that she still stretches up on my legs and digs in with her claws. I love her with all my heart and just take it all in stride and call them cat blessings. But Ugh! I’m sure that one more scratching post for their pleasure will extend the life of my carpet and furnishings…
They “knead” this scratching post for her sanity as well as mine.
My 4 cats do deserve the Ultimate scratching post. They all go outside but must have a scratching post in every room. They are Cali (soon to be 12), Duncan(8), Luci (just turned 10) and Brooke(6). They always use the post and never scratch the furniture and that is why they deserve a new one!!!! They love Drs Foster and Smith…….PLEASE…check out my catbook for photos and their posts.
Tami
My “grandcat” Addie would love to win this awesome scratching post! My son adopted her when she was found wandering the parking lot at our gym. Animal control picked her up, and when no one claimed her, he just couldn’t let her live in a shelter. She’s a really sweet, talkative tabby, and she’s made herself right at home since being adopted! She’s now a strictly indoor cat and not declawed, so she would really appreciate a new scratching post.
we just adopted a 14 week old kitten from the pound. he is just adorable, but my ankles are being scratched up because he loves the feet! we just adopted another corgi from the humane society and seamus ( the kitten) needs something to do besides torment galwyn since he is afraid of cats. our other corgi, kyffin, doesn’ t pay any attention to either of them. seamus could really use a scratching post since mom keeps putting off getting one! bad mommy!
I have 3 cats that were all strays. Abby about 10, Kitty about 9, and Maggy about 4. My dog ate up all the cats toys and wouldnt let them play with hers. I feel a scratching post like that the dog would touch and the cats can have some fun.
Miss Kitty would really love to have this scratching post to play with!
My one year old kitty, Decima (”The Decimater”), would love a new scratching post. She is very good about only scratching her post and not the furniture or carpet, but she has completely worn out her homemade carpet-covered post and is in desperate need of a new one. She is very feisty and has extra toes/claws, so she seems to go through scratching posts extra fast. I would love for her to have a new scratching post too, because then maybe she’d spend more time attacking it and less time attacking my feet. I’m sure a nice store-bought sisal post would hold up better than my homemade ones, but living on a student budget I haven’t been able to buy one for her.
WELL, my reasons for NEEDING to win a scratching post are pretty simple: A) our female cat LOVES to scratch; B) what she gravitates towards scratching IS OUR CLOTH-UPHOLSTERED LIVING ROOM SOFA, LOVE SEAT AND RECLINER; C) my husband’s been functionally unemployed from his field of IT/Software Engineering SINCE A MONTH AFTER 9/11/01 !; D) I myself have been permanently medically/physically disabled by a rare illness since late August of 1994; E) all of the above make it IMPOSSIBLE for us to afford to be able to PURCHASE a scratching post for Callie on our own, so our own ‘Miss Kitty’ – Callie – NEEDS TO WIN THIS SCRATCHING POST PLEASE
Since I do not believe in getting Cats declawed (I have 3 Indoor Cats)
My poor Sofa and wood Banister are sure getting a work out
I would love to try your Scratching Post !!!
Thank you for providing great Products and helpful Info
I am a long time Customer
One reason why my kitty deserves this catabulous scratching post? I can think of a zillion!
A main reason is he is a chubby boy who is tired of watching his Sheltie brother get all of the toys! Poor Cody!! He can’t fetch, can’t go for walks, can’t bark for attention so sometimes getting him much needed exercise/toys falls through the cracks!
He occasionally will scratch the carpet and I think this would be a great way for him to stretch that kitty body and dance to the beat of Cat Scratch Fever!
Thought I had already commented but don’t see it. Please enter me in the givaway – my cats really need one of these.
I missed the last giveaway, and when I saw you giving away another scratching post I was thrilled. I have 7 cats. Most of which I rescued when their mommas deserted them when they were very small. In a house with this many cats, it’s almost impossible to get enough scratching posts for them all. I do have the cardboard ones and the ones you hang on door knobs, but they prefer the large cat tower we got for them and have just about destroyed the post on it. So I know they would absolutely love a new one.
Chloe needs a scratching post so she will stop using my living room furniture as one. She thinks scratching the furniture is a lovely way to get attention. Honestly, I know she understands it’s taboo to scratch the furniture, but does it anyway. Another reason is to get her to stop using the wallpaper and the kitchen carpet as her way of stretching. “Stop it Chloe, it’s not cute anymore!”
The cats and kittens in our rescue would love to have this scratching post! We try to teach our cats to learn proper behaviors to make them more adoptable. We also don’t believe in declawing cats because it’s cruel and inhumane. Having scratching posts in the house is very important to us so that the cats have a place to exercise their need to scratch without destroying furniture, walls, carpets etc. When people see that our cats and kittens are used to getting their nails trimmed and love to use a scratching post, they’re more likely to adopt from us. Every time a cat is adopted, it gives us the space to save another. Having this scratching post would be greatly appreciated by all the cats and kittens who’s lives have been changed by being adopted.
My cats deserve a new scratching post because their 2 Drs. F & S towers have become so terribly worn! Oh please make replacement carpeted posts avilable – the rest of the towers are in pristine condition but the stringy carpet is literally hanging off the carpeted posts! Until then my poor little kitties really deserve some carpet to scratch!
I am hoping to get selected for this scratching post for my niece! She is 9 yrs old and her mom (my sister) is FINALLY letting her get her very own kitten!! So this would be PERFECT! one less thing to worry about and 1 more Kitten NecessityTaken Care of! Thank you for the chance to win (again)
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I have ten cats and one scratching post. Needless to say that the scratching post is worn to the wood. They sure would enjoy a new one!!!
Meoooow, my rescued kitties need that scratching post
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My 2 cats are considered “seniors” now and they have never had a new scratching post. I have always purchased them from secondhand stores because they are so expensive! They have also ruined countless pieces of furniture and rugs/carpet but I consider it a sacrifice to the joys of owning cats!
My kitties need this scratching post so that one will stop scratching up my chair (which is unfortunately covered in a material that just begs to be scratched on). We have one old post that’s a bit too short for my big male – he really loves to stretch out when he scratches. It will also let my little girl be in peace when she goes to use the old post (which she loves) – my younger male thinks it’s only his post and attacks her when she tries to use it.
We now have 8 cats since we just had a kitten appear in the chicken coop. All are spayed and the one male is nuetered and up to date on shots. They all have been rescues of some sort. Of course each one has their own personalities and their own staff. My 77 year old mother and my disabled husband are at home most of the time so they have both become slaves to most of the cats. I bought a barnwood table a long time ago and since we are about to move I have been packing and I noticed that the legs of this table are shredded pretty badly. I have heard them scratching on it and squirt them with the water gun when I catch them. I grow my own catnip and we all have to sit somewhere out of the way when they get the cat nip because then they shred anything they can. The old house we live in right now has no carpet on the floors so they just sink those claws in and take off and skid everywhere in the house. I have one scratching post and one of the nail file things for cats but trust me, with 8 cats that isn’t enough. They are inside outside cats and have fun with the trees too but I prefer that my table not get any shorter.
Thanks
Jeanne in Texas
We live in a rooming house and there is not enough space for something large. the lovely vertical scratching post would lure my sweet cat kids away from the carpet and the bed as scratching areas.
My three kitties deserve a new scratching post because they have pretty much torn through all the ones they have now. They are big kitties (between 17 and 23lbs.) and need a nice, durable post. They are my “children” and I love them so much. The look on their sweet faces when they get something new that they know is just for them is magical. A lot of products will not easily work for them because of their size. This looks to be a good size for them! Thanks for having this contest!
My cats love all of their Foster & Smith products, but they would really love a new scratching post. Old reliable is getting very worn! >^_^<
i know my cats and i would love to have another scratching post. getting tired of them scratching the furniture, corners of the door in the kitchen. they also love using my blanket. so having another scatching post would be handy.
I would love a new scratching post for my TWO kitties! They love to scratch on their little one, but it is getting so worn! They are so good about not scratching anything in the house except their scratchy posts, etc. They deserve a new scratching post. I love Danica and Lexi!!!!!!
Our kitty, Patrick (and his 2 sisters who come up to visit from downstairs), deserve a scratching post because he as never had a “real” one. I make sure to get him premium food but most of the good scratchers are just too expensive for us…we buy him the cheaper ones for sure but he deserves to have a nice carpet one. We rescued him when my mother took in his family of kittens that appeared on our porch, mommy kitty and all). If it wasn’t for Patrick, my 4 yr-old wouldn’t have a pet to play with and I am so thankful for that, especially the part where although my little girl can get pretty playful and can be rough (don’t worry, I’m always watching
Patrick takes it all in stride and still plays with her. They both have a blast in the kiddie tent and tube! Please pick us and give a deserving kitty a chance at kitty scratching heaven! Thanks!
Our Sweet Eddie Binks deserves to win a scratching post to make him feel like he belongs. We recently adopted Eddie and we were hoping that he and Rodnie would become good buddies. Rodnie is older and grumpy and has had a bad year and just doesn’t want to play with baby Eddie. Everyday Eddie says oh pwease be my fweind, but this only amuses Rodnie. Maybe if Eddie won something special he would feel like he belongs and maybe Rodnie will get jealous and decide to play with Eddie on his new scratching post!
My kitty, Clone, is one stressed out kitty. He was peeing on our furniture a few months ago but now is doing better on prozac (Fluoxetine), the vet put him on this after extensive tests (urine analysis, blood tests and an x-ray for bladder stones) showed he was physically healthy. On Sunday, he lost his big sister, Roswell, our 14 or 15 year old cat. She passed away at home. He went looking all over for her after we came home without her. I feel so bad for him, he totally deserves a scratching post. Thanks for the giveaway!
My 2 cats deserve the scratching post because I have always wanted to buy them an awesome one, but fall short on the amount of money needed. They are expensive! While they love scratching around in a big cardboard box, I know they would LOVE LOVE LOVE having a scratching post. And it keeps them from scratching up our brand new furniture set. They are my babies and deserve the BEST!!
We’ve rescued 16 cats over the past 12 years – we need as many scratchers as we can get! LOL
Hi, My name is Thumper and my scratching post is almost all used up and Dreidel (my ‘brother’) won’t let me use the cardboard scratchers on the floor. Sooo, I have taken to going back to scratching on the door frames and walls and ‘Mom’ is always getting after me to use my pitiful used up post… I surely would love a new one since ‘Mom’ hasn’t gotten around to recovering the old one…. pleeeease? meow….
Thank you to all who shared your kitty stories with us in this post. Congratulations to winner, Tami Amburn!
I have 6 katz and all behave with scratching on their sisal posts and cardboard scratchers too EXCEPT for our beautiful black Persian Zoe Monique Puffalump. I have my white chaise covered with pillows, sheets and attached with bungee cords to keep Zoe from scratching on the nubby fabric. As long as it is covered she will use her cat tree post.until she comes upstairs then she wants to claw the back of the computer chairs. She is a very intelligent girl but very stubborn. I would love to win this post to put upstairs for her and maybe she will get it FInally.
Zoe and the five other katz have their paws crossed in prayer for this nice post.
My vet also told me not to declaw my cat. He said, declawing does nothing to benefit the cat.