A cat doesn't scratch the sofa to spite you. Scratching is an inborn behaviour, written into the biology of every cat, regardless of breed, age or temperament. I've bred pedigree cats for more than 14 years and watch their behaviour every day. You can't train scratching out of a cat. You can only give it somewhere that meets that need better than the sofa does.
Scratching serves four functions at once. It maintains claws - it strips off dead layers of keratin and exposes the sharp surface underneath. It stretches the whole body - scratching engages the paws, shoulders and back. It leaves scent marks - glands in the paw pads release pheromones that tell other cats where the territory's boundaries are. And it lets a cat release emotion, both positive and negative.
This is a behaviour that can't be eliminated. An owner's job is to give a cat the right place to do it.
A cat chooses the sofa when a scratcher fails on three counts: stability, height and location. It's not spite.
An unstable scratcher that wobbles, shifts, or makes worrying noises gets abandoned. Scratching uses a cat's whole-body strength - if the structure can't take it, the cat looks elsewhere. A scratcher that's too low doesn't allow a full stretch, which is one of the reasons cats scratch in the first place. A scratcher tucked away in a corner loses out to a sofa standing in an active part of the room, because cats scratch where they actually spend time - by the bed, at the entrance to a room, along their daily route.
In my own cattery, swapping a scratcher for a sturdier one and putting it in the right spot is usually all it takes for a cat to lose interest in the furniture.
A scratcher's location should match a cat's natural routes. Cats scratch at visible, strategic points around the home - places people walk through, and places where the cat itself spends the most time.
Placing a scratcher next to a bed works particularly well, because cats often scratch right after waking. A scratcher by a room entrance answers a cat's need to mark its territory. I don't think a scratcher hidden behind a wardrobe or in the corner of a spare room will do its job - the cat will simply ignore it.
Not every cat scratches vertically. Many are just as happy, sometimes more so, scratching horizontally. It depends on the cat's character, its preferences and the way it stretches its body.
Vertical scratching mainly works the back and shoulder muscles - a cat reaches its paws up and stretches its whole body. Horizontal scratching puts more load on the front paws - cats do it instinctively after waking from a nap, scratching a mat or the floor right by their bed.
In our designs, I put this observation to use with felt on wall shelves and platforms. Felt gives good grip - paws don't slip while climbing up or during play. At the same time, it becomes a natural surface for horizontal scratching. Cats choose it themselves: they scratch it, knead it, stretch out on it, and moments later they're simply asleep on it. One spot does several jobs at once - scratching, resting and keeping watch.
Most guides focus purely on vertical scratching. I believe a well-designed space should offer a cat both options - a vertical wall scratcher with a tree, and felt shelves and platforms for horizontal scratching.
A cat stretches its whole body while scratching. A scratcher that's too low doesn't allow the back muscles to fully extend, so the cat looks for another surface - a sofa, say, that's simply big enough.
This shows up especially with large breeds like Maine Coons. A cat weighing 8-10 kg needs far more room to stretch than the average house cat. If you live with a large breed, it's worth reading about designing space for large cats - the requirements around dimensions and load capacity are quite different.
Felt on shelves and platforms matters particularly here. It gives grip to older cats moving less confidently, and to kittens still learning to move around vertical space.
I don't design scratchers at a desk. I design them by watching cats - they're the ones who show me how high they like to stretch, which materials they choose most readily, and which solutions they actually use every day.
Every new PRASKA product goes through weeks of testing in pedigree catteries, including Maine Coon breeders. Trees like WIERZBA or GRAB, ARENA play areas, shelf sets - everything goes to breeders first, who put products through intensive everyday use. Breeders send us their feedback. We make adjustments based on it. Only once testing is complete does a product go on sale.
Because the best reviewer of a scratcher isn't a person. It's a cat.
A cat doesn't scratch because it wants to wreck your home. It scratches because that's its nature. Our job is to give it somewhere it can meet that natural need, every single day.
Izabela Praska
Pedigree cat breeder and founder of PRASKA
The sofa is more stable, taller, or better positioned than the scratcher. The fix is to swap it for a sturdier one and put it in the cat's active zone - next to its bed or by the entrance to a room.
It depends on individual preference. Some cats scratch only vertically, some only horizontally, and most do a bit of both. A wall scratcher gives vertical scratching, felt shelves give horizontal.
A scratcher should be stable, tall enough for a full stretch, and set up somewhere your cat actually spends time - not tucked away behind a wardrobe. For large breeds like Maine Coons, those measurements need to scale up accordingly.
If you want to give your cat somewhere it can scratch, climb and rest naturally, explore the PRASKA wall scratcher and shelf collection.
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