It has been a known fact to me that cats love sisal scratching post more than anything else. I have had a standalone post at home but it's worn and the rope unwound. My cats didn't make a big use of it for a long time. Unfortunately my sofa, bed sheet and even window net fell victims. After my tom cat scratched the net badly on a newly install bay window, I decided to look for a solution seriously. I have turned down all possible web researched approaches -- de-claw: it's a bad recipe. It's not only cruel to cats, it also changes their personality.
- Soft-claws: sounds promising but takes time to put them on cat's claws. They fall in a few months anyway. They are also expensive.
- orange/lemon spay: Cats hate this smell and run away. But they will return. Nothing permanently give off the orange smell around sofa, bed, linens, window nets, etc. If there is it will annoy human beings too.
- Sticky paper: Never tried it but can imagine cats will stay away because the feeling of the stickiness is really bad for them. But I can't place these sticky papers everywhere.
- Spay of water: This is the easiest method. It's effective at least for the scene. But you need to constantly watch out for cats - how practical is it to keep an eye on cats all the time?

Eventually I discovered my own solution - place a sisal post near wherever cats tend to do scratches, by window, bed, sofa, etc. I have witnessed my cats prefer scratches on these posts a lot more often and they rarely attacked my valuables. The only drawback may be that you have to place quite a few of them around the house, and they probably appear not a perfect match to your décor. Personally I'm ok with this and anyone visiting my house should understand that cats' posts are as common as their mobile phones - at least they are not as messy as those cable wires.

I haven't had them for long enough to add another star. I'll see how durable the strings turn out to be. But so far they are money well spent (I have purchased and returned a multi layer terrace with many scratching posts at $150 but my cats almost ignored it).

If your cat likes to run and jump on it, be prepared for some crashing. Although mostly as sturdy as ones that are a little taller and a little larger radius. Nadia and Loki (10 year old siblings) loved it, though I think Loki loved it more. Sadly, Loki died shortly after we purchased this tower and Nadia seems to prefer the scratch lounger or lying on the ironing board instead. Now, one of my problems when shopping for this was actual size comparison. If you have Tidy Cats 35 pound pails, it's as tall as 1 1/2 stacked.and the bottom if the pail fits perfectly within the lip of the perch.

I wanted this as a scratching post for my cat. It's tall enough for him to want to use it and wide enough so it doesn't tip over. My cat is fat so I already knew he wasn't getting his big butt in there but looking at it I don't think any full sized cat could curl up in there. Would be fun for kittens. The top part has half a shelf so if your cat can get it there they can only sleep on the bottom. I'm still giving it 5 stars because it does what I bought it for. if I thought my cat could cozy up in there I'd be disappointed.

This review is for the angled scratcher. I like that it's not too big and doesn't take up too much space, but is still a good size for my cat so she uses it. I've tried horizontal scratchers, which she never used, and well as vertical scratchers and finally angled scratchers. She definitely prefers the angled scratcher, but all cats are different so your mileage may vary. This is actually the second one exactly like this I've purchased (last one was from a different store but was exactly the same item). It lasted a few years and eventually the rope started fraying and was eventually cut all the way through after a few years (about 3 years) of use, which I consider to be very good lifespan for something that is scratched with very sharp nails on a daily basis. My cat uses it virtually every single day. She gets excited when I come home from work and scratches it extra in her excitement. Mine came with a white pom-pom on the top rather than the 2-tone red/green shown in the picture but that is fine and actually preferred. I will purchase again in another few years if/when the rope on this one eventually wears out. Highly recommend.

The angled scratcher that I received is a deep maroon color rather than a beige- my cat LOVES these scratchers regardless so I am keeping it- but if color is important to you, be ware!