The Covid-19 pandemic has been ongoing for over a year now and according to a study conducted by The American Pet Products Association, “11.38 million U.S. households have gotten a new pet during the pandemic.” While the exact amount of cats included in this number is not clear, cats are a portion of that number. This article should inform cat owners on the importance of scratchers and how to find fun alternatives to a basic one.
But first, why do cats need scratchers? According to an article written by the Human Society of the United States, cats scratch “to remove the dead outer layer of their claws, to mark their territory by leaving both a visual mark and a scent (they have scent glands on their paws), and to stretch their bodies and flex their feet and claws.”
Cat Scratchers and Where to Find Them
As the years have progressed, cat scratchers have improved in durability and design. These days you can find many fun designs.
Blanca Hernandez (sophomore, Undeclared) has been a cat owner for over a year. She took in a homeless orange cat one day and named him Eddie. This is her first cat, and she has learned a lot since taking him in. Scratchers in particular, have been really important and as Hernandez stated, “I love to buy Eddie scratchers because it keeps him away from my furniture. Plus, they look really cute in my house.”
The image above is one of the various scratchers that Hernandez owns for her cat. She added string lights to give it a nice flare and Eddie loved it. She purchased it at Target and it is still available for purchase for anyone interested.
This scratcher is mostly made up of cardboard which makes it pretty fragile. Hernandez made it last for a few months, and a tip that she gave was, “Scratchers like this tend to have cheap adhesives, and that can make them fall apart really fast. I use a glue gun to get the pieces to really stick together and it’s a great trick. My scratchers tend to last for a really long time because of this.”
Another example of a truck scratcher is provided in the image aside. The photo is of a cat owned by Signal reporter, Jocelyn Burke. Unfortunately, this RV scratcher was Christmas themed and it is no longer available.
However, Target sells multiple other designs throughout the year. They like to follow holiday themes and so they create new designs for different holidays. Easter just passed but Easter scratchers are still available at multiple Target locations. Examples include this $13 Easter Egg Camper and this $25 Deluxe Double Decker Painting Studio!
Target is not the only retailer that sells scratchers however. Esmeralda Rivera (junior, Kinesiology) is another cat owner who enjoys spoiling her cat. She has a tuxedo cat named Wanda, and finds scratchers at Petco. Rivera mentioned that her favorite scratcher has been one designed to look like a couch. 
Rivera stated, “When I saw the couch, I literally gasped because I had never seen a scratcher like that before. I knew I had to get it, and I was so happy that my cat loved it. This was seriously such a great purchase.”
Rivera bought this particular scratcher in October 2020, and it is still around. It has been heavily used, but Wanda still enjoys laying on it and scratching it up. Because this purchase was made so long ago, it is no longer available. Fortunately, similar styles can be found at Five Below and Petco.
House scratchers are another common style. While these look pretty simple, cats tend to enjoy them immensely. An example of these scratchers can be found in the image aside. 
Mayte Fregoso (junior, Liberal Arts) is a relatively new cat owner. She noticed that a stray cat kept on wandering around her house and she decided to keep it. Because this has been her first cat, Fregoso mentioned that she didn’t realize the importance of scratchers until the cat started to ruin her furniture and her walls.
Since then, she’s bought a few scratchers from Amazon. Fregoso stated, “I should’ve done better research before taking him in because now my bed is kind [of] ruined. But it’s okay because I’ve started to get him scratchers and he has started using his nails on those, instead of on my things.”
One final design recommendation for scratchers are ones made from rope. Two examples are shown in the images below. These scratching posts are great for cats who enjoy stretching and scratching at the same time.
Overall, it’s very clear that scratchers are a must for cats and they don’t have to be boring. Various styles and designs can be found at stores such as Target, Petsmart, Petco, Amazon and much more!