In keeping with our scratching theme, I’d like to share with you these elegantly simple and unique scratching posts that offer some different materials for scratching. Natural Scratch is a line of handcrafted scratching posts made of solid natural cork or solid white cedar wood. As we saw in the photos last week, lots of cats like to scratch on wood, so this may be the perfect solution.
Both the cork and the cedar scratchers have incredibly sturdy bases made of red cedar. The cedar post measures 32″ tall and the cork post comes in both 24″ and 32″. These posts have some really great details, designed to entice your cat to scratch, including the antenna toy made of stretchy string, and a “mouse hole” at the top. You can poke the antenna toy through the hole or hide treats or other toys so kitty will reach up to investigate and then dig her claws into the post.
The wood post is made with Wisconsin-grow Northern white cedar. This wood has a nice rough texture that cats love, plus it is very soft, so they can really sink their claws in. The company says that in all the years they’ve been making these posts, no one has ever reported a cat getting a sliver in a paw.
They sent us one of the cork posts to test, and as you can see, it is a big hit. It took a while for them to get used to the new material, but the toy at the top really helped attract them to the post. It gets a lot of use now, and although some crumbs flake off each time it gets clawed, you can barely see any wear. A little vacuuming cleans-up the cork bits. I think we will get many, many years of use out of this scratcher. And the cats especially love how tall it is, they can really get in a good stretch, as Ando and Theo are both demonstrating above.
Natural Scratch just came out with a line of horizontal scratchers, too, in both cork and cedar. They also have the string toy attached, as well as some holes that you can fill with catnip.
All Natural Scratch products come with a booklet with lots of helpful tips for training your cat to use the scratching post.
BONUS GIVEAWAY!
Natural Scratch is offering a 32-inch cork post for one lucky winner! To enter, please leave a comment on this post with your thoughts about the Natural Scratch products. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on May 16. One entry per person. This giveaway includes free shipping to the lower 48 states. Readers outside this region may enter if they are willing to pay the extra shipping charges.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Pretty cool. My cat would tear into it.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Natural Scratch has made some wonderful scrathing posts! My guys would love to try the cork post.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:38 am
My Smokey boy would love this. He is such an active kitten.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:38 am
My babies can’t get enough of things to scratch on, and this is perfect! Lovely design.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Would love to win for my scratch happy boys!
May 10th, 2010 at 8:47 am
My kitties and I have all of our fingers and toes crossed — all 120 of them! My latest kitty daughter, who is long and lithe and feisty, can’t find enough things to scratch. I think she, in particular, would like one of these nice scratching posts.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:49 am
Wow! Never thought I’d describe a scratching post as stylish, but this certainly is! My cats would go crazy with the nice height and being able to stretch on a taller ‘scratcher’!
May 10th, 2010 at 8:51 am
These look awesome. We need a tall scratcher in our home. My kitties would love this!!
May 10th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Could cork be the answer to what my kitties want to scratch? My carpet might last longer if cork is the answer. I would love to win this and find out.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:53 am
My two Tonks kittens would love a good stretch with one of these!
May 10th, 2010 at 8:56 am
I have 2 kitties and another scratching post would do wonders!
May 10th, 2010 at 8:56 am
Never thought of cork as a good scratching material. Would love to try it out.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:59 am
We would love to try these. We only have cardboard and sissel scratchers.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Great idea!! My kitties would love it!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Please enter me in this give away. My babies need a new post. Their old one is carpet and they have used it so much the carpet is disintegrating all over the house!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Oh Jasper and Kona would go crazy for one of these – and a no-splinter wood scratcher? Just too cool.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:26 am
My little girl cats would love this. I think its fantastic looking too.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:45 am
My kittens woudl love these posts and they would look great in my loft!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:50 am
i give this new scratching post 10 claws up. when i am not in the backyard, i miss my tree stumps when meowmie keeps me inside! this scratching post looks more fun than the couch legs!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:50 am
This would be really great – my cat has recently been scratching my brand new couch, I’d like to put a scratching post on each side of the couch for him to have an alternative so we could use one!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:50 am
These are cool; kitties would like them.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:52 am
different look and style then your run of the mill scratching post. like.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Hmmm…I’m not sure if my kitty would like to scratch on wood. Maybe worth trying though.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Yes, please! My cat scratches too much on random things like doors and the walls.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Oh yes! Keep those scratching ideas coming!
May 10th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Toby, Babe, Topsy, and Cupcake would love one of these!!! (And so would all the furniture in my house!)
May 10th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Finally! I’ve been complaining for years about how using carpet does not make sense. The cedar and cork are wonderful ideas!
My “CatKids” would love these! At 32″ it’s even big enough for my 20lb pure white furball Powder. When he stratches he can reach the top of my kitchen counters!
May 10th, 2010 at 10:19 am
What an incredible scratching post! My seven sweeties would love to sink their claws into one.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Yama and Kumo would love one of those !
May 10th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Neat!! Would love to win that for my scratch-monster, a.k.a. Hazel Cat. She LOVES scratching on wooden posts outside, too. Thanks
May 10th, 2010 at 10:36 am
My pixie-bob would appreciate this, I’m sure. He’s tall, and has a hard time getting a good stretch on regular scratchers. That probably explains why he likes the dining room chairs.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:38 am
The height of these scratchers is great. I like the idea of natural materials for scratching. I have the ultimate cat scratcher and as the cat scratches the material frays a little bit.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:40 am
These look like great fun, my kitties would love!
May 10th, 2010 at 10:57 am
I have been looking for an alternative to tradional scratching posts for my 5 babies. It would be amazing to have one of these!
May 10th, 2010 at 10:59 am
my sam likes to reach up and scratch the door jambs, much to my dismay.
i covered his favorite parts with some of that cat-tape, but the wooden scratcher would definitely encourage better behavior while allowing him to scratch the way he loves.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Great materials and height! Too many cat scratch posts are simply not tall enough. Since my cats have an affinity for chewing on and eating the loose carpet strands that most posts produce, I would love for them to have a cork post instead.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:25 am
cork. what a brilliant idea. thinking how i can build one with my wine corks….. but winning one would be easier !
May 10th, 2010 at 11:30 am
my kitty would love this! and maybe it could protect the couch the loves destroying so much.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:38 am
maybe they’ll stop trying to scratch my futon!
May 10th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Love the string toy and the mouse hole, and all the thought that went into the design of the scratch posts. They are unique and functional.
I’ve yet to find a scratcher that appeals to my cat so I hope I win one for him.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I love the details – mouse holes and stretchy string – and would really like to get my cat interested in cork instead of the sofa
May 10th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
my cats would love this!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
These look like lots of fun for kitties!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Supercool!!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Would love this for my kitten Chloe!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
These look wonderful! With 4 cats, I always have need of new scratch surfaces!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
This is probably the nicest looking post I’ve seen! Not trashy or flashy looking – just natural and probably even looks better with age (pretty much amazing for a scratching post
. Definitely going to check these out online!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Zephyr and Comet Blue would have a grand time scratching both the cork and cedar posts. I bet the cedar lets off a sent which would refresh the air with each scratch! Great ideas – also helping the cork industry now that wine bottles have started using plastic.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Kitty Jiji says: “I want one of these, please!”
May 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Mitzi and Minka would love this!