Is the Emery Cat Scratching Board worth the shipping fee?

[Ivan Seeking]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qap9KdhWNWE
https://www.emerycat.com/flare/next

We're giving these a try.

The second scratching board is "free", except the shipping and handling, which is $16.

 

[mgb_phys]

Would a belt sander be quicker and cheaper ?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Would a belt sander be quicker and cheaper ?

That's pretty much the idea here.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=235564

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Would a belt sander be quicker and cheaper ?

i think that would scare the crap out of the cat

 

[Moonbear]

I just saw those advertised on TV today. Let me know if they work. Though, even if they don't really file the nails down as promised, for two relatively nice looking scratchers, the price isn't bad just to be a scratcher as long as it lasts a decent amount of time and doesn't leave grit everywhere.

 

[mgb_phys]

i think that would scare the crap out of the cat

Entertaining though

 

[sas3]

“Emery Cats” who would want to pet them?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

“Emery Cats” who would want to pet them?

Emery Cat-Scratching-Board
Emery Cat Scratching-Board
Emery Cat-Scratching Board
Emery-Cat Scratching-Board
Emery-Cat-Scratching-Board
Emery Cat Scratching Board

 

[GeorginaS]

I don't know about the emery board part, but what I do know is that cats scratch stuff to mark territory. They like tall things they can stretch up as far as possible leave a mark in -- like the side of your couch and tall scratching posts -- so they can let everyone who approaches or comes into the territory know that a big, tall, strong kitty lives there. They'll also tend to do a quick claw of a small area of carpet to mark territory from scent glands in their paws.

So, it strikes me that, unless the cat perceives the horizontal thing on the floor as an area to mark, they wouldn't take an interest in it. Or, they may take an interest once, but not repeatedly. If the surface of the thing actually dulls claws, that would be cool (although cutting Bean's claws is no big deal for either of us) but to encourage the cat to want to return to the thing again and again, I would think it would have to be a part of a tall post. At least, that's what I know of cat behaviour and trying to get cats to claw horizontal things and teaching cats what stuff in the house they can claw to be all territorial with and what not.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone got one of these things and their cat is interested in it regularly.

 

[Evo]

Don't cats scratch to sharpen their claws? It seems to me that the cat would have to scratch for a very long time to dull their nails, but it would be an excellent claw sharpener.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Don't cats scratch to sharpen their claws? It seems to me that the cat would have to scratch for a very long time to dull their nails, but it would be an excellent claw sharpener.

It's not the sharpness so much as the length. We would still need to trim the cats claws, but maybe it will help to reduce the maintenance needs with some light filing each day.

We finally got the boards and opened them yesterday. So far we have seen a little legitmate use and a lot of face rubbing for the catnip rush. Isaac is the only cat that immediately went for it as advertised, but it definitely got everyone's interest. I thought the emery board was going to be a coated plastic, but it is made of a coated cardboard pile. We recently bought a scratching post thingy that uses the same stuff, but without the emery coating, and the cats love it. Hopefully this will work. Don't know how long it will last if they make use of it. I can easily see them ripping this to pieces pretty quickly [same for the new scratching post which is looking tattered already].

The other thing that I noticed is that the abrasive is on the top surface as well as down in the ridges. I'm not sure this will fly as it must be rough on their pads.

So far, not impressed.

 

[GeorginaS]

I bought a floor situated toy-scratcher-mabob for Bean. She picked all of the catnip out of the crevices and hasn't gone near the thing again.

http://www.hagen.com/uk/cats/addinfo/catit_design_senses.cfm"

I saw the "emery board" scratchers in the pet store. I think their orientation is wrong for a lot of cats' purposes.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Our one cat, Isaac, is really getting with the program. We saw him hit it several times last night over a period of about two hours. Little Tyke just sits on it and tries to eat the catnip. Jack has not yet shown an interest, but he likes to rip things up, so I haven't given up on him. Unfortunately, we are most interested in Little Tyke as she has the greatest need for maintenance.

 

[Evo]

I usually let Dr Foofer (RIP) shred cardboard boxes in the spare bathroom. He'd use it as a hideout first, then slowly shred it. It meant doing a sweep once a day, but it kept him away from his favorite chair, and it was free. Cats love shredding cardboard, I think it's that gratuitous ripping feel under their claws that they like.

 

[hypatia]

When Mister adopted me, he was already de-clawed. Yet, he still maintains the urge to sharpen his claws. I figure while he is alive, I cannot get another cat with claws, because they would follow his lead and use the sofa or side of the bed.

 

[GeorginaS]

I just watched that commercial again and I'm not sure I can count the number of things that bug me about it. One thing "special arch design". What exactly does that mean and why should I care? The "playful toy attachment". Really? The toy is playful, is it? And it's no wonder the woman can't trim her cat's claws. You don't hold them upright to your body to try and do it. A quick bit of reading would cure that pound of stupidity.

But it's like all of the other lunkhead infomercials for goofy products. The Snuggie! For people who can't seem to manage a blanket without twisting themselves up in knots. Chip bag slicers for people who can't open a cellophane package without exploding the contents of the bag out onto their head. The exaggerations are endless and annoying as all get out. Why must the commercials operate on the premise that we're all inept and stupid?

Ivan, just out of curiosity, is it possible to lean that thing up against a wall without it tipping over? I'd be interested to know whether that peaks Little Tyke's or Jack's interest. You'll notice that even in the lunkhead infomercial they show that cats claw the side of a tree and the side of a sofa. It's all vertical stuff. Just curious.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yes, it probably could be leaned against a wall or attached to something. The emery board just sits in the tray, so you don't even need the tray. Also, you could just buy the replacement units and attach them to something. I was considering attaching it to the scratching post, which suddenly seems to interest no one.

Some commercials really do stretch the idea of stupidity to the point of absurdity. But, then again, how many people can identify China on a map?

There was woman who joined the family in Portland for Christmas dinner. She had fallen for a good number of products mentioned in this forum. She has magnets in her shoes...

 

[Evo]

My cat didn't care if the object to scratch was lying on the floor. People think cats prefer something upright because, let's face it, most of the objects they can scratch are upright.

 

[GeorginaS]

My cat didn't care if the object to scratch was lying on the floor. People think cats prefer something upright because, let's face it, most of the objects they can scratch are upright.

I don't think that "people think" that cats prefer something upright. It's my understanding that cats do prefer something upright, although they will scratch flat surfaces too. They have their own cat reasons for doing what they do. This isn't a peer reviewed journal but, it's certainly not the first I've read about cat behaviour from PH.Ds and other cat specialists.

Daniel Q. Estep, Ph.D. & Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists, Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. 4994 S. Independence Way, Littleton, CO 80123

Our neighbor has a female cat named Peaches who frequently scratches the bark on a cherry tree in their front yard. In fact, the tree has been scratched so much that there are noticeable gouges in it and small pieces of bark have accumulated on the ground underneath. Why does Peaches scratch this tree so much?

It has long been assumed that when cats scratch objects with their front paws that they are sharpening their claws. It turns out that this is only a secondary reason. Research on cat behavior suggests that the major reason for this behavior is communication. By roughing up the bark of a tree (or the leg of your favorite chair) the cat is letting other cats or people know where she is and what she is up to.

Cats tend to pick a small number of conspicuous objects in their environments to scratch such as trees, fence posts, the corner of the couch, etc., and return to them repeatedly. This is why the tree next door looks so scratched up and why your cat may find it difficult to leave your couch alone. The scratched surface leaves a highly visible mark that can be easily seen by other cats. In addition, cats have scent glands in their paws so that when they make scratching movements they leave odor cues that the cats can smell. The fact that cats leave scent marks by making scratching movements may be the reason that cats will continue to try to scratch objects even after they have been declawed. Declawed cats may still be leaving scent marks on objects they scratch.

We don’t know exactly what cats are communicating with their scratching. Both males and females do it, it is done inside and outside the home and even by cats living with no other cats around. It could be a territorial warning or just a marker that announces "Peaches lives here and is alive and well!

http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/article-applied-behavior/why-cats-scratch-things"

That's why I was curious if Ivan could experiment a bit and see if the thing curried more favour being upright.

And yes, Ivan, given the proliferation of absurd commercials, one can only extrapolate out from that and assume that the commercials are convincing someone and making someone else money. Unfortunately, or fortunately as far as I'm concerned, I know where to find China on a map.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'll try leaning one against the wall down here in my office and see if I can coax Little Tyke into using it. I almost forgot that we have two of them.

Isaac seems to use it many times a day. I'll give it a few weeks but we should be able to tell if the thing does any good.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The jury is in. Isaac spends a lot of time on Tsu's [my wife] lap. As a result, Tsu knows exactly how deeply into her chest his claws should sink when he's happy. She says there is no doubt that his claws are both shorter and duller than ever before. I hadn't even asked her about it yet, but today she called me in the office to tell me. So it seems the product works if a cat can be coaxed to use it. I'll mount one vertically and see how it goes.

Already this is great news as Isaac is not a cooperative cat. This alone makes it worth the purchase.

 

[Moonbear]

Ember doesn't care if her scratchers are flat on the floor or upright. When she has a choice, she actually seems to go for the flat ones more often. Then again, I got her a new one, and apparently the catnip that came with it is MUCH more potent than any other catnip she's ever experienced, because she was going bonkers rubbing all over it (I've never seen her actually react to catnip before...so of course I then had fun dipping all her toys in the catnip too. )

As far as I can tell, the clawing is to help shed the outer layers of claw as they grow. They seem to grow in layers with each layer shedding as ones below grow longer. If I look around the scratchers, I see lots of bits and pieces of shed claw parts.

Trimming Ember's claws seems to have no effect on her scratching, just on how sharp and pointy they are when she grabs my hands when we are playing. She always prefers really rough surfaces (cardboard, sisal mats or sisal rope) rather than softer surfaces like carpet, and I think that's because she needs to really get those claws to catch on something to pluck what I imagine might be an itchy or annoying loose bit off. So, I could imagine her preferring an emery surface too.

So, now the thing to wait for is how long they last with regular use and whether it's long enough to be worth the cost.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

So, now the thing to wait for is how long they last with regular use and whether it's long enough to be worth the cost.

I was checking for damage this morning. After seven days, so far, so good. Already it is doing better than that stupid cardboard scratching post thingy. I think they are made using the same material, but the abrasive coating adds strength to the cardboard.

 

[Moonbear]

I was checking for damage this morning. After seven days, so far, so good. Already it is doing better than that stupid cardboard scratching post thingy. I think they are made using the same material, but the abrasive coating adds strength to the cardboard.

Ember is usually happy with the cardboard scratchers that cost about $5...just a box about 6" by 18" holding corrugated cardboard. They look ragged quickly, but really last months to a year (I flip them over and use the other side when she wears out one side). The other scratchers are more expensive...about $9 each made of a plastic frame with some sort of fibrous stuff that looks a little like the wrong side of a carpet, but in multi-colors. I have three of those. Two of them she uses like a normal scratcher, and the third she likes to pluck the strings out of.

 

[GeorginaS]

The jury is in. Isaac spends a lot of time on Tsu's [my wife] lap. As a result, Tsu knows exactly how deeply into her chest his claws should sink when he's happy. She says there is no doubt that his claws are both shorter and duller than ever before.

Very nifty! Even though Bean doesn't fuss getting her claws clipped, if she had something to keep the tips smooth, I'd be very happy. Bean wakes me every morning by lying on my tummy and chest and poking my face with her paw. Sharp claws catch sometimes, jarring me from a dead sleep, and I'm not overly friendly about it. Not that getting hollered at or sworn at deters my cat at all. She just pokes me again.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

One caveat: Isaac's claws barely even exist anymore! They are just stubs. I wonder if his claws broke off and were then honed smooth. They are so short that this actually concerns me a bit. I guess we'll just have to see how this averages out over time.

Still waiting to see if I can coax Tyke by placing the one upright. I have so much inventory in my office right now that I don't have a place for it!

 

[pantaz]

One caveat: Isaac's claws barely even exist anymore! They are just stubs. I wonder if his claws broke off and were then honed smooth. They are so short that this actually concerns me a bit. I guess we'll just have to see how this averages out over time.

If there is no bleeding, and the cat isn't limping or showing signs of pain, I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[FredGarvin]

My cat loves the one we have.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My cat loves the one we have.

What is the ball designed to do; torture them with something they can never catch! Do you recall approx. how much you paid for that one? That kitty is almost a spittin image of my Little Tyke, btw, except that Tyke is much better looking.

I have the second scratcher in my office now. I was able to coax Tyke to play with the feather thingy with the board mounted upright, but she hasn't used it to scratch yet. She did knock it over and sit on it.

If there is no bleeding, and the cat isn't limping or showing signs of pain, I wouldn't be concerned.

Tsu is thrilled with the results with Isaac. Already the wounds on her chest are beginning to heal. I see or hear Isaac using the scratcher frequently; even now when his claws are well trimmed. So far, as near as I can tell, Jack hasn't even looked at the thing since the first day. So the tally at our house so far: One cat took to the scratcher instantly and four showed no interest at all. If they use it, it does seem to work surprising well.

 

[FredGarvin]

Sorry I didn't get back to you Ivan. I forgot about this thread.

IIRC, the whole thing was about $17 or so. The only drawback is they want about $6 for replacement inserts of the scratch pad.

My cat loves the ball and got good enough to learn how to pop it out of the track.