I bought my cat a scratching post and he won't use it

[Sailboat]

We show our cat by scratching the post ourselves.

Even if he is currently scratching something undesirable, like the furniture, he will leave off and come over and start using the scratching pad we got for him IF he sees us using it. After that, he will usually routinely use it; if he scratches something else undesirable later on, we run over to the scratching pad and run our fingernails on it and he comes right over almost every time.

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[Markxxx]

@Pleonast

Something else to consider: location. My cats like their posts out in the open along their typical walking routes. We tried putting the posts in a corner so it was out of the way. They were ignored. For whatever reason, the posts need to be conveniently (for the cats, not the humans) placed.

You know I never thought of this, but now that you bring it up, this is SO true.

[Clothahump]

I’ve found a quick shot of spray-on catnip will make the post much more attractive.