Scratching post base

When buying a scratching post, be sure to choose one that has an adequate base. Small bases allow cats to wobble the post or even tip it over. Either might cause the cat to look for more solid places to claw. They don't call 'em fraidy cats for nothing.

When I first offered Natural Scratch years ago, it came with a 14" x 14" square base that did a nice job of supplying a stable footprint for what was then a 24"-tall post. The base worked well but it meant shipping in a box at least 14" wide. With the post only about 4" wide, this resulted in the transport of a lot of air. The box needed to be big because of the base. Ecologically this wasn't good.

I set out to design a base that could be shipped in two parts so the entire unit would fit in a box about 4" x 4". The result is the X-shaped base Natural Scratch uses today. It provides a foundation that is the equivalent to a base that is 22" square.