Georplast Happy Cat Cardboard Scratcher with Toy - 41x38cm - Grey

The Georplast Happy Cat Cardboard Scratcher with Toy is a broad cardboard scratch pad with a toy built into it, so the cat gets somewhere to scratch and something to chase in the same footprint.

Key Features

• 41 x 38 x 5cm - wider than the Bill pad, and thicker
• Corrugated cardboard scratching surface
• Integrated toy element to draw the cat to it in the first place
• Broad enough for a cat to lie on while using it, which is how most cats end up treating a flat scratcher
• Four colours: Blue, Grey, Green and Pink
• Grey, Green and Pink are in stock; Blue is out of stock

Why Cats Scratch, And Why It Matters Where

• Scratching is not sharpening claws. It sheds the dead outer layer, stretches the whole body from shoulder to toe, and leaves both a visual mark and a scent mark from glands in the paws
• It is not optional behaviour and it cannot be trained out. The only working approach is to give them somewhere better than your sofa
• Placement decides everything. Put the scratcher where the cat already scratches, and next to where they sleep - the first thing most cats do on waking is stretch and scratch
• A scratcher in the spare room will be ignored. One in front of the sofa they have been shredding will not

Scratcher Plus Toy

• The toy is what gets a cat to investigate a new object. Once they have scratched it once, the scratching is self-reinforcing and the toy becomes a bonus
• It also means one object does two jobs, which matters in a small flat
• Do not expect the toy to hold attention the way an interactive one will. The scratching surface is the main event here

Who Makes It

• Georplast s.r.l. is an Italian manufacturer founded in 1970, based at Mezzago just outside Milan
• They injection-mould their own plastic rather than buying it in, and the whole pet range is made in Italy
• Design is done with an Italian studio, which is why the trays and carriers look less utilitarian than most of the category

Good To Know

• Cardboard sheds. Expect flakes around it - a mat or a corner of hard floor underneath saves vacuuming the rug
• Replace it when the surface is worn flat. A shredded scratcher stops being satisfying and the cat goes back to the furniture
• Supervise a cat that chews rather than scratches. Cardboard is not meant to be eaten
• Colours vary by batch and the photograph is a guide. Pick on size first - the colour is the part that matters least to the cat