Cattress Mattress originated from an understanding that every family member within a home needs their own purrsonalized space in order to thrive.  When you think about it, every room in your home is set up for the ease of engaging in some activity associated with an area.  The CatAWhack Unit establishes purrsonalized space that is equipped to support feline activities and satisfy multiple needs associated with cat health and well-being. This inspires repetitive use by feline family members leading to natural scent placement that is associated with feelings of comfort, safety, and security. Feline family members begin to associate pawsitive rewards, outcomes, and conditions with the unit inspiring return visits and repeat scratch purrformances.

Cat scratching is a natural form of self-expression for felines that satisfies multiple needs associated with health and well-being:

• the need to create purrsonal boundaries, map territory, and establish space within the home by providing visual and olfactory cues that serve as a form of communication
• the need to engage in stretching exercises that condition the muscles, ligaments, and tendons within the shoulders, spine, legs and toes for health and vitality
• a natural desire toward self-care (exercise, stretching, entertainment, self-expression, playing, nail maintenance)
• the need to simply engage in an enjoyable activity associated with excitement and play

The felines of the CatAWhack Crew scratched and meowed out the following message from “SCRATCH”…

=Stretching & Scent Cues

=Communication

=Recreation

=Assertion (Pawsitive Statement or Declaration)

=Territorial Signaling

=Claw Maintenance

=Health and Hello (Used to attract attention or as a greeting, a calling, or response)

• an absence of scratching surfaces that appeal to their pawticular purreferences (texture; direction – vertical, horizontal, angled)
• ineffective or inconsistent methods used to redirect and reinforce scratching behavior (wrong approach, wrong reward, wrong deterrent, wrong placement, wrong location, wrong timing)
• the absence of a designated space within the home that is reinforced by multiple visits associated with the fulfillment of daily needs such as eating, drinking, sleeping, scratching, playing, exercising, perching
• not enough stimulation or environmental enrichment (absence of window views, play time, or attention)
• not enough scratch options, feeding stations, and designated purrsonalized spaces to accommodate the needs of individual felines in  multi-feline homes

Purrsonalized Instruction: Provide instruction, guidance, and cues to your feline family member based on their purrsonality and their pawticular habits (scratch direction; scratch surface; scratch location; behaviors that occur immediately before or after the scratch practice)

Proper Inspurration: Determine how to inspire a mutually beneficial collaboration with your feline family member (What evokes pawsitive responses; peaks curiosity; and engages their interest)

Pawsitive Rewards for the Right Scratch on the Right Surface: Catnip; play time; pawsitive praise; treats; toys; kitty massage; Admittance to an area such as a screened in porch, closet, basement that is not always accessible

Great Question!  Sisal is a strong, durable, natural plant fiber sustainably harvested by hand from the leaves of the “Agave Sisalana” cactus plant.  Feline family members get the texture and durability of Sisal while also experiencing the soft feel of wool underpaw.  Our 40% Sisal/60% Wool anti-static, non-toxic machine woven combo provides a naturally derived scratch surface that stands up to the most vigorous scratching; has a softness that is easy on the paw pads; and an appearance that is easy on the eyes.

Use a feather duster or vacuum cleaner hose with nozzle on a regular basis to prevent dust build up.  A damp cloth can be used to remove dirt, spills, vomit, or regurgitated hairballs.  A fine grit sand paper can be used to buff out stains or discolored wood.

CAT SCRATCH (RE)CONDITIONING GUIDE (Also known as THE DECLAW INTERVENTION CHECKLIST)

Cat Scratch Reconditioning:  What It Is AND What It Isn’t