Sokoke ignores sliding scratcher — fix it

A scratcher that slides when your cat uses it is basically useless — cats need resistance to get any satisfaction from scratching, and if it moves underfoot they'll give up on it immediately and go back to the sofa. Scratching is completely normal behaviour by the way — your Sokoke isn't being destructive, they're conditioning their claws and leaving scent marks. The fix isn't stopping it, it's redirecting to something that actually works. Since yours is already scratching horizontally, that instinct is right — you just need a horizontal scratcher with real weight and a non-slip base. Can I ask: is the current one cardboard, carpet, or something else, and roughly how big is it?

That's exactly the problem — those thin flat cardboard ones are fine for kittens but a four-year-old Sokoke will have a proper pull on them and they've got nothing to anchor against. Laminate makes it worse because there's no friction. You need something substantially heavier with a rubberised base. What does she scratch elsewhere — just floors and flat surfaces, or does she also go at chair legs or vertical surfaces?

That tells me she's not exclusively a horizontal scratcher — the sofa corner is a vertical surface, so she's comfortable with both angles. A flat scratcher alone won't fully redirect her from the sofa. I'd recommend the Fukumaru large corrugated cardboard scratcher — it's a chunky inclined wedge design, which means it serves both angles, it's heavy enough that it won't budge on laminate, and the corrugated cardboard surface is satisfying in the same way sisal is. Place it right next to the sofa corner she currently uses and she'll almost certainly transfer across within a few days.

Cardboard scratchers do wear down — that's normal and actually part of why cats like them, the surface keeps renewing as they scratch. The Fukumaru is thick enough that it lasts considerably longer than the flat pet-shop versions, and when it does wear out the replacement cost is low. If you want something that lasts longer, a sisal-topped flat board is more durable, but honestly most cats find dense corrugated cardboard more satisfying to scratch, and satisfaction is what gets them to choose it over your furniture.

Placement is ninety percent of it — right next to the spot she currently scratches, not across the room. You can rub a tiny amount of catnip on the surface on day one to draw her attention to it, but most cats investigate new textures on their own pretty quickly. Don't move it once she starts using it, even if it's in an inconvenient spot — wait until it's a firm habit, usually two to three weeks, then shift it a few centimetres at a time if you want to reposition it.