This is a specific conversation about Cat scratching posts — ones they'll actually use — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A Selkirk Rex getting their curls snagged in sisal is a real problem — that looped weave grabs textured fur and can be uncomfortable or even pull out tufts. Before I point you toward an alternative, a couple of quick things: how big is your cat, does he or she tend to scratch vertically or horizontally, and where in the house are they currently doing most of their scratching?
She's pretty medium-sized, around 4.5kg. Definitely a vertical scratcher — she goes for the side of the sofa and the doorframe. I tried a sisal post and she used it a few times but then stopped, probably because the fur kept catching. She mostly scratches in the living room near where I sit.
inparticular.ai
That makes complete sense — if it caught her fur even once or twice, she'd associate it with discomfort and move on. For a Selkirk Rex you want a smooth-loop or flat-pile carpet surface rather than twisted sisal. The weave needs to be tight enough to satisfy the scratch but without the snag points. And at 4.5kg she needs a post that's at least 60–65cm tall so she can get a proper full-body stretch vertically. Can I ask — did the sisal post she tried feel stable, or did it wobble when she put weight on it?
It wobbled a bit honestly. It was one of those cheaper ones with a small base. She'd lean into it and it would tip slightly.
inparticular.ai
That'll do it every time. Even a slight wobble teaches a cat the post isn't trustworthy, and they go back to the sofa because that doesn't move. So you need two things sorted at once: smooth carpet surface and a genuinely stable, weighted base. My recommendation is the Trixie Baza scratching post — it comes in a 62cm height, has a flat short-pile carpet covering rather than sisal, and the base plate is wide and heavy enough that it doesn't shift under a cat who's really committing to a scratch. It's specifically the carpet variant you want, not any sisal version. It's well-built for the price and consistently gets good feedback for cats who've been put off wobbly or rough posts.
That sounds exactly right. Is there anything I should do to get her to actually use it when it arrives, given she's already had a bad experience?
inparticular.ai
Yes — place it right next to the sofa arm she currently uses, not across the room. Cats scratch where they scratch, so you redirect rather than relocate. Rub a little silver vine or valerian on the base of the post on day one, not catnip if she's indifferent to it — Selkirks sometimes are. Gently take her paws and place them on the surface without forcing a scratch motion; just let her feel the texture. And don't move the post for at least two weeks even if it's in your way. Once she's using it reliably you can shift it a few inches at a time toward where you'd prefer it to live.
Perfect, that's really helpful. I'll order the Trixie Baza carpet version now.
inparticular.ai
Good choice. The carpet surface should be a completely different experience for her curly coat — nothing to snag, and the post won't flinch when she leans in. If she's not using it within three weeks, the only other thing worth checking is height — some cats want the very top of the post above their full stretch, so going taller is always better than shorter if you ever need to upgrade.
