Best scratching post for American Bobtail cats

Switching away from cardboard makes a lot of sense at this stage — it does the job short term, but it shreds fast and most cats outgrow it. The most common reason cats ignore a replacement post is that it's too short for a proper full-body stretch, too wobbly to feel safe, or the material just doesn't appeal to them. American Bobtails are sturdy, active cats even at seven, so you'll want something solid. A couple of quick questions: does your cat scratch vertically, horizontally, or both? And what surfaces around the house have they been going at — furniture, carpet, door frames?

Sofa-side scratching is almost always about a tall vertical surface with a bit of resistance — which is exactly why cardboard eventually stops cutting it. At 4kg she's a decent size and she'll want a post she can really lean into without it tipping. What does the sofa fabric feel like — is it a tight weave, something textured, or more of a velvet or chenille?

That's really useful — coarse woven fabric mimics sisal really closely, which means she's almost certainly going to take to a sisal post straight away. She's not chasing softness, she wants drag and resistance under her claws. My recommendation is the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post. It's 32 inches tall — enough for a full stretch even for a longer-bodied cat — and it's wrapped in woven sisal that has exactly the texture she's already drawn to. The base is wide and weighted, so it won't rock when she leans in hard, which matters a lot for cats who've had wobbly posts in the past. It's also one of the few posts that genuinely holds up over years rather than months. At seven she's settled in her habits, so matching the texture she already likes is the fastest way to get her using it from day one.

She'll likely find it quickly given how well the texture matches, but a couple of things help. Place it right next to the sofa spot she uses — not across the room — so she encounters it naturally. You can rub a little dried valerian or silver vine on the base to get her attention early on (some cats don't respond to catnip but nearly all respond to one of those). If she uses it even once, leave her alone and let her claim it at her own pace. Don't move it for the first few weeks even if it's in an awkward spot. Once she's using it consistently you can inch it to a better location.

Good choice — it should last her well. If she ever starts preferring a horizontal scratch as she gets older (some cats shift preferences), a flat sisal mat next to it covers both bases without needing a whole new setup. Hope she takes to it quickly.