Stop cats scratching antique furniture

Protecting antique furniture from a young cat is a real priority — and the good news is that a well-chosen cat tree can absolutely redirect that scratching. The most important things in any cat tree are stability and height. It must not wobble when a cat launches off it, and cats feel most secure when they can perch up high. Cheap, wobbly trees often get ignored entirely, which is the last thing you need when your furniture is at stake. Before I point you in the right direction: how many cats do you have, how big is your Selkirk Rex, and how much floor space can you give the tree?

Perfect — a solo, active 4kg cat with decent space to work with is straightforward to cater for. One thing worth knowing about Selkirk Rexes: they tend to be quite tactile and love to knead and scratch as a comfort behaviour, not just territory marking. That's probably part of why your furniture is suffering. For her, you want a tree with plenty of sisal rope scratching posts — not carpet, which doesn't satisfy the urge as well — and a high perch she can claim as her own. Is she more of a climber who wants to get right up high, or does she tend to sprawl on lower surfaces?

That settles it — she needs height. I'd recommend the Feandrea 150cm Cat Tree by Songmics. It's a well-built, genuinely stable tree that won't shift when she launches off the top platform. It has multiple thick sisal-wrapped posts at different levels, a high top perch, a hammock, and a condo for when she wants to hide. The base is wide and weighted properly, which is the difference between a tree a cat uses daily and one that gets ignored. It fits easily in a 60x60cm footprint and is solidly reviewed for cats in her size range. The sisal posts in particular are what you need — place it near the furniture she's currently targeting, and she'll almost certainly choose the tree.

Yes — a couple of practical things. First, position the tree right next to or in front of the furniture she's scratching. Cats scratch where they already feel comfortable, so make the tree the most obvious option in that spot. Second, sprinkle a little dried catnip on the sisal posts when you first set it up — it gets their attention quickly. You can also loosely cover the antique pieces with a throw or double-sided sticky tape temporarily while she builds the habit of using the tree. Once scratching the tree becomes routine, usually within a couple of weeks, you can remove the deterrents.

Good choice — it's a tree that earns its floor space. Set it up near the furniture she loves, add some catnip on day one, and give her a few days to discover it properly. Most active young cats take to a tall, stable tree very quickly once it's in the right spot.