The Flamingo Cat Scratching Post with Self-Grooming Brush is a sisal scratching post 60.5 cm tall on a 39 by 39 cm plush base, with a second column covered in stiff bristles that a cat can rub itself against, and a ball hanging from the top.

Key Features

• Sisal-wrapped post for scratching, 60.5 cm tall — enough for a cat to stretch up on
• A separate bristle column beside it, which the cat rubs its face and flanks against. Cats do this to scent-mark as much as to groom, which is why they take to it
• Ball on a cord from the top of the post, for the batting most cats do while they are already there
• Base measures 39 x 39 cm, covered in plush
• Compact enough for a flat, and light enough to move between rooms
• Made by Flamingo Pet Products, a Belgian pet supplier based in Olen with more than 45 years in the trade

Placing It

• Put it where the cat already scratches, not where it suits the furniture. Cats scratch on the routes they use, so a post in a spare room usually gets ignored
• Scratching is how a cat sheds the worn outer sheath of its claws and stretches out its back and shoulders. It is not a habit to be trained out, only redirected
• Put the brush end where the cat already rubs — door frames, table legs, the corner of a wall
• Arrives flat for self-assembly. Check the bolts again after a week or two of use, and every few months after that
• Sisal is meant to fray. A shredded post is a post doing its job, and it will need replacing eventually

Good To Know

• This is a post with a brush, not a cat tree. There are no platforms, no hideaway and nothing to sleep on, and the listing previously described all three
• The bristle column collects loose hair. Pull it out every few days or the cat stops using it
• 60.5 cm is short for a large cat wanting a full stretch. A tall cat will use this for the brush more than the scratching
• A light base can be pulled over by a big cat throwing itself at the post. This suits small and medium cats better