Sisal cat scratching posts - cat licking and eating it

[Cherry24]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I was worried because of how brittle the material is.  We've been advised to see how it goes without the sisal tree and if he's still being sick in a month to get a cam in his stomach/ ultrasound etc.

He did once swallow a whole length of string and we had an anxious wait but it did 'exit his system' ok.

My female cat seems ok but she wasn't as compulsive with the licking as he was.

Both cats don't seem the least bit bothered by cat nip so we don't use it.

[sheilarose]

Sylvester like to gnaw on the loose rope - he savages his post until it yields a loose end then he unravels it for dental floss 

Not seen any rope in his poop, but then he always "goes" outside so I wouldn't.

I haven't heard any bad stories about ingestion of this brittle material, though. When I clean up after Sylvester, it's always short pieces I pick up, nothing that would tangle an intestine.

Do you use catnip on the trees to encourage scratching? Some cats prefer to eat catnip than play crazy with it, just a thought? 

[Cherry24]

Hello Everybody,

I had two large cat trees with sisal scratching posts on which both of my cats loved.  However, both cats got into the habit of licking the sisal constantly.

It got to the point where I found a fur ball mixed with sisal and my cat kept being sick.  Because of this, I gave the cat trees to a friend and instead bought a cat tree with carpet scratching posts on - typically my two won't use this (but will use the carpet upstairs).

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone else's cat did this and also if there are any viable alternatives to sisal and carpet.

Thanks