Getting a kitten is one of the more exciting things you can do. It's also, for the unprepared, one of the more furniture-threatening. Kittens scratch. They scratch early, they scratch enthusiastically, and they scratch whatever happens to be within reach — which, in the first few days in a new home, is often your sofa, your carpet, and whatever else occupies their new territory.
The good news is that kittens are significantly easier to redirect than adult cats. They haven't yet formed ingrained habits. Their scratching behaviour is new and unestablished. If you introduce the right setup from the beginning, you can shape a scratching habit before a bad one has a chance to take hold — and the cat you're shaping is the one that lives in your house for the next fifteen or twenty years.
Here's when to introduce a scratching post, what to look for, and how to build the habit from day one.
When do kittens start scratching?
Scratching behaviour begins at around 8 weeks of age — roughly the point when most kittens are ready to leave their mother. By the time a kitten arrives in your home, the scratching instinct is already active. The earliest scratches are exploratory — testing surfaces, leaving scent marks on a new environment, working out what the world is made of. They become more purposeful and habitual over the following weeks as the kitten establishes its territory.
This is the window of opportunity. In the first weeks in a new home, a kitten hasn't yet decided that any particular surface is the scratching spot. The post you introduce now has an equal chance of becoming the default — and if you position it correctly and introduce it thoughtfully, a higher chance than your furniture does.
What to get — kitten considerations
Most scratching post advice is written for adult cats, and the height and stability requirements of a fully grown cat don't apply to an eight-week-old kitten that weighs less than a kilogram. But there's a trap here that's worth addressing directly.
Don't buy a kitten-sized post. A post sized for a kitten will be inadequate within months. Cats reach full adult size between one and two years, and the post you buy at eight weeks needs to still be appropriate at eighteen months. Buying a proper adult-sized post from the start — one metre tall, solidly based, natural fibre surface — is significantly more economical than buying a kitten post and then replacing it when the cat grows.
A kitten can use a full-sized post. They may not be able to fully extend against it in the early weeks, but they'll grow into it, and the post will continue to serve them for years rather than months. The money saved on a kitten-sized post is spent twice over when you replace it.
"The post you introduce to a kitten is the post they're likely to use for the next decade. Buy for the adult cat, not the eight-week-old."
The kitten introduction — week by week
Before the kitten arrives
Set up the scratching post in the room where the kitten will spend their first days — typically a single room to avoid overwhelming them with a whole house at once. Position it in a corner or against a wall where the kitten will naturally explore. The post should be one of the first things they encounter.
Days 1–3: Let them discover it
Don't force interaction with the post in the first day or two. Let the kitten investigate on their own terms as they explore their new environment. Kittens are highly curious and will almost certainly investigate the post without any prompting — new textures and objects are compelling to an eight-week-old.
Days 3–7: Gentle introduction
Once the kitten is settled, begin the introduction process. Rub a small amount of catnip into the base of the post. Gently take the kitten's paws and rest them against the post — not to force scratching, just to leave scent. When they scratch the post of their own accord, reward them calmly. Avoid overly enthusiastic praise that might alarm them.
Week 2–4: Build the habit
Redirect to the post whenever you see the kitten scratch elsewhere. Pick them up gently, carry them to the post, and place their paws against it. Don't scold the inappropriate scratching — just redirect. Consistency matters more than intensity. Every redirection reinforces that the post is the scratching place.
Month 2 onwards: The habit is formed
By the end of the second month, a kitten that's been consistently redirected should be using the post habitually. The scent marking they've built up on it makes it actively preferable to alternative surfaces. Maintain the post — keep the surface in good condition, don't move it suddenly, and replace the surface before it becomes so worn it loses its texture.
The kitten scratching checklist
Have the post ready before the kitten arrives. The earlier you introduce it, the less competition it faces from other surfaces.
Buy adult-sized. A post that fits a kitten for three months and then needs replacing is more expensive than one that serves the cat for a decade.
Position it where the kitten spends time. Near their sleeping spot, in the main room they use. Not in a corner you want it in — in a corner they'll actually scratch in.
Redirect consistently, never punish. Every gentle redirect to the post reinforces the habit. Punishment creates anxiety without providing an outlet.
Keep the surface in good condition. A worn-out surface stops being a valid scratching spot. Replace it before the kitten is forced to find alternatives — especially important in the habit-forming months.
Don't move the post suddenly. Once the kitten is using the post habitually, stability of location is important. If you need to move it, do so gradually — a few centimetres every few days rather than an overnight relocation.
Why early training matters for life
The habits a cat forms in the first six months of their life are substantially more resistant to change than habits formed later. An adult cat that has been scratching the sofa for three years has a deeply ingrained behaviour that requires patient, sustained effort to redirect. A kitten that has been scratching the post from week one simply doesn't develop the alternative habit in the first place.
This is the central reason why the post you introduce to a kitten is worth investing in carefully. You're not buying a product for the next few months — you're establishing a routine that will persist, with luck, for fifteen to twenty years. A post that costs more upfront but lasts indefinitely — with a replaceable surface rather than a disposable structure — pays back that investment many times over across the life of the cat.
What about furniture protection during early training?
Kittens will occasionally scratch inappropriate surfaces regardless of how well the introduction goes — particularly in the first few weeks when everything is being investigated. A few practical measures help protect furniture during the training period without creating anxiety.
Double-sided tape on the corners of sofas and chairs is the most effective deterrent and doesn't require the kitten to learn anything other than "that surface feels unpleasant." Remove it once the post habit is established — typically after four to six weeks of consistent use.
Sofa covers or throws on the most vulnerable furniture protect the upholstery during the training period and can be removed once you're confident the habit is set.
Temporary nail caps (Soft Paws or similar) can be applied to kittens from around 12 weeks. They don't hurt and limit the damage a kitten can do to furniture during the training period. They need replacing every 4–6 weeks as the claws grow. Not essential, but useful during the early weeks if your kitten is particularly vigorous.
A kitten trained to use a scratching post from the start is a cat that almost certainly uses one throughout their life. The habit formed in the first few months is the one that persists. Get the post right, introduce it early, and redirect consistently — and the furniture protection problem effectively solves itself, for the entire life of the cat. That's the best investment you can make in the first weeks of kitten ownership.