Answer: The claws of the cat are used to obtain a grip in climbing as will as for attack and defense and in order to fully effective they need to be kept needle sharp. The claws can be retracted into a sheath to prevent undue blunting when they are not being used, but those on the front legs especially still need to be sharpened from time to time. The claws, just like human finger nails, consist of compressed layers of horny cells and they grow continuously from the base. Periodically, a worn outer claw is pulled of by scratching to expose a new, very sharp claw growing beneath it. The old, shed claw can be often be found at the base of scratching posts
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The cat does this sharpening by crouching standing on its hind legs and dragging its protruded front claw down a roughened surface which will allow the claws to cut in. Many cats use a tree trunk or post in the garden for this purpose. This behavior also serve to mark the cat’s territory, and male cats may make these movements after first having sprayed the tree trunk or post with their urine. A display of a claw sharpening appears to be intimidating to any watching cat who might consider invading that particular territory. It is also probable that the cart applies scent from glands in its pads to the scratched surface, which assists in marking the territorial boundaries. Possibly, the height of the mark informs other cats about the size of the animals which made it, although there isn’t general agreement on this point.
This claw sharpening and territorial marking is per festally natural behavior for the cat. Unfortunately, some cats may select items of furniture for this treatment and can inflict severe damage on such objects as table legs, doors, upholstered chairs and sofas, curtains, carpets even the wallpaper and plaster on the walls. Such behavior appears more likely to occur in animals that do not have adequate access to trees or posts outdoor. At times, but fortunately not often, cats may even inflict such damage quite deliberate to show their displeasure, for example after being scolded.
