Forever Emery is a cat scratcher pad that is dual sided and is meant to file down your cat’s nails so that you don’t have to clip them. It sounds like a good way to get your cat’s claws under control without having to resort to extreme measures, but how well does it actually work?
Overview
Clipping a cat’s nails can be a real pain, both literally and figuratively. Most cats will squirm and try to get away from you when they realize you’re trying to get something done to their claws. If you clip too far you’ll end up hurting them. If you use a dull clipper you could end up splitting their nail. If you let them grow out completely they can become very sharp and hooked, making your cat a bit dangerous to other cats in the home and to you and your family.
Getting a cat declawed is thought of by many as inhumane, and at the very least a painful experience for your cat, and a reduction of their natural ability to defend themselves and explore the world around them. So a happy medium needs to be found whereby you’re getting some nicely rounded ends to their nails and they’re getting to keep their claws to be a cat and do what a cat does.
The Claim
The claim made by the makers of Forever Emery is that your cat will choose to use their scratcher over clawing up your furniture and curtains. They say it’s reversible, so you get twice as much use out of it as a normal scratch pad. They say it’s made from dense cardboard that lasts longer than other cheaply made scratchers. They also say that because of its curved design it is more comfortable for them, and allows them to scratch at it more easily.
The Hype
Cat owners want the best for their cats, as well as their furniture, so this hits on at least two levels. Also, there’s a bit of hype anytime a company tries to predict a cat’s behavior. There’s just no telling what a cat will take to, and what it won’t, even with the included catnip, there’s still no guarantee that the cat will use the pad to scratch, it could just end up getting its catnip fix and walking away.
The Cost
The Forever Emery board is $36 with shipping factored in and you end up getting two of them. They start off with a price of $20 and then bump it up with two $8 shipping charges to get you to the grand total. They boast a 30 day money back guarantee, but it’s just about a break even if you take them up on it, since you’ll have to return the product, and you’ll be out the $16 original shipping plus the cost of a return. They’ll credit you back the $20 original purchase price only.
The Commitment
Since this uses catnip to attract the cats to the pad it shouldn’t require too much on your part in the way of getting them to use it. For most cats once they feel the texture of the board they are going to want to use it because it feels good to them. If this can save you from having to buy new furniture, and the time and expense of nursing your cat back to health after a traumatic declaw job, it would be well worth it.
Evaluation
The Forever Emery is not exactly a unique product, the Emery Cat has been around for just as long if not longer, and is essentially making the same claims, but has a cat toy attached to it as well. The video below shows the Emery Cat. You can see that it is essentially the same product, with one of the major differences being that it is not reversible, but it does have replaceable inserts so when it’s used up you don’t have to replace the entire product.
Final Forever Emery Review
The Forever Emery is getting our Solid Try rating, it’s shown that it has the ability to file down your cats nails, not to the point where it hurts them, because they’ll stop using it when it gets too far. The price point is about right, and with average use you may have to buy this annually. That would be a preferable way to go considering they can do some major damage to furniture.
Our Recommendation
The reason that this is earning a try from us is because it can easily make up for the price by saving money on new furniture and a declaw procedure from the vet. You simply have to exhaust all options in order to protect your furniture and belongings, as well as your cat’s claws.
I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR A SUPPLY OUTLET FOR MY CURVED< EMERY BOARD CAT SCRATCHERS. HAVE FOUND NO PLACE TO ORDER FROM . HELP. I NEED THREE & THEY ARE THE ONLY SCRATCHERS THAT WORK ON CURVED CLAWS
If you declaw your cats you should die.
By far the best cat Scratcher ever invented. Wish it was back on the market!!!!!!!
Emory cat Scratcher is the best Scratcher ever used. I put cat nip on it every morning and my cat loved it. It does file the nails and my cat knew when to stop. Now I can’t find it anywhere so I am trying to make one. My cat won’t use any other types of Scratcher!
I’m willing to give this a chance. My cats don’t rip apart my furniture (a couple claw pricks here and there and they’re good for a few days) but I can trim their claws. I understand the “let them keep their natural defense” but when you see claws that are needle thin and you want to give your cat some love, those needles hurt. I want to be able to pet my cats without bleeding every time they are on my lap. So I will give this product a chance.
I really wonder if the claim that the curvature and it’s unique design make it more like able to cats is true. My cat absolutely loved scratching our couch. And it was this exact one spot on the couch, even though the rest of the couch was the same material. We got him a scratching board, but he used it just a few times before losing interest and going back to the couch. We then tried rubbing catnip onto the scratching board we bought him, and he still scratched the couch! Even when we sprayed his favorite spot with vinegar and other things to make him not like it, he still scratched the couch. So I guess my point is, I wonder if this would have worked in my stubborn cat, or if some cats just never give up on doing what they want to do and a product like Forever Emery would be pointless.
I have several cats and would never have them declawed. I think it is cruel. I have one cat that goes outdoors while the others never do and I can’t imagine that the cat has been declawed or has had the Forever Emery used to lessen their nails. This is their only survival defense. My cat is worth more to me than a sofa or any piece of furniture. I will never buy this product.
Declawing is a horrific and brutal procedure that no cat should ever have to go through, especially since it causes long-term damage and pain to the cat’s body and actually changes the way the cat walks, leading to other health effects years down the road. With so many great products out there to stimulate cats to claw at objects other than your furniture, there’s no reason to ever put your pet through this ordeal. I think that this product looks modern and sleek compared to other scratches out there, and I know that some cats do prefer scratching horizontally, so this is perfect. Plus, they can lie on top of it to rest!