Research overview: scratching and scrape marks as visual-olfactory signals

Felids scratch trees and other surfaces and create ground scrapes that combine visual marks with scent from glands in the paws. This overview surveys research on the marking function of scratching across domestic cats and wild felids such as pumas and tigers, including the conspicuous placement of scratch posts along travel routes and territory boundaries. It discusses how visual gouges advertise presence at a distance while interdigital secretions add a chemical layer, and how scratching also serves claw maintenance and stretching. The topic explains why scratching is both a marking behaviour with communicative value and a maintenance need that enrichment must accommodate in captivity and homes.