I have two cats. One lets me clip her nails. The other was feral until 6 months, and I got the post for her to stay inside when I trapped and spayed her and she became a bit friendlier while recovering from spay surgery.In the state the scratching post arrives in, I don't think it is a very safe product. More than once, the kitten got her toes stuck in the elastic that holds the feathers to the post. She would scream and I would have to assist in freeing her paw. She also got the elastic wrapped around her, and it's probably possible for a kitten to get the neck caught if the feathers got tangled to the base of the elastic in just the right way and made a loop. On the other hand, the feather and elastic toys will quickly be pulled off of the post by an energetic and engaged cat. So, the post doesn't stay dangerous long, and the kitten seemed to have a lot of fun. I think having her paw caught made her angry so that she wanted to attack the feathers even more. It was also good fun for me to watch her play and not destroy my things. After the feathers got pulled off by the cat, I replaced them with some mardi gras beads that I attached to the bit of elastic still sticking out the top of the post. The beads were much safer. The kitten never got stuck on them, and had fun attacking. She also managed to pull the post over so it fell on her, but it's light and she was much bigger then.
Well, the feather toys fell off the post within a month of getting it. It's been 6 months since then, and the scratching post is now just a scratching post with no toy. The kitten (now cat) who this was initially purchased for uses it exclusively to scratch her nails, and does not touch furniture or the apartment carpet. She likes the texture of the post, and she may have gotten used to using it when she was small. (I also rubbed catnip into it periodically during the first months I had it.) The post still looks OK, although it is getting scruffy and bare near the top. I think it will last a year with heavy use from one cat, and minimal use from the other.
The cat who lets me clip her nails barely uses the scratching post, and I have to keep her nails trimmed weekly so she isn't at the furniture.
In general, I think the post is a little small. For the cat who is bad about using it, I think she likes to reach high above her head and stretch out to scratch, and that is why she wants to scratch on furniture to scratch on something taller. For the kitten (now cat) who exclusively uses the scratching post, she tends to scratch the square base as much as the post. I notice the entire post slide around on the floor (also carpeting, so plenty of friction and not slick) when she does this. That might bother a cat, and a larger heavier post wouldn't do it.
It also sheds small pieces of carpet onto the floor when the cats use it. So, plan on buying one that is the same color as the carpeting around it. I bought at a pet store, and the North American Pet brand had some lighter and darker carpet colors to choose from for this post.
Overall, this scratching post was a good buy for the money. The kitten who needed a post got into the habit of using it, and hasn't bothered the furniture since she was very new to the house. If you are worried about safety issues for your cat, then you should immediately detach the feathers by cutting the elastic close to where the elastic attaches to the metal chains. Then replace with a small cut section of mardi gras beads. That makes for a safer cat toy which won't catch the paws or wrap around and catch itself to lasso the cat.
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