I've never personally used them though I've considered trying them with my cat, "Kitten" (he's actually 2 years old (3 in June), he just never got a proper name- just "Kitten"). Anyway of my 5 cats he's the only one who scratches things he's not supposed to. All the others use the scratch posts and so does Kitten, but he also scratches other things. I keep his nails short, but that only helps some.