I purchased this scratching post because my cat kept scratching my dining room chains, and within an hour of setting up the post, I was able to convince her to scratch the post instead of the chairs! She stops to scratch the post almost every time she walks by, and loves climbing it and batting her toys off the top when I set them up there for her to find. The post is one of the more attractive pieces of cat furniture I've been able to find and it has dramatically cut down on my cat scratching the living furniture and carpet. It looks just like the picture and I highly recommend.