when to replace a worn post

Bear is 2 and a Maine Coon so he goes through posts fast. My current one looks like shredded paper at the bottom. When do you actually throw it out? Is there a specific point where it becomes unsafe or just ugly?

I have another one in the corner that is barely used by Pickle, but I'm not sure if that's a placement issue or just Pickle being lazy.

Haha, Maine Coons are like industrial shredders for sisal. I check mine for wobble first. If the base is loose or the carpet underneath is peeling up, I swap it. Gizmo is 4 and he's a food aggressive guy who ignores toys anyway, but he does use the post when he's hungry.

See my thread on checking for loose bases for the wobble test. If it's just frayed but stable, I keep it. Though it does look terrible.

i think its more about the structural integrity than the looks. my cat jasper is 5 and a tuxedo who is basically a tornado. he shredded my post down to the core in two months. i swapped it out when the cardboard inside was exposed because he started eating the glue.

its hard to tell when its actually unsafe vs just worn. does anyone have a hard rule? i saw this thread about base targeting and thought maybe the wear is why they target the bottom?

Sophie is a 5 year old DSH and she is very anxious. She doesn't really scratch the post unless she is stressed, usually after the vacuum is on. The wear on my post is mostly from her trying to mark territory when she's scared.

I think replacing it too often might be a stressor because it changes the smell. I keep it until it's truly falling apart. Is that bad advice? I worry about the fibers ingested if it gets too frayed, but I read that sisal lasts a long time so I assume mine will too.

Thanks for the detailed replies everyone. I'll keep this open a bit longer as I think this comes up often. If you see frayed fibers that are long enough to get caught in teeth or paws, that's usually the time to replace it. I've seen some scary stuff happen with loose strands.

For now, check the bases as Val suggested. If it's just cosmetic, you can keep it.