13 Ways to Save Your Furniture from Cat Scratching
The cats are great pets. They love to play, they love to cuddle
when you are watching TV or sleeping, and they purr for no
reason other than being near you. But they also love to scratch.
Unfortunately, the things they love to scratch are often the legs
of your antique table, your upholstered sofa, or your expensive
carpet.
Although many humans do not appreciate when their cats
scratching, you have to know that kittens and cats do not
scratch to make us angry, they just need to scratch. Scratching
is a natural hardwired behavior in cats, just like breathing and
purring, and every cat owner must know WHY THE CATS SCRATCH.
In the wild, cats scratch around their immediate environment
to signal their presence to other cats and to claim the area in
question. The marking takes two forms: visual and olfactory. The
visual is in the form of clawing marks and is so obvious that
even we humans can recognise it. The olfactory mark is subtler,
involving the release of pheromones. These are substances
secreted from the body to be picked up by the number of the
same species, causing them to alter their behavior.
Scratching has additional function too. It removes the nail
sheaths, outer layer of dead cells from the claw. You might
thing your cat scratches to sharpen her claws, but it more
likely it provides her with a form of physical therapy for
the muscles and tendons of her paws.
There are two groups of target for every cat. The first one is
when your cat target one or two areas in the home, usually near
important territorial areas such as: sleeping area, litter tray,
hunting or play areas. The second one is your cat undertake more
widespread and destructive scratching in highly visible sites
such as: doorways, windows, prominent furnishings – like sofas.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOUR CAT SCRATCHING YOUR FURNITURE?
1. The easiest but the most painful method for cat is declawing.
Faced with cat scratching problems, many people consider
declawing surgery. But many veterinarians believe declawing
is a painful and unnecessary surgery and refuse to do it for
humane reasons. Instead, they advocate training your cat to
use a scratching post.
2. Make sure there are multiple scratching opportunities. Cats
often like to scratch after eating and sleeping, so be sure
there is something to scratch near where they eat and sleep.
A scratching post is an excellent investment for your cat.
It will allow her to scratch, stretch and exercise all at
once. If you want to provide your cat not only with
scratching surface, but and places where she can climb,
perch and sleep you should consider cat tree.
3. Cover the furniture with something your cat does not like:
double sided tape, some plastic or aluminium foil. Some cats
dislike the feeling and sound of foil, and most cats hate
things that stick to their fur. Double-sided sticky tape used
in carpet installation works well, but be sure the tape won’t
harm your cat or furniture.
4. Keep your cat mentally stimulated and offers her plenty of
opportunity for exercise, and she will has less opportunity
to be destructive in your home. If your cat is frustrated
and bored, she may scratch your furniture or tear your
drapes. Give her enough play time. Cats are motivated by
smell, sound, texture and movement. The toys you use should
aim to cover all these aspects. Discover your cat’s
preferences by presenting a variety different sized toy made
from different materials and watch her reaction to gauge her
preferences.
5. Cutting the nails regularly may help keep a cat from
scratching the furniture, or at least reduce the damage done
by its scratching. Get your kitten used to having its nails
clipped while it is young, praise her while you clip the
nail and reward her with a treat.
6. Booby trap the furniture with a soda can with some pennies
in it, so that if cat scratches, it makes a noise.
7. Use a doorknob alarm on your curtains. When pinned to the
drapes, the alarm will sound every time your cat tries to
use curtains as a ladder.
8. Consider a window perch for your feline friend. It will give
your cat hours of entertainment – especially if you place a
bird or squirrel feeder in the garden outside the window. Be
sure the window is closed so your pet won’t fall out.
9. When you catch your cat scratching furniture, try squirting
her with a water pistol or squirt bottle and use a firm ‘no’.
Of course, this won’t stop your cat when you are not around.
10. If your cat is gaining access to a high bookcase by leaping
from a nearby chair, move the chair. Without her launchpad,
your cat will no longer be able to reach her perch.
11. You can also try taping inflated balloons to the problem
areas. When your cat pops one with her claws, she will avoid
scratching there again. However, try this only when you are
at home, so you can pick up the balloon pieces before your
cat tries to eat them.
12. There are training devices that keep cats off forbidden areas
by making annoying sounds. They are available at pet supply
stores, catalogs and websites.
13. If your cat still scratches in appropriate places, use some
sprays like bitter apple or actual orange peels, which are
good deterrents.
All forms of physical punishment should be avoided since they
can cause fear or aggression toward the owner, and at best, the
cat will only learn to stop the scratching while the owner is
around.
It does not matter which method you will choose to prevent your
furniture destroying, every cat owner must know that it is
impractical and unfair to expect cats to stop scratching
entirely.
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The author Petar Petrov is founder of CozyCatFurniture.com.
His site together with the cat furniture that offer, try to
help people to make their cat’s life better. Visit the site
http://www.cozycatfurniture.com
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