A cat that scratches up all the furniture in the house can be areal problem. You love the kitty but you can’t afford to buy a new couch every week after he/she ruins it. This is a problem that many cat owners face. Many automatically decide to declaw their cats as a solutions so that they can no longer scratch. This is a bad idea. Declawing a cat is equivalent for them as a person having the first digit of their fingers amputated. Cats need their nails for mobility, balance and survival. Declawing can cause emotional, physical and mental problems.
When dealing with cat scratching it important to remember that scratching is a normal and natural habit for cats. They need to do it. Its as natural to cats to scratch as it is for us to stretch when we get up from bed or out of the car after driving for hours. It feels good for them. Scratching is also a cat’s form of exercise. They also do it to mark their territory not only with the visible scratch marks but with the their scent that is excreted through glands in the palms of their hand.
Accept the fact that you can not keep your cat from scratching. You can keep the cat from ruining your things like the couch and curtains, but you will not be able to keep the cat from scratching completely. Do not try to punish your cat for scratching. It just doesn’t work. Cats don’t put together the punishment with what it did. The punishment will confuse the cat and eventually lead to it being afraid of you and never letting you catch it.
So, how do you solve the problem of a cat scratching your furniture to pieces? First of all, you can buy the cat a scratching post for him/her to scratch. Scratching posts should be tall enough for a cat to stretch their whole body vertically to scratch. Cats prefer rough surfaces that they can shred. The post must be stable. If its not and it tips over, the cat will never go back to it. The favorite scratching post for a cat would be a tree stump however that is not often an option. Scratching posts with sisal textile material work very well. You can also just staple some rug to a wall or a post. They really like the back sides of rugs, the bottoms.
To get the cat to use this post instead of your velvet curtains put it in the area where you and your family spend most of your time. If there’s a certain area that the cat normally scratches, put it near there. Play with the cat next to the toy. You can even rub catnip into the post or hang toys onto it. Give her a treat when she uses the cat post. The cat will get used to the post and learn to love it. Once the cat does you can slowly and gradually begin to move the post to the periphery of the room where it won’t be such an eyesore. Also consider putting a cat post near where the cat sleeps as they like to scratch when they wake up.
To deter the cat from scratching its normal spots instead of the new post you can temporarily cover them with aluminum foil or double sided tape. You may want to wash the cats scent from the areas. You can also spray lemon scented spray or use a lemon or orange scented potpourri in the spot as cats have an aversion to citrus scents. If the cat continues to scratch the furniture you can spray her once with a water bottle or use a noise maker as a deterrent each time she scratches. Just be certain to do it while she is scratching, not before or after, in order for the cat to be properly deterred.
An alternative to cat posts is a product called Soft Paws. Soft paws are lightweight, vinyl caps that you put on the cats claws. The tips are rounded so that when the cat scratches, it doesn’t actually scratch. It goes through the motions but nothing is damaged. At first the cat may feel uncomfortable with the Soft Paws and groom often which will cause them to come off early. However, once the cat is used to them one set usually lasts about 6 weeks. You can find them on the web. A note however, is that they should only be used on cats that spend all of their times indoor. If a cat goes outside their nails are their many defense and without them they could be seriously injured by another cat or a dog.
Reference:
http://www.catscratching.com/
