ByYou aren’t alone if you’ve got a cat that scratches your antique furniture and expensive carpet. According to pet owners, this is a natural behavior that comes from their hunting habit.
Although it’s natural to scratch but is a damaging act for your property and residence. However, it can be managed easily.
Why does your lovable cat want to scrape your furniture?
There are several explanations why cats like objects to be scratched. They need trees to keep their claws healthy and clean. But this is not possible in a home.
It is also a way of marking territories to signal to other cats that the location of the object is inhabited.
They don’t want conflict with other cats and hence came up with this “peaceful” idea. It is sheer bad luck that cats don’t understand that your leather sofa is not an ideal place to mark.
It also gives them a sudden emotional release from frustration and anxiety.
If you have come back from work or met a fellow cat, you might have heard your cat scratching, and this can provide a safe way to relieve suppressed emotions.
Cats don’t rub furnishings and tapestries off despise, or damage objects deliberately, in contrast to the common belief.
Find out what your cat loves scratching
If you are yearning to save your treasured piece of furniture, then try to find out what types of material your cat loves to scratch.
Different cats have different preferences. Some like rope-type material, some are into cardboard, and some like furry or carpet-like material.
If you don’t give them what they want, then be prepared for them to scratch anything they like including your dining or couch.
Dr. Emily Levine, a medical behavioral board-certified in New Jersey, notes it’s important to give it a lot of scratching options when a pet owner brings a new cat at home, whatever his age.
It ensures that the cats do not only need scratch posts of various forms and sizes made of different materials. Many cats like horizontally to mark and some cats prefer vertically to scratch.
We need to give them not only a variety of materials but horizontal and vertical surfaces.
Establish their scratching post
If you are a pet owner and want to protect your furniture from the claws of your mighty cat, then listen carefully.
Place your cat’s favorite scratching object next to the one you want to save. It doesn’t need to be permanent.
According to Levine, once it gets accustomed to this, you can then replace it somewhere more suitable in your home.
When you know the inclination of your cat for scratching, have additional posts of this type at different places.
Be mindful that all cats want a reliable post that does not shift or break when used. Most cats like a post, which is high enough to extend absolutely.
There are certain ways of sweetening the deal if your new kitty shows no interest in any of its scratching objects.
Pheromone products can be applied to certain surfaces, such as feliscratch, to lure the cat into a particular area.
It is significant that your cat abrades their specific posts, so it doesn’t ruin your home with their scratching in places you don’t want.
How to put an end to this?
Although you love and want to make your cat feel at home with you, you still don’t want your furniture to be destroyed by them.
The boundaries must be defined in such a way that you do not also offend your house.
A piece of happy news is that you have options for treating scratching. The best approach to solve this problem is to show them when and where to scratch.
Motivate your pet to detect their scratching post from the fragrance or hanging toys on them.
Exclude any suitable artifacts from unwanted scratching by covering them or spraying repellent on them.
Also, don’t forget to clip their nails every week.
You can try to startle it by making noise in your hands or squirting it with water if you find your cat guilty in an act of scratching an unacceptable object.
Do this only as a last option, because your cat will pair you with the squirting case and learn to be afraid of you.
Seek professional help
Nowadays you can avail of daycare training for your pets. You can call them and have their services when you are at home or office.
They will teach your cat how to behave properly, where and where not to scratch, potty train them.
The teacher can also deal with concerns such as resource safety, managing problems, certain another kind of violence, other forms of repetitive meowing, and certain fears if trained as a behaviouralist.
Please ensure that you know the procedures the board and teaching or day training staff intend to use and relate to them because you are not there to supervise.
This approach will also provide you with a training kit. Board and daily training plans are successful only if the trainer teaches you any techniques to improve the actions of your pet after training.
If your cat has a severe behavioral problem that endangers it and the humans around it, or if it has issues that start extreme stress, seek a professional with a degree in both academic and practical experience.
Contacting a renowned trainer is a big first step in the way to resolving your pet’s behavior problem.
Nonetheless, some conduct can be caused by physical problems or worsened by them.
Trainers and conductors are trained in issues of animal behavior. Medical conditions can only be treated by trained veterinarians.
Please contact your veterinarian immediately if you believe your cat is sick, hurt, or suffering from any distress.
NEVER declaw your cat
Your furniture may be pricey but your cat is priceless. Many people choose to declaw their cats to avoid or solve the problem of scratching. It is never meant to be availed as a conduct solution or a preventive measure.
In those cases, both behavioral and environmental alternative options were fully explored and shown to be unsuccessful, and the cat is at serious risk of euthanasia, the only situation in which the treatment is to be considered.
There are several alternatives available to treat natural injuries, behavioral problems and avoid cat scratches injuries. These include the routine trimming of cats ‘ nails to close the tips, scratching pads, posters, and other devices to make sure that the cat avoids them.
Also using behavior modification strategies to encourage the cat to utilize them, making use of destructive elements such as double-faceted tape for furnishing protection and covering the claws with a soft temporary cover.
In order to avoid scratching, pet parents should be familiar with the actions of cat and the correct way of handling them.
Have lots of patience
We know you love your cat and you share an important bond. Cats know and will reciprocate when you care.
They will do their utmost to please their fellow human beings if they feel they are respected and appreciated.
With time, your cat should be used to leaving the furniture alone and using alternatives to attack with repeated loving practice.
