Almost every cat owner has experienced coming home, only to find his or her furniture scratched and damaged. Scratching furniture, which is also called stropping, is actually a perfectly normal behavior for cats. Sadly, the scratching of furniture causes inconvenient damage and expenses, and is the leading cause for cats being put in shelters. Cats cannot stop scratching, however, there are many methods which can be used to stop cats from scratching the home decor.
A lot of owners choose the means of de-clawing their cat, which is not only painful for the cat, but also unnecessary. De-clawing is a painful operation, in which a cat's claw is amputated up to the first joint. Many alternative methods can be used, which are much easier on the cat than de-clawing.
A popular way is to buy a more attractive alternative for a cat to scratch on, which makes the furniture less tempting. There is a broad variety of scratching posts, or the cheaper scratching boards, which are not hard on a wallet. Most of these posts are covered with either carpet or sorsal, both of which are materials which cats tend to scratch. The cat can scratch to its heart content without ruining chairs and couches in the home.
In addition to buying a more attractive alternative, you can also find ways to make the current target more unpleasant. One thing that can be considered is water spray, sometimes this works, but sometimes it just stops cats from scratching when the owner is around. You can also try placing orange peels around the furniture as they have a citrus smell, which is extremely unpleasant to cats.
When you see the cat going over to the furniture, simply pick the cat up and bring it over to the scratching post or board. If your cat begins using it, reward it with petting, or giving it a special treat. Cats respond much better to positive behavior, so never resort to physically punishing a cat, when rewarding them for positive behavior will leave a more lasting impression.
These are a few of the many different techniques you can use to stop cats from scratching the furniture. While de-clawing is probably the easiest way, the other alternatives are kinder to your cat. All that is needed is time and patience to train your cat to scratch things other than your favorite sofa or chair.
John J. Watson
A lot of owners choose the means of de-clawing their cat, which is not only painful for the cat, but also unnecessary. De-clawing is a painful operation, in which a cat's claw is amputated up to the first joint. Many alternative methods can be used, which are much easier on the cat than de-clawing.
A popular way is to buy a more attractive alternative for a cat to scratch on, which makes the furniture less tempting. There is a broad variety of scratching posts, or the cheaper scratching boards, which are not hard on a wallet. Most of these posts are covered with either carpet or sorsal, both of which are materials which cats tend to scratch. The cat can scratch to its heart content without ruining chairs and couches in the home.
In addition to buying a more attractive alternative, you can also find ways to make the current target more unpleasant. One thing that can be considered is water spray, sometimes this works, but sometimes it just stops cats from scratching when the owner is around. You can also try placing orange peels around the furniture as they have a citrus smell, which is extremely unpleasant to cats.
When you see the cat going over to the furniture, simply pick the cat up and bring it over to the scratching post or board. If your cat begins using it, reward it with petting, or giving it a special treat. Cats respond much better to positive behavior, so never resort to physically punishing a cat, when rewarding them for positive behavior will leave a more lasting impression.
These are a few of the many different techniques you can use to stop cats from scratching the furniture. While de-clawing is probably the easiest way, the other alternatives are kinder to your cat. All that is needed is time and patience to train your cat to scratch things other than your favorite sofa or chair.
John J. Watson
No comments:
Post a Comment