As much as you may love your cat, one of its frustrating annoyances may be that it rips your furniture or carpet to shreds.
Cats don’t scratch to upset us. Scratching is a natural and necessary part of cat behavior. It marks their territory, sharpens their claws and tones and strengthens their muscles.
GIVE YOUR CAT SOMETHING ELSE TO SCRATCH ON
The first key to getting cats to stop scratching on your furniture is to give them something else to scratch on. You need to replace the forbidden object with something your cat will like better. Whenever your cat shows interest in the furniture, you just pick it up and move it -- with lots of love and praise -- to the nearby suitable alternative.
Cat “trees” and posts. Most cat trees are covered with synthetic carpet which, in addition to being made of nonrenewable and nonbiodegradable material, is nothing like the tree bark that cats in the wild scratch on. In addition, it trains your cat to scratch on your carpets, which you don’t want.
Some posts are covered with natural sisal rope, which are highly recommended, but many of the frames are made from particleboard, which emits toxic formaldehyde. If you are considering a sisal-covered post, examine all the materials carefully.
Natural bark cat trees are also available.
Cat scratcher pads. These are made of corrugated cardboard, which cats like because it is rough, like the bark of a tree. In addition to sharpening the claw, it also massages the paw. They are impregnated with catnip to entice the cat to use them. The SmartyKat™ SuperScratcher+ is made from recycled cardboard and certified organically-grown catnip.
Different cats prefer having their scratching pads at different angles. Observe and see if they go for a horizontal (the top of the sofa) or vertical (the side of your favorite chair). Experiment a little. You can mount pads to a wall if your cat prefers a vertical scratcher. Worldwise makes a SmartyKat™ SuperScratcher+ that is more roomy and stable for larger cats.
TAKE THE PLEASURE OUT OF SCRATCHING
Once you have provided an alternative to your furniture, make your furniture unpleasant. There are several effective deterrents that work by exposing your cat to something they don’t like. They work for any behavior you wish to modify. In effect, this is setting boundaries with your cats. It’s a way to say, “No.”
Water. I have NO problem with my cats or kittens ripping up my furniture with their scratching because I trained them by using water in a squirt bottle. Simply squirt the cat directly with a little spray of water at the exact moment when they are scratching the furniture. It won’t take more than a squirt or two for them to get the message. This deterrent is almost universally available, environmentally-friendly, and very inexpensive. My cats do scratch, but have chosen an outdoor wooden fencepost, which is fine with me.
Adhesive strips. Cats don’t like to put their paws on anything sticky, so applying a sticky substance to a surface will deter a return visit. You can use double-sided adhesive tape, or special adhesive strips designed for this purpose, available at pet stores.
Smelly sprays. There are some commercial sprays that have odors that are offensive to cats. You spray them on a cloth, hold the cloth to the cat’s nose, then spray it on the furniture. It needs to be reapplied once a day until the cat loses interest and it’s not a magic force field. It’s a training aid to teach cats that the furniture smells bad. Once they learn this, they’ll stay away, regardless of how the furniture actually smells.
Vibration alarms. These detect the vibration of a cat jumping on the furniture and set of a three-second sound that is intended to chase the cat away. An automatic reset prepares it for the next occurrence.
Electric shock. These pads make furniture unattractive by emitting a mild electric shock when your cat steps on a place that is prohibited. It usually only requires a couple of shocks to modify behavior.
ALTER THEIR CLAWS
Another tactic is to remove your cat’s ability to scratch. This can be done in three ways.
Nail trimming. Cat’s claws should be trimmed every four to six weeks. Scratching behavior may indicate it’s time for a trim.
HOW TO TRIM CLAWS
No cat likes having it’s claws
trimmed. After all, in the wild a cat
sharpens its claws to use in hunting
food. The best you can do is to have your
cat tolerate the procedure.
Start by just allowing your cat to become
accustomed to having its feet and claws
handled. Start by gently stroking the
tops of your cat’s feet, and follow
with a treat. Then move to massaging the
pads and press gently on the toe pad to
push the claw out. Offer another treat.
When your cat is comfortable with simple
touching, try cutting a nail or two.
Always end with a treat.
Use scissors-style clippers, available at
pet stores. Put the tip of your thumb
inside the top hole and place your ring
finger in the bottom hole. Rest the blade
on your front two fingers to steady the
scissors. Move your thumb only.
To clip your cat’s claws, gently
press the tow pad with your thumb and
index finger to expose the nail. Locate
the pink quick, the vein that carries
blood to the nail. A drop of baby oil on
the nail will make the quick easier to
see. Be very careful because cutting into
the quick is very painful.
Snip off only the small hook, or about
one-eighth of an inch of the claw. Even
if your cat has very long claws, only
remove a little bit at a time, then
repeat the procedure weekly until claws
are the desired length.
Remember to always end with praise and
treats.
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Nail caps. After you have trimmed your cat’s nails, you can go a step further and apply little soft vinyl caps with a nontoxic adhesive. Application requires a vet and they must be reapplied every four to six weeks.
Declawing. This is a very emotional and controversial subject. While some vets believe that it is better to declaw a cat than take it to an animal shelter, to declaw a cat takes away their ability to scratch and makes them less of a cat. Declawing hurts your cat. It’s not equivalent to removing our finger nails (which is bad enough in itself). It is like removing our fingers at the first joints. After declawing, bleeding, infection, and irritation often occur. Better to try every method to motivate behavior change than resort to declawing.
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