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My Cat Is Scratching Everything!!!
What should I do?
Scratching
is a perfectly natural, and normal
behavior. It is not a malicious act
designed to torment you! The primary
reason for this behavior is to mark
their territory. The cat wants to
let other cats and people know that
it is around. That’s why they
pick the front corner of the couch
where everyone can see instead of
the back where no one will notice.
When a cat reaches up to scratch a
wall or furniture, not only is it
stretching its front limbs and sharpening
its nails, but he/she is also depositing
pheromones, which tell other cats
that this belongs to them.
Basically,
it is unlikely that anything you do
will stop it completely. Even declawed
cats will still go through the motion
of scratching a favorite piece of
furniture. Most people try to change
the behavior by yelling or punishing
the cat. This approach will not work.
Since scratching on furniture and
other objects is a natural behavior,
it is best to try and rechannel that
energy rather than try to stop it.
The basic behavioral strategies in
preventing scratching damage are to:
Prevent access to things that you
don’t want damaged Make those
things unpleasant to the cat when
they try to cratch Provide acceptable
items to scratch.
If all these fail, then you may
have to consider declawing your
cat.
A
scratching post is a good place to
start if you can get your cat to use
it. The location and texture of the
substrate is very important to the
cat. Some cats prefer carpeted posts
or the sisal rope but it needs to
be covered with something that is
easily shredded. Height is very important
and the taller the better. Try placing
the post near the object that is being
destroyed and once the cat is using
it, you can start to move it slowly
away to where you would like to keep
it. Another point to consider is that
the post needs to be strong enough
to support the weight of your cat.
If your cat puts its weight into the
stretch and the post falls, it is
likely that he/she won’t try
that again!
If
your cat is reluctant to use the post,
there are several things that you
can do to get him or her interested.
Because cats generally like to have
a good stretch when they wake up from
a nap, use food or a toy to lure the
cat to approach the post. Hold the
treat up the post and wait until the
cat scratches there to reward them.
Another idea is to place catnip on
the post and around the base to attract
your cat. You can also tempt him or
her with a fishing pole toy.
In
addition to finding an alternative
scratching spot, you need to make
the places where your cat scratches
unattractive. What works best depends
on the individual cat. There are several
products that we recommend. The first
is Feliway, a pheromone spray or diffuser,
which is a synthetic analog of the
feline facial pheromone. It reproduces
the familiarization properties that
are normally produced by a cat when
it deposits its own facial pheromones
in the environment. Another product
is Sticky Paws, a nontoxic water-
soluble acrylic adhesive strip that
is applied directly to the furniture.
Since cats dislike the feel of anything
sticky, they avoid the area. The product
is clear and sticks to most upholstery
but is easily removed. The last product
that we recommend is Soft Paws. These
are vinyl nail caps that come in all
sizes and colors. They are applied
to freshly trimmed nails every 6-8
weeks. This product won’t work
on all cats and if your cat objects
strongly to having its nails trimmed,
this may not work for you.
For
humane reasons, we will always try
to come up with as many behavioral
options as possible before recommending
declawing. Declawing your cat involves
removing the last bone of each toe,
and as you can imagine it is a very
painful procedure. However with an
aggressive pain management protocol,
your cat’s discomfort can be
minimized.
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