13/11/2024

The Critters

For Nice Critters

How to Avoid Cat Scratching

How to Avoid Cat Scratching

Cats and scratching always go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, it would be much satisfactory if you have cats but can avoid scratching.

Cat scratching is a hassle that most, if not all, cat owners face on a regular basis. Obviously, nobody wants his or her fixture shredded to bits by their lovable, fluffy cat. Now the question is that what options can be used in order to overcome the problem? Sadly, many kitties turn out to be on the street due to the fact their owners simply can not address the issue of scratching. Such cat owners believe that cat scratching can cause a lot of harm to their household items and the only way to get rid of all this is to throw their pet cats out of the house.

However, there are alternatives to deal with this issue, so don’t be hasty.

  • The most obvious option is to have your cat declawed but it is not recommended at all. Declawing is banned in a few regions and it is extremely painful for the animal. It involves the elimination of the end toe joint which prevents the claw from developing again. There are lots of other options available, however, which are much better for you and your cat.
  • Another option is to provide your cat with an alternative to scratching the furniture. You can employ cat furniture or scratching posts which are infused with catnip for this purpose. These scratching posts are available in various sizes and they are of several types. There are such posts available which can be deployed on a tree offering your cat the opportunity to climb, exercise, relax and stretch. Such stuff provides your cat much more fun as compared to playing with your home furniture.
  • Don’t forget to encourage your pet cats to use the furniture you have purchased for them. As a general rule, the more exciting and attractive all this looks, the more he or she will prefer to spend time playing with it. Try to make this a game, fun and also a reward. You can offer your cat various treats available at several levels of the cat tree or inside the tunnels and spaces for crawling.
  • Also, you can employ double stick tape on the surface of your house furniture to keep your cat away. It is important to note here that cats don’t like, by nature, clawing sticky areas or surface. It is very easy for you to employ double stick tape by wrapping it around something like cardboard or a flexible piece of plastic and then attaching it to your furniture.
  • You can also make use of water bottle technique. Whenever you find your pet clawing any household object, spray at him/her with a water bottle. In most situations, your pet will not like getting wet and would prefer to stay away from the furniture. However, if your cat has some special affinity for water, then this trick may not work.

Keep in mind that there is always a solution. Cat scratching is a world-renowned problem and there are millions of people around the globe who are dealing with this issue. If you’ll do some research, you’ll definitely find countless tips and techniques to keep your furniture safe from cats scratching.