It doesn’t take long after living with a cat to develop a slight nervous tick at the sound of scratching. Show
For many people, their gut reaction is to yell at the cat, shoo them away, or maybe even give a few squirts of water from a spray bottle. Doing any of these though won’t save your furniture. In fact, yelling at your cat for scratching can seriously confuse them, stress them out, and may even cause them to act out in different ways and grow to be afraid of you. It’s a fact of life that cats will scratch, but also true is your ability to help control where they scratch.But even if you didn’t realize this before you lost your favorite armchair to your favorite feline Edward Scissorhands, fear not! You can teach an old cat new tricks and take steps to redirect where your cat is scratching. Believe it or not, cats are highly trainable and there are surfaces and scents your cat would actually prefer to scratch, even more than your furniture. Why Cats ScratchIt’s a known fact… cats need to scratch! It’s part of who they are and how they communicate, but that’s not all there is to the story.
Of course, there might be a problem when your cat’s scratching instincts meet your instinct to keep furniture in one piece. So it’s important to realize that if you don’t give your cat plenty of appropriate scratching surfaces, they’re likely to find plenty of inappropriate places and surfaces to scratch… like your couch, bed, drapes, carpet, chairs, and anything else they can get their claws into. It’s important to be proactive in helping your cat scratch in the places you want them to, so that their scratching in the places you don’t want them to doesn’t ruin your home… along with your relationship. How to Keep Your Cat From Scratching Your FurnitureHere are some simple steps you can take to keep your kitty from scratching your furniture to shreds, while still giving them the important opportunity to do their normal and healthy scratching behaviors. Provide Plenty of Scratching Posts and PadsAs far as your cat is concerned, you can never have enough scratching posts and pads. So this is a great — and easy — place to start. When it comes to choosing scratching posts and pads for your cats, remember the four S’s:
Make the Posts and Pads More Attractive Than Your FurnitureHaving plenty of posts and pads for your cat to scratch is extremely important, but so too are taking the simple steps to get your cat scratching those instead of your furniture. Here’s what you can do to make your cat’s scratching posts and pads most attractive to them:
There are even some great, more modern-looking cat towers and "kitty condos" that will give your cat some fun perches and hiding spaces, along with some important and attractive scratching surfaces. Check out the options below. We're really loving Tuft and Paw — they've got some beautiful, functional, and well-crafted designer cat furniture options that will keep everyone in the home happy.
Make Your Furniture Less Attractive Than the Posts and PadsAlong with making your cat’s scratching posts and pads as attractive as possible, you can also take some simple steps to make your furniture less attractive to your cats.
Rome Wasn’t Built In a DayRedirecting undesirable cat scratching won’t happen overnight, so it’s important to have a few “tricks” up your sleeve to protect your furniture while your (re)training your cat.
So, there you have it… some insight into why cats scratch and the importance of this behavior, as well as ways to help ensure that you and your cat can live together with their scratching behavior. I hope this article has helped you. |