How To Stop A Cat From Scratching Furniture

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

18 Sep 2006 02:16 PM

We've got a discussion going on over in the Pets Forum about a cat who is scratching the furniture. A lot of cat owners and cat lovers have come forward with different suggestions -- including declawing. While we could debate the positives and negatives of declawing an indoor cat all day... there are plenty of other options to consider.

Cats scratch. From the tamest house cat to the wild cheetah, all cats scratch. It is just part of their instinctive, natural behavior. Scratching does three things for a cat -- it marks their territory, it keeps nails in shape, and it stretches the muscles and ligaments in the toes and feet. A cat that is declawed will still try to scratch; it just won't do much visible damage.

To protect your furniture, you need to offer your cat a more attractive option for scratching. If you invest in a scratching post, make sure it is tall enough for an adult cat to get a good stretch and sturdy enough to not get tipped over by a ten or fifteen pound cat. The fabric should be interesting -- nubby and textured -- both so those claws can hook in for a stretch and to show results. Your cat's instincts are telling him to make his territory. If he can't see that the material has changed, he may look for somewhere else to scratch.

Make sure the scratching posts are visible. If your cat can't see it, he can't use it!

And try to remove the temptation of inappropriate scratching. You may need to keep the "good" furniture in another room, behind a closed door. You may need to switch wall-to-wall carpet for area rugs. You may need slipcovers to hide furniture that has already been damaged. You may need to put your speakers on a high shelf that kitty can't reach.

General cat training tips:

• Start young. If you've got a kitten, train her right from the start to direct her scratching towards appropriate targets.
• Use those instincts to your advantage. Cats do want to bite and scratch and play. Give her something appropriate to play with.
• Positive reinforcement. It's far easier to reward good behavior than catch and punish every negative behavior.
• Be consistent. It isn't okay to scratch the furniture SOMETIMES. It's never okay.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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