There are two common behaviors you can’t stop your cat from doing. First is waking you up at 2 AM by meowing and the second is scratching anything that’s close to its visibility. But, even if that’s the case, how much do you do to keep your feline from scratching and damaging your furniture?
Although you may try to curb your feline from scratching and climbing, cats have a very strong natural instinct that resembles that of their wild cousins.
When cats are scratching, it doesn’t necessarily reveal a negative or aggressive behavior. Sometimes cats scratch to reveal a happy feeling, when they’re in a mood to play, to groom their nails or as a way to remove deal nails from their paws.
Now, although this might be the case, the subject of your cat’s scratching tends to be your valuable furniture which in most cases will be a problem for most pet-parents. Due to this reason, we’ve compiled a number of ways that will help divert your cat’s scratching behavior.
Provide your cat with an alternative scratching post
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No matter how hard you try to stop it, your feline will never get tired of scratching your furniture or whatever they feel comfortable scratching. So, one way of diverting them from damaging your furniture is by adding an alternative scratching post in the house.
Here, you can consider starting with a vertical and a horizontal scratcher as they both allow your feline to scratch while leaning in a forward, lying down or standing position.
Train your cat to use the scratchers
In some cases, you will have to train your cat to use a scratching post. To do this, simply note your cat’s area of interest. For instance, if she’s fond of scratching the kitchen cabinets, simply place a scratching post in the kitchen area and train your cat how to use it.
When training your cat, avoid provoking, hitting or yelling at her as this will only make her fear you more. Instead, demonstrate to her how a scratcher is used by scratching the surface with your own nails and don’t forget to reward her with treats whenever she makes the right move.
Keep your cat entertained
It’s always said that an empty mind is the devil’s workshop. Just like in humans, cats also can indulge in destructive behavior especially when they’re bored. To divert your cat’s energy to more useful endeavors, you can consider engaging them in a variety of games such as pulling a mouse dummy and let her hunt it, downloading a variety of cat apps from the Google or Apple store or simply by using a laser pointer on the floor.
Trim her nails
Depending on the age of your feline, this procedure can either be easy or horrible. If your cat is a kitty, you can easily trim the nails, especially when readying the cat for the training session. Trimming your cat’s nails is highly advisable as it allows your cat to use the scratching post without causing any damage.
Use a sticky tape
If you discover that your cat has one single piece of furniture she can’t miss to scratch no matter what, then you might need to use a sticky tape. Well, as you all know, cats hate sticky surfaces. Therefore, to keep yours from damaging your furniture, simply use a sticky tape to help keep the surface of your furniture looking smooth and totally unwelcoming to you felines.
Bottom line
As we conclude, allow me to mention that there are lots of other ways you may consider to keep cats off furniture, for example by using bitter scents.
I believe you’ve enjoyed reading through each of these methods. With such knowledge, you’ll definitely keep your furniture looking good without any damages on the surface.
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