| Dont Punish Your Cat |
| Cats don't understand physical
punishment. In addition to it being
wrong to hit your cat, punishment simply doesn't work and is likely to
make your situation worse. Clever though Kitty is about many things,
she won't understand that you're punishing her for scratching the
couch. She will only compute that sometimes when you catch her she is
treated badly. This may make her insecure and stimulate her to scratch
more or develop other undesirable behavior problems. |
| Scratching
is a natural behavior for cats. |
| Scratching is a natural
behavior for cats.This isn't exactly a
revelation, since you probably have the evidence everywhere in the
tattered corners of your sofa, the shredded drapes, your frayed nerves.
Though Kitty's natural propensity for scratching may not be big news,
it is a fact that you'll need to take into account if you're to make
any headway in winning the battle to keep her from scratching in places
you consider undesirable. |
| Marking their territory |
| Scratching is a territorial
instinct by which cats place their mark and
establish their turf. Through scratching, cats mark their domains with
more than just visible signs of claw marks. Cat's paws also have scent
glands that leave their own special scent on their territory. And this
is why they mark the most visible portions of your house. It's Kitty's
way of adding her own personal touch to your (and her) home. Her
version of interior decorating. |
| Start them
from young |
| If you are starting with a
kitten, consider yourself fortunate. It's
much easier to initiate good habit patterns than to correct undesirable
ones. From the beginning teach your kitten the appropriate place to
scratch. Use the methods already described, especially playing around
the scratching post to capture her interest. Take advantage of your
kitten's desire to play and attach toys to the post. She will soon "dig
in" to catch her toy and discover how good it feels to scratch this
surface. |
| Trimming your
cat's nails |
| Though you should never
dewclaw, you may defray some of your cat's
potential for destruction by carefully trimming the razor-sharp tips of
her claws. You will find this endeavor more easily accomplished by two
people, one to hold Kitty and one to trim her nails. Though she enjoys
other forms of pampering, Kitty will not find a manicure soothing. |
| Find an
Effective Scratching Post |
Several companies manufacture
scratching posts and other products that
appeal to cats. Some companies and organizations have developed similar
plans for do-it-your-self.
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Domestic
Cat
