Feline Friday: Scratching

Scratching furniture is a common "behavioral issue" that cat owners often complain about. This is a very serious issue and one that is near to my heart. Unfortunately, many cat owners resort to declawing their cats in order to protect their furniture. There are better ways to keep kitty from scratching the furniture! Today's topic of focus is protecting your furniture while letting kitty keep those claws!

Dib proudly shows off his claws!

First, I am going to tell you why declawing is awful. Contrary to what your vet may lead you to believe, declawing is not like a toenail trim. It is an amputation. When a cat is declawed, the vet cuts through the bone, tendons, skin, and nerves at the first joint. The vet removes bone. This is like having your fingers chopped off at the knuckle...only worse! YOU don't walk on your fingertips. But guess what? Your cat DOES! When you declaw a cat, you change the way they walk. This can wreak havoc on the cat's hips, joints, etc.

Picture retrieved from pawproject.org

Declawing can cause severe lifelong pain for the animal. This can lead to all sorts of other behavioral issues such as litter box avoidance and biting. For more information on why declawing should be banned, please visit pawproject.org.

So what are we to do instead? Well fortunately for our kitties (and our furniture), there are lots of wonderful, humane alternatives to declawing!

Scratching is a normal behavior for a cat! 

Train your cat to use a scratching post: Like I said last week, cats can be trained! Provide your cat with lots of appropriate scratching posts and praise your cat for using them. You can also rub/spray catnip products on the scratching posts to encourage your cat to use them. Scratching is a normal behavior for a cat. Just like we need to provide things for our dogs to chew, we also need to provide things for our cats to scratch! I personally love the cheap, flat cardboard scratchers. But there are lots of different cat scratching products out there. If your cat doesn't like one scratching post, then try another!

Dib LOVES his cardboard scratching posts!

Use double-sided sticky tape to discourage scratching on furniture: Cats hate sticky things! Place double-sided sticky tape on the corners of furniture to discourage scratching, and place an appropriate alternative nearby. The idea is to get kitty thinking, "YUCK! That couch is AWFUL to scratch! My paws stick to it! This lovely kitty post over here is much nicer. I'll use it instead." Eventually, you can remove the double-sided sticky tape. If you ever notice kitty scratching on the furniture, just calmly go get the tape and reapply it. The best thing about the tape is that it works when you aren't there. Cats are very smart creatures! When humans yell or use spray bottles to get kitty to stop doing something, she only learns not to do that thing when the humans are watching! The sticky tape lets the cat decide that furniture is no fun to scratch. And remember, training cats is much more effective when they think they are training you! Or in this case, when the cat gets to choose what it wants. We can help influence the cat's decision by providing appropriate alternatives (scratching posts) and deterrents (sticky tape). 

Dib would rather scratch on his cardboard post than a sticky couch corner!

Trim your cat's nails regularly: To reduce the damage that kitty's nails can cause, be sure to keep them nice and short!

Use nail caps: Nail caps ("Soft Paws") are a human alternative to declawing. Nail caps are soft vinyl tips that slide over the cat's nails. They are painless, and they allow the cat to extend and retract their claws naturally. Many cats will still make the motion of scratching while wearing nail caps! Nail caps can be purchased at most pet stores and can be applied by the owner, vet, or cat groomer. Nail caps are great in situations where the cat's nails are causing damage to themselves or others. For example, last spring Dib had very bad allergies. He was very itchy! He was scratching himself so much that he was actually causing damage to his neck! While his allergy medicine was kicking in, we put nail caps on his back feet to prevent him from hurting himself. Nail caps can also be used when a human member of the household cannot handle being scratched due to medical reasons. This means that human medical issues are not an acceptable reason to declaw a cat. Again, declawing can cause severe, lifelong pain for the animal! 

Play with your cat: Many behavioral issues in dogs and cats are caused by boredom. The saying, "a tired dog is a good dog" holds true for cats, too! Keep kitty out of trouble by playing with her until she is tired. But don't throw a 99 cent mouse toy on the floor and expect your cat to tucker herself out. Cats are natural hunters! Use interactive toys like "Da Bird", "Neko Flies" and "Go-Cat catcher" brand wands. 

"Keep Kitty Out Of Trouble" Kit: Cardboard scratcher, Neko fly wand, and go-cat catcher mouse refill.

So those are my tips for preventing problematic scratching, protecting your furniture, and keeping your cat's claws where they should be (on the cat!). As always, thanks for reading!