Cat Behavior Scratching

As most of us know firsthand, cats, instinctively, like to scratch. Our goal is to train them to scratch appropriate surfaces like a scratch post, and to avoid inappropriate surfaces like our couches or drapes. Unfortunately, this is not always an easy task. Well, we here at petcare television are here to help.

Firstly, some scratch post basics-they need to be made of a surface or fabric that cats will like and that are effective scratching surfaces, and they need to be strategically placed. Scratch posts can wear down over time, thus losing their charm and attractiveness for the cat. If a post is no longer effective in helping the cat sharpen or shed its nails, he won't be interested in using it anymore. Also, by nature, cats like to hang out where you hang out. They don't want to have to go to some remote, rarely used, room in the house. They want to be with you in the den, the kitchen, or the living room. That's where the scratching post needs to be.

If you are planning to buy or make a new post, here are some suggestions. Since cats like to be high up so they can have a good vantage point, I recommend getting a tall post with some room for them to perch and take their cat naps. Make sure the surface is rough enough to be effective. I recommend taking your cat up to the post and rubbing his front paws on the post to let him experience the surface and mark the new post. To really stimulate his interest, I advise applying some catnip to the post to make it even more attractive to him. This usually works well. At first, you may also want to give him some treats, like a piece of turkey, every time he goes up to the post.

This positive reinforcement should really help. Cats are very "food motivated!"

To keep your kitties away from those inappropriate surfaces like the couch or lounge chair, you need to booby trap them as a means of providing a form of remote correction. Here are some easy suggestions. Try putting heavy duty double sided tape onto the couch and chair because cats hate this when they jump up and stick. Also, you can try laying some aluminum foil, a heavy plastic wrap, or plastic carpet runner onto the furniture as well, because these, too, acts as effective deterrents. If they can't stick their nails into it, they lose interest. Pheromone sprays like feliway may also be effective in keeping him off the furniture. If you are sitting right there, you can try spraying him with a water sprayer or a squirt gun whenever he jumps onto the chair or couch, but my only problem with this is that he'll make the association that you need to be around for him to get squirted. He will then not go near the furniture when you are around, but will when you're not. I like the remote correction techniques better.