Cat Behaviour Maven

You can learn how to train a cat not to scratch the furniture by following some simple steps.

Cat scratching is an inborn activity and because of this, you cannot get your cat to cease the scratching by chasing her away, shooting water, threatening or scolding. No matter what you do, they will still need to scratch.

Cat scratching trees come in many sizes and varieties. If you have more than one cat, obtain or build a post structure that has several resting places so that all the cats can contentedly share their ‘play’ area. Cat scratching trees are also a first-rate option because they often merge horizontal and vertical scratching surfaces and offer many textures and materials in one tree. More alternatives means more action and exercise for your cat.

Praise your cat when she uses her new tree. Locate it close to where she sleeps because scratching deposits pheromones in the paw pads on the surface, and when Kitty wakes up, she wants everyone to know that this is her singular territory! Commend her and tell her ‘Good Kitty’ and pet her to make it an pleasant  experience. You will have to be attentive in the beginning and attempt to catch her in the act of scratching your furniture. Commend her whenever you spy her using the new tree, and gradually bring it nearer to a preferred place, away from her old favorite. You might want to place it up near her regular resting location.

Punishment is unlikely to have any useful effect at all. Your cat simply will not understand it if you try to chastise her in any way for anything she has done. Cats do not connect punishment to the “crime”, they are far more likely to relate the punishment to you! Punishment in both cases is not productive.

Covering a favored scratching place with tinfoil, sand paper, double-sided sticky tape, plastic carpet runner (pointy side up) or a product like Sticky Paws for Furniture makes the surface unappealing to scratch. Once the incorrect scratching habit has been eliminated and the cat has learned to prefer the post, the covering can be taken off. Cover that edge of the couch with double-sided sticky tape that is completely unattractive to your cat (the tape can easily be detached for entertaining company). This will repel your cat away from your couch and right there is a tree that they will enjoy. Shortly the cat will understand where they should scratch.

If you build your own tree cover the it with rope instead of with carpet, the last thing that you want to do is give your cat the idea that it is OK for her to claw the carpet!

Sisal is a very durable material, and will last a long time. Also, if you rub a little catnip on the scratching tree, you can pull them right to it. Sisal is a good coarse material for covering the scratching tree as it is very durable  and cats like to sharpen their claws on such surfaces.

There are many scratching post on the market today but be careful because many of these use carpet for the main scratching surface.  One of the best out there is the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post. It has received top Amazon reviews – so you don’t have to take our word for it.