We love our cats, but we don’t always love how they treat our furniture! While a little bit of wear and tear is normal, cats can be very destructive when it comes to furniture, carpet, and curtains. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to discourage destructive scratching and understanding our cats’ behaviors can help owners make sure their pets are healthy and happy.
We discussed some details related to destructive scratching in this post, and we will go into more detail about understanding why your cat’s scratch and stopping it here!
Scratching Is Necessary For Health
The first thing to understand is that cats have real reasons to scratch. Despite what the internet might try to tell you, your cat doesn’t exhibit destructive behaviors like scratching furniture or tearing up carpets to be a jerk. They exhibit behaviors like these due to issues like boredom and as a part of good hygiene. Scratching helps cats clear off the dirty, dull, and potentially jagged outer layers of their claws. Cats will also scratch as a way of marking their territory and even out of boredom.
This all means that the best way to care for your cat while also caring for your furniture is to direct them toward more appropriate materials and refocus their energies while helping them keep their claws clean and healthy! Keep this in mind that scratching is a healthy, needed behavior for cats — you just need to refocus your cat’s attention to appropriate places to scratch!
Provide Lots of Scratching Posts!
One of the best ways to get your cat to stop clawing your furniture and carpets is to give them cat-friendly alternatives! When you are initially trying to introduce your cat to scratching posts and scratch friendly furniture, you will probably want to try out lots of different styles of scratching posts to determine what your cat likes best. Some cats will prefer different materials like carpet or cardboard. Your cats may also prefer different shapes, like something tall they can also use to stretch against or something on the ground that they can dig their claws into. This may take a little bit of experimentation, but once you figure out what your cat prefers, it’s a good idea to purchase several scratching posts and place them throughout your home. It’s a good idea to keep a scratching post near any furniture that your cat has already started to claw!
Protect Your Furniture
If you are struggling with getting your cat to leave your furniture alone, it may be time to cover it or rearrange the room so they are less tempted. Putting plastic or even double sided tape on furniture can deter your cats your cats from using it, which will hopefully help you break them from their bad habits. If you still see them trying to claw the furniture, try redirecting their attention with a toy.
Make Sure Your Cat Isn’t Bored
Many people think that cats are completely self sufficient but this isn’t inherently true! Your cats need interaction and if you are noticing destructive behaviors, they might be bored or understimulated. One of the best things you can do is enjoy some quality time with your pet by playing with them. One of the great things about cat is that you don’t actually need things like expensive cat toys. You can have a blast with your feline friend just by playing with a crumpled up piece of newspaper or a simple wand toy. Make sure they have a wide variety of toys available when you can’t be home to play with them and you may see some behavior problems vanish!
Reach Out For Help!
If you are concerned about your cat’s destructive behaviors, it’s a great idea to reach out to your veterinarian to get more specific advice. Your veterinarian may also be able to help you maintain their claws so your cat isn’t so tempted to take care of the situation on their own. Contact the Bregman Veterinary Group today to make an appointment so your cat can get a checkup and you can discuss their behavior concerns. This is a great way to make sure your pet is happy and healthy and you will have peace of mind about your decor!
