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Scratching is one of my cats most natural tendencies and sometimes depending on your cat and the type of breed that it is, it can get quite destructive sometimes.
Obviously for cat owners this can cause quite a lot of frustration especially when you’ve invested in a new sofa only to find that your cat has made large tear in your sofa!
Whilst this is a very natural and pleasurable thing for cats to do, it is the number one reason why cats are often left abandoned or declawed.
Accepting that cats scratch is something that all cat owners should learn to live with and mitigating the potential damage to your property can be achieved many different ways.
Why Do Cats Scratch?
One thing that we should mention straight away is that scratching is absolutely perfectly normal behaviour for cats and it should never be interpreted as a sign that the cat is in distress or angry.
So let’s break down a few possible reasons as to why cats scratch in the first place!
- Cat scratching can often be linked to the sign that the cat is marking their territory. Cats have scent glands on their paws which is a very interesting fact!
- This can be a common form of exercise for cats to be able to exercise both their feet and they’re close but also stretching their backs at the same time!
- They are simply having fun!
- This could be part of the normal grooming by shedding the dead skin cells underneath the claws.
Treatment
Declawing a cat should never ever be a solution. It is both cruel and inhumane to undertake this procedure.
Trimming your cats nails by taking them to your local veterinary surgery is acceptable should they claws become overgrown or ingrowing as this could relieve the pressure and pain from their paws.
We do not advise unless you are extremely experienced in this procedure to do this yourself. Please always take your cat to a professional should your cats require the claws being trimmed.
The best treatment however is to purchase them a cat tree or a scratching post.
Generally cat trees use either a thick carpet or a sisal rope which is a very rough material that cats are able to scratch and this maintains their claws and keeps them nicely sharp and manicured.
Just like humans, we like to keep ourselves groomed and go to the hair salon or the nail salon and cats are no different! The only difference is that they are able to perform both of these procedures themselves providing they are given the correct tools.
If you do not have a scratching post and your cat is able to go outside, then they will be able to sharpen their claws on a natural tree instead.
Otherwise, encourage your cat by rewarding them when you see them scratching in an area which you are comfortable with.
It is always better to reward your cat for good behaviour instead of punishing your cats for bad behaviour.
About Scratching Posts
Cats are no different from humans in the sense that they need exercise and scratching posts and cat trees are the perfect format for them to be able to exercise and enjoy.
In our opinion, every cat should have the opportunity to enjoy several cat trees of different materials, shapes and sizes!
Make no mistake at all, cat trees are absolutely essential not just for your cats stress relief and maintenance of the claws, but as we discussed earlier can be a great money saver for owners as well in order to protect their furnishings around the home.
Whilst there are thousands of different available options and many hundreds available to choose from on this website, scratching posts do you not need to necessarily be at the luxury end on some occasions.
Corrugated cardboard is a good example and whilst the shelf life means that it may need to be replaced quite frequently, they are relatively inexpensive and cats will still get much pleasure from digging their claws into it.
We suggest you to place the cat tree in a familiar location where your cat has already been scratching naturally, this will encourage them on board much more quickly!
When you do you see that your cat has been using that product, then reward them with a nice treat and thank them for using the product in the correct way this will encourage them to use it more often.
How to Prevent Scratching
Unfortunately there is no way to prevent scratching and neither should you encourage cats to stop scratching!
This is part of their natural instincts and also part of healthy mental and physical well-being.
If the scratching becomes destructive then there shouldn’t be a problem. We have outlined some tips above to be able to help you in recognising this problem and also how you can fix it!
We hope that this article has been useful and again, we have over 300 cats trees available to choose from on this website that can be shipped free of charge anywhere in Europe!