To fully understand your cat's behavior and properly solve the issue of problem scratching, I
recommend reading this article in its entirety. The links below will advance you to the designated sections
if you wish to review.
Your Sofa and your nerves are in tatters. You're scolding your cat, knowing all the while that
it's futile. This is not a cocker spaniel you're dealing with. This is one of nature's most
pragmatic and self sufficient creatures. Worse, you're well aware that your cat considers your
behavior aberrant. She looks at you as if you've gone slightly mad. "Why the Fuss?" she seems to say.
"What are you raving about? I'm simply doing my thing--what's with you?
You're at an impasse. What to do?
Above all, don't declaw.
Please, take that as a given. Declawing is not an acceptable option for the beautiful, loving animal
that depends on you. The reasons to avoid declawing are compelling, for you as well as for your cat.
Declawing is literally maiming a cat, a mistake that can lead to physical, emotional and behavioral
complications. It is erroneous to think that declawing a cat is a trivial procedure similar to trimming
fingernails. A cat's claws are a vital part of its anatomy, essential to balance, mobility and survival.
Declawing is an irreversible surgical procedure that involves amputating the last joint of the
cat's "toes." It is a very painful procedure with strong potential to secondary complications. (Imagine
having the last joint of your own fingers amputated. Not a pleasant idea.) Click
here to see actual photos.
On rare occasions declawing may lead to secondary contracture of the tendons. This makes it
uncomfortable for the cat to walk. Since the last joints of their front paws are missing, they compensate by placing more
of their weight to the hind quarters, causing them to be out of balance. This shift of weight to
the hind quarters may lead to atrophy of the muscles of their front quarters.
Being out of balance is extremely distressing to a cat, whose very life is about balance.
You've observed cats climbing trees, teetering perilously on a single branch, leaping incredible
heights to land on a pre-selected spot, or threading in and out of complex arrangements of knickknacks without
disturbing a single ornament. (Unless, of course, they choose to do so.) These are acts of balance
and part of a cat's basic heritage.
In addition to being an intrinsic part of a cat's normal conformation, its front claws are a
cat's primary defense. Once declawed, there is no replacement or re-growth of the claws. You may think,
"My cat never goes outside." But what if your cat accidentally gets outside and you can't find her?
She is now defenseless in a potentially hostile environment.
Deprived of its front claws a cat may become insecure and distressed. I can assure you that
if Kitty becomes emotionally distressed, you will too. Kitty's display of distress tends to take
such forms as urinating on your favorite rug or spraying your antique armoire. Feeling defenseless
without her claws, Kitty may become hostile to people (including you), and to other cats and become
more apt to bite.
Some cats develop an aversion to their litter box because of the pain associated with scratching
in the litter after a declawing procedure. If Kitty doesn't go in the box, she will find a more comfortable
place to do her business. Often times, these habits are hard to break.
One more compelling reason not to declaw. Some European countries have ruled declawing illegal!
It is considered inhumane.
This isn't exactly a revelation, since you probably have the evidence everywhere--in the tattered
corners of your sofa, the shredded drapes, your frayed nerves. Though Kitty's natural propensity
for scratching my not be big news, it is a fact that you'll need to take into account if you're
to make any headway in winning the battle to keep her from scratching in places you consider undesirable.
Lesson 2- You can't keep your cat from scratching.
What you can do is stop her from scratching those items you value and want to keep in their relatively
pristine state.
Bare in mind Mark Twain's advice, which applies universally: Never try to teach a pig to sing;
it frustrates you and annoys the pig. Translate this bit of wisdom to your dealings with cats and
you'll avoid a good deal of futility and frustration.
You can't make a cat do anything she doesn't want to do. Get clear on that. And getting her to
stop something she enjoys is just about as difficult. Therefore you have to think smart and re-channel
her desires.
A word about punishment--Don't do it!
Cats don't understand physical punishment. In addition to it being wrong to hit your cat, punishment
simply doesn't work and is likely to make your situation worse. Clever though Kitty is about many things,
she won't understand that you're punishing her for scratching the couch. She will only compute that
sometimes when you catch her she is treated badly. This may make her insecure and stimulate her to
scratch more or develop other undesirable behavior problems.
Eventually you will break the trust and security that is the basis for your cat's relationship with
you, and you will find it very difficult to catch her for any reason at all.
Cats have excellent memories and hold serious grudges.
Lesson 3- Why do cats scratch?
More to the point, why do they scratch your prized
possessions? Understanding your cat's need
to scratch is the key to channeling
Kitty's efforts to more acceptable areas.
Marking their territory
Scratching is a territorial instinct by which cats place their mark and establish their turf.
Through scratching, cats mark their domains with more than just visible signs of claw marks. Cat's
paws also have scent glands that leave their own special scent on their territory.
And this is why they mark the most visible portions of your house. It's Kitty's way of adding
her own personal touch to your (and her) home. Her version of interior decorating.
Exercise
Scratching
also serves to keep your cat in shape. The act of scratching stretches and pulls
and works the muscles of a cat's front quarters--a cross between a feline gym workout and Kitty Yoga.
Sheer pleasure
Hey! It feels good to scratch.
So give up the idea of reforming Kitty's desire to scratch.
Re-channel her into scratching where
you want her to. You'll both be happier.
Lesson 4- Provide your cat with an appropriate scratching post.
Since your cat brings you so much joy, you decide to buy her the softest, prettiest and most
luxurious scratching post you can find. You take it home and your feline friend gives you a blank
stare and walks away. This activates your parental guidance mechanism and you decide to show her
how to use the post by taking her front paws and making scratching motions at the post. She of
course struggles till she gets free of you and then treats you with utter disdain for the rest
of the day.
Never make the mistake of trying to "show her how" to scratch anything. You'll only offend
her. She knows perfectly well how to do it. She just reserves the right to scratch when and
where it suits her.
Lesson 5- Remember, we said appropriate.
Cats like rough surfaces
that they can shred to pieces. Sisal scratching posts are ideal for releasing Kitty's primal urges. This is a material she
can shred to pieces with great satisfaction. Be sure not to throw it away when it is shredded,
since that's when she's just broken it in satisfactorily, and she will not appreciate
your
tidiness.
The reverse side of rugs provides a good, satisfyingly resistant texture for clawing. You
can place a piece of rug material over an area of carpet where Kitty has already been scratching.
However, it must be stationary. Secure it so it doesn't move by duct taping the edges or placing
it under furniture. You can also staple pieces of rug to a wall or post.
Lesson 6- How to get Kitty to prefer the post.
Remember that an important part of scratching is the cat's desire to mark a territory, so a
scratching post should be in an area that's used by the family, not hidden in a back corner. After
a time you can move the post away to the periphery of the room, but you'll need to do this gradually.
Initially, put the post where your cat goes to scratch. This may be by a sofa, a chair or wherever
Kitty has chosen as her territory, and you may need more than one post to cover her favorite spots.
Encourage Kitty to use her post with clever enticements. Feed her and play with her by the post.
Rub dried catnip leaves or powder into it. Make all the associations with the post pleasurable.
Reward her with a favorite treat when she uses it. Have her chase a string or a toy around the post
or attach toys to it, which will result in her digging her claws into it. Eventually she will learn
to love it and regard it as her own.
It's also a good idea to put a post where Kitty sleeps. Cats
like to scratch when they awaken, especially in the morning and the middle of the night. If space permits,
a scratching post in every room of the house is a cat's delight. The most important place is the
area of the house in which you and Kitty spend the most time. I have many sisal posts in my house, yet
often in the morning my cats line up to use the
one in the living room.
If at first Kitty is reluctant to give up her old scratching areas, there are means you can use
to discourage her. Covering the area with aluminum foil or double-sided tape is a great deterrent.
These surfaces don't have a texture that feels good to scratch.
Remember too that Kitty has marked her favorite spots with her scent as well as her claws. You
may need to remove her scent from the areas you want to distract her away from. You will find pet odor
removers in pet stores and many supermarkets as well.
Cats have an aversion to citrus odors. Use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange
peels to make her former scratching sites less agreeable to her.
If Kitty still persists in scratching the furniture, try squirting her with a water gun or a
spray bottle set on stream. Another option is a loud whistle or other noise-maker. You must employ
these deterrents while she is scratching for them to be effective. The point is to establish an aversion to
the spot you don't want her to scratch.
Lesson 7- Start them young.
If you are starting with a kitten, consider yourself fortunate. It's much easier to initiate
good habit patterns than to correct undesirable ones.
From the beginning teach your kitten the appropriate place to scratch. Use the methods already
described, especially playing around the scratching post to capture her interest. Take advantage
of your kitten's desire to play and attach toys to the post. She will soon "dig in" to catch her
toy and discover how good it feels to scratch this surface.
Do not take her paws and make her scratch the post. This is a major turn-off and will only
inspire a bratty "you can't make me" attitude. Even at an early age, cats refuse to be coerced into doing
what they don't want to do.
If she starts to scratch an inappropriate object, immediately place her in front of her scratching post
and begin petting her. Some cats will begin kneading when petted, thus digging their claws into the
desired surface and establishing this as a fine place to scratch.
Cats are creatures of habit. Start them off with good ones.
Alternate Solutions
Trimming your cat's nails.
Though you should never declaw, you may defray some of your cat's potential for destruction by
carefully trimming the razor-sharp tips of her claws. You will find this endeavor more easily
accomplished by two people, one to hold Kitty and one to trim her nails. Though she enjoys other
forms of pampering, Kitty will not find a manicure soothing.
Gently hold Kitty's paw in one hand and with your thumb on top of the paw and forefinger on
the pad gently squeeze your thumb and finger together. This will push the claw
clear of the fur
so it can easily be seen. You will notice that the inside of the claw is pink near its base.
This is living tissue that you do not want to cut. Trim only the clear tip of the nail.
Do not clip the area where pink tissue is visible nor the slightly opaque region that outlines
the pink tissue. This will avoid cutting into areas that would be painful or bleed. The desired
effect is simply to blunt the claw tip. Many different types of nail trimmers are available in
pet stores, but I find human toenail clippers easy and effective to use.
This is where preparation comes to the rescue.
Begin making Kitty accustomed to having her paws handled. While petting and soothing her, start
massaging her paws, especially on the under side. Gently press on the individual pads at the base of
her claws. You may want to give her treats to reward her for not protesting.
The point, of course, is to make the process
reassuring so that she will eventually feel comfortable enough to let you handle her paws without
protest.
Next, be patient. Don't attempt to trim all her nails at once. Trim one or two at a time,
reward her with affection or food, and then let her do as she wishes. Cats are not strong on
patience or restraint. As the creature theoretically higher on to evolutionary scale, that's your
department. Don't attempt to change your cat. Instead make it tolerable for her. Eventually
trimming will become a completely non-traumatic experience.
Soft Paws®--An excellent alternative
If all of this is too time consuming and you have a strictly indoor cat, you have another very
desirable option; a wonderful product called Soft Paws®. These are lightweight vinyl caps that
you apply over your cat's own claws. They have rounded edges, so your cat's scratching doesn't damage
your home and furnishings.
Soft Paws® are great for households with small children, as they guard against the child getting scratched.
They are also extremely useful for people who are away from home all day and simply can't apply
the watchfulness necessary to train a cat to use a scratching post. An important caveat here, however; they
should be used only on indoor cats, since they blunt one of the cat's chief means of self-defense.
Soft Paws® last approximately
six weeks once Kitty becomes accustomed to them. At first they
may feel a bit strange to her and she may groom them excessively, causing them to come off sooner.
She'll get used to them quickly though, and thereafter they will last longer. It is amazing how well
cats tolerate the Soft Paws®, most don't even notice they are wearing them.
Soft Paws® come in a kit and are easy to apply. Just glue them on. They are generally applied
to the front paws only, since these are what cause most of the destruction to your home. A kit will
last approximately two to three months, depending on your cat. After applying the Soft Paws®,
check Kitty's claws weekly. You may find one or two caps missing from time to time, and these are easily
replaced using the adhesive included in the kit. To make application easier for both you and your cat,
follow the instructions on accustoming your cat to having her paws handled that are discussed here in
the
section on trimming your cat's claws.
As a checklist, here are the pertinent things to remember:
1- Don't declaw!
2- Understand your cat's need to scratch.
3- Forget punishment--it doesn't work.
4- Provide a suitable place for your cat to scratch.
5- Make the scratching post attractive to Kitty-- i.e. use sisal posts.
6- Make the place she's been scratching unattractive--physical or scent related deterrents.
7- Whenever possible, start cats young.
8- You may want to trim your cat's claws.
9- For indoor cats, consider Soft Paws® as extra insurance, or an easy alternative.
