Ways To Train Your Cat So It Doesn't Scratch Your Furniture
As an owner of a cat, one of your main priorities will be to train your cat to prevent it from scratching your furniture. Not only will this save you money and a great deal of irritation, you will also have a better relationship with your cat.
The first step is to try and understand why a cat will scratch your furniture. Your cat doesn't do this because it wants to annoy you, nor does it purposely set out to do this because it dislikes the furniture you have. Cats have a need to scratch. You can't stop a cat from scratching because it is a natural behavior for it. It is not diificult to train your cat to stop scratching your furniture, all you have to do is to provide a substitue for scratching.
Scratching is part of a cats health regime. When a cat scratches, it is exercising its muscles. Cats mark their territiory through scratching as their paws contain scent glands. A cats claws are kept healthy and clean through scratching. Clearly your cat has reasons to scratch. Instead of preventing this type of behavior, it should be encouraged, although on your terms.
When your cat scratches your furniture, don't even think about punishing it. Cats will not respond to punishment and will increase your cats problems. If you try to punish your cat, all you will do is show the cat that you are someone who must be avoided. If you shoo your cat away if you see it scratching your furniture, it will only carry on doing the same thing when you are not around. The only way you can stop your cat from scratching furniture, is by the correct training.
Along with getting a cat, you should also buy a scratching post at the same time. Even better would be to have more than 1 scratching post, as this gives your cat plenty of options. Cats can be trained at any age, but the earlier you can start, the quicker and easier it will be.
You should place the scratching posts in your cat's favourite places. One of the best places to place a post is near where your cat sleeps. The first thing that a cat likes to do when it wakes up, is to stretch and have a good scratch. You could say that this is a trait that the rest of us share. Once your cat becomes used to using scratching posts, it becomes a habit, and cats are creatures of habit.
Another good place to put scratching post, is in an area where you and other members of the family sit. Cats do like to socialize with members of the family, even though at sometimes seems not to be the case. If your cat decides that it wants to use your lap for a bit of a snooze, it will be handy to have a scratching post nearby when it decides to wake up.
Making a scratching post familiar to a cat is the best way to get it to use it. Get your cat to scratch the post by moving a toy or piece of string up and down it. Try tying some toys that your cat likes onto the scratching post, the enables your cat to touch the post with its paws and claws. These easy techniques will allow you to train your cat so that it no longer uses your furniture for scratching.
Ensure that the post is pretty stable and of a good length. Cat training is not difficult if you use the right methods, and it is easy to train your cat to stop it from ruining your furniture.
