C ats have long since been proven to be very reliable partners to humans but that does not mean they do not come with their own shortcomings. Among other things such as cleaning their litter box every day and scaring them off the counters, their owners also have to deal with their endless scratching of furniture. So, right off the bat let’s get started on how to avoid this problem!
Technically speaking, it is in a cat’s nature to keep its claws sharp and ready to attack, hence, they love jumping on your furniture and making sure they are not mauled in their sleep by wild animals as it could very well happen in the wild. However, indoor cats do not have to worry about any outsiders trying to attack them unless you count a vacuum cleaner, which they do consider their mortal enemy.
Cats also scratch to express certain emotions such as stress, excitement, and sometimes even affection. Yes, your furry little goblin is unable to speak to you but that will not stop him from communicating with you in ways he knows and probably considers okay. Sometimes, your cat will even just scratch to get a good stretch out of it and nothing else, costing you a hundred dollars for that new sofa you just bought.
Now let’s talk about how to keep your four-legged beloved partners off your furniture and make sure they do not sharpen their nails on your furniture!
An easy fix is to put double-sided tape on the edges of your furniture. The thing is that cats hate having sticky paws and because they are such clever animals, they learn not to go near the place which got their paws sticky in the first place!
Make sure they have plenty of their own places to scratch such as scratch towers etc. Many cats do this out of boredom since they don’t have the space they need to stretch and sharpen their nails.
You should regularly trim your cat’s nails to make sure they don’t get broken or injured in any process. Outdoor cats need these nails for proper defense but indoor cats are totally fine with trimmed nails. However, make sure you do not cut too close to the Quick area, which is the part containing vessels and can draw blood when injured.
Play with your cat for at least 15-20 minutes twice a day. Like children, cats also need your attention but really have no idea how to get it so they take on scratching to take the edge off their stress.
Declawing an animal is not just a cruel act but a very harmful one as well. The main reasons include that it equates to cutting off a human’s fingers instead of nails and maims the animal for the rest of their life which is certainly not humane.
Declawed cats live a painful and miserable life and end up having arthritis early on in life and being unable to enjoy the small things that cats love like running and jumping.
Sometimes, simple extra attention and care can cause your cat to stop scratching the furniture to make a ruckus with a simple aim to get your attention. Pets need to be treated as members of your household and they need equal amounts of love and care as a toddler who never really grows up. Cats are often labeled cold-hearted but the truth is they are very emotional beings and get attached to particular humans, considering them larger cats who are unable to hunt and hence need extra protection.
Another thing to add to this topic is to make sure your cat has access to the toys they love, some of them prefer laser tags, and others like racing behind small toys made of fur and yet some prefer laying in sunlight and not being disturbed. Whichever the case is, it is very important to know what your cat enjoys and doesn’t enjoy in order to understand its psyche!
