How To Stop Cats From Scratching

There are a good number of reasons why people own a pet animal. It may be because they are alone and want a companion to spend time with. To reduce stress a pet animal plays a vital role in a person’s life. Researchers have found that a pet owner remains healthier and happier than one who has no pet in his house. 

It is always exciting to get a pet animal in the house. A cat is one of the most common pets. People prefer sharing their lives with cats to doing that with any other animals.  

It is not a difficult task to get a cat as a pet animal. You can easily find, buy, or adopt a cat from any available source. After owning a cat, your first duty should be to buddy up with that little creature. After that, you have to concentrate on the inconveniences that your new buddy creates in your house.

One of the troubles that a cat creates is that it scratches on almost everything it comes across. As a cat owner, you will never endure your furniture, drapes, and other important things being scratched by your pet cat. So you should learn how to stop your cat from scratching.

Why does a cat scratch?

Before preventing your cat from scratching you need to know why a cat scratches. Scratching is instinctive in the behavior of a cat. It scratches for some reason. Firstly, to mark their territory cats usually scratch on things. As scratching is an act of exercise, they scratch to hone their nails. It also helps them stretch and strengthen their muscles. Sometimes they scratch on a surface without any evident reason or only for entertainment.     

Declawing your cat to get rid of scratches

You may have thought of declawing your cat to manage its scratching habit. Nothing can be so cruel as it to declaw your pet because it is very painful to her. As scratching is a behavioral issue, declawing will not be proven an effective method of getting rid of it. So you should follow some alternative ways to how to stop cats from scratching instead of declawing it.

It is not possible to completely prevent your cat from scratching. Instead, you can teach her where and what to scratch. By doing that you can save your furniture, drapes, carpeting, and other important upholstery from being scratched by your pet cat. Some techniques for the management of your cat’s scratching habit are discussed in the following.

How to keep cats from scratching on furniture

Providing your cat with various cat stretching posts is one of the best ways to how to stop cats from scratching on furniture. A cat loves to scratch on whatever is available to her, be it furniture or drapes. So, buying your cat a cat stretching post will help you keep your cat busy in scratching on that post and thus enable you to protect your furniture from her attack.

While buying a cat scratching post you need to focus on its acceptance to your cat. Cats generally like surfaces that are strong, sturdy, and comfortable to scratch. So you have to make sure that you choose a sturdy post covered in a material that your cat loves to scratch.                           

Placing the post in the right place is also important. You should place the cat scratching post in a place where your cat loves to hang out. It may be near the windows or somewhere near her regular sleeping area. 

Clipping the nails of your cat  

It is a better idea to clip the nails of your cat regularly. Nails are her best weapons in the act of scratching. So when her nails are clipped, she feels discouraged to scratch on things. 

Declawing your cat is out and away more inhuman than clipping her nails. Which is why it is prescribed to trim her nails regularly.      

Cat deterrent sprays to stop cats from scratching 

Using a cat deterrent spray can ease the tension of your carpets and furniture being scratched by your pet cat. To change the scratch habit of your cat you are required to apply the spray every 24 hours until the habit is changed.  The spray works by giving the cat the impression that she has already marked the surface or the furniture on which it is applied. 

There are many kinds of cat deterrent sprays in the market. You can buy them anytime to tackle the scratching habit of your cat. Besides, you can make your own homemade cat deterrent spray using citrus oil, garlic, vinegar, and peppermint. So you have either option. 

Using cat scratching taps 

One of the easiest ways to keep your cat away from scratching your furniture, carpets, or other things is to use cat scratch taps. They extraordinarily work on hard surfaces like furniture, carpets, walls, and doors. This kind of cat scratch taps is sticky but easily removable. So you can remove them from your cat’s paw anytime you need. Because of the stickiness of those cat scratch taps in your cat’s paw, she becomes discouraged and remains aloof from scratching.

Cat mittens to prevent scratching.  

Declawing is never a solution to the problem of scratching. If you are looking for an alternative to declawing, using cat mittens can be an effective choice to prevent scratching. You need to clip your cat’s nails first and use the cat socks after that. This use of cat mittens will surely help you limit the scratching and thus reduce the damage.                

How to stop your cat from scratching you

Your pet cat may at times scratch and even bite you. There might be two evident reasons for this kind behaviour of your cat. It may happen because the cat is in a playful mood or in an aggressive mood. By saying ‘No’ aloud you can startle the cat and stop her from scratching you. When she comes to scratch you, you can grab her by the scruff as a punishment. Following any of the two methods, several times will help your cat develop a habit of stopping scratching or biting you. It is necessary to make her understand that your hands are not playthings.    

In fine, understanding the behavior of a cat is very important when you own one. Scratching is a behavioral act of a cat. So how to stop cats from scratching you should understand its behaviour and follow the methods stated above. This is how you will be able to bear up against the scratching and biting of your pet cat. 

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