Acerca de

Scratching

Cats like to scratch. They scratch during play. They scratch while stretching. They scratch to mark territory or as a threatening signal other cats. And because cats’ claws need regular sharpening, cats scratch on things to remove frayed, worn outer claws and expose new, sharper claws. All this scratching can cause a lot of damage to furniture, drapes and carpeting!

What to Do About Your Cat’s Scratching Habits

The best tactic when dealing with scratching is not to try to stop your cat from scratching, but instead make sure she has scratch-friendly posts, rugs, and mats as an alternative and encourage her to scratch those instead. The following steps will help you encourage your cat to scratch where you want her to:

Provide a variety of scratching posts with different qualities and surfaces that are sturdy and won't collapse or shift when used. Once you identify which type of scratching outlets your cat prefers, provide several additional scratching areas throughout your home.
- Material: Try giving your cat posts and mats made of cardboard, carpeting, wood, sisal and upholstery.
- Angle: Some cats prefer horizontal posts while others might like vertical posts or slanted posts. Some prefer a vertical grain for raking, while others favor a horizontal grain for picking.
- Height: Cats love to be able to stretch out fully when scratching; therefore, a higher-height scratching post may be preferred.
Encourage your cat to investigate her posts by scenting them with catnip, hanging toys on them and placing them in areas where she’ll be inclined to climb on them. Do NOT attempt to get her to use them by holding her and forcing her to rake her claws across them; she may become scared of the posts and never use them again!
Discourage inappropriate scratching by removing or covering other desirable objects.
- Turn speakers toward the wall.
- Put plastic, double-sided sticky tape, sandpaper or upside-down vinyl carpet runner (knobby parts up), or special "cat away" mats on furniture or on the floor where your cat would stand to scratch your furniture. Make sure you place scratching posts next to these objects to give cats a safe scratching outlet.
Clip your cat’s nails regularly. For most cats, this is an easy, painless process. For kitties who don't like manicures, most vet offices will trim nails for a small fee. T
Consider putting plastic caps on your cat’s claws so that he’ll do no damage if he scratches on something in your home. These special caps attach to claws with an adhesive and are temporary, lasting 4-6 weeks. Although you can apply these at home by yourself, some veterinarians offer "soft paws" application as a service.
As a last resort, if you catch your cat in the act of scratching an inappropriate object, you can try startling him by clapping your hands or squirting him with water. This may cause a cat to associate you with the startling event and fear you, however.
If you need help, don’t hesitate to call in the experts. See our page about local trainers & resources.

Should You Declaw Your Cat?

No, no, no, no, no!

What is declawing?

The term “declaw” is actually a misnomer. It implies that declawing only involves the removal of a cat’s claws. In reality, declawing (or onychectomy) is the amputation of the last digital bone, including the nail bed and claw, on the front of each toe. This is equivalent to cutting off your fingers at the first knuckle.

Why is declawing bad?

Cats suffer from significant pain while recovering from this procedure. The surgery introduces the cat to the risk of anesthesia, excessive bleeding and postoperative complications, including infection, and is accompanied by pain that may last from several days to much longer unless appropriate pain control is provided.

Pain can last well after the surgery recovery period, as well. About 42% of cats

Does it stop a cat from scratching?

Well, sure does -- just as if we cut your fingers off at the first knuckle would stop you from scratching anything. However, you're trading one behavior "problem" for other behavior and physical problems. Some cats are aggressive after being declawed, sometimes due to the amount of pain they are chronically experiencing. Others will get preemptively defensive/aggressive with people and other cats, knowing that they do not have any way to defend themselves if conflict arises.

Some people decide to declaw their cats to prevent or resolve a scratching problem. The ASPCA is strongly opposed to declawing cats, because declawing has not been proven an effective method for improving behavioral issues, including aggression towards people or other cats. It should never be used as a behavioral remedy or as a preventative measure. The only circumstances in which the procedure should be considered are those in which all behavioral and environmental alternatives have been fully explored, have proven to be ineffective, and the cat is at grave risk of euthanasia.

A variety of alternatives exist to manage natural scratching behavior, behavioral issues and to prevent injury from cat scratches. These include having a cat’s nails trimmed regularly in order to blunt the tips, providing scratching pads, posts and other appealing structures for the cat to use and employing behavior modification techniques to induce the cat to use them, using deterrents such as double-sided tape to protect furnishings, and covering the claws with soft temporary. Pet parents should also be familiar with cat behavior and proper handling techniques to avoid being scratched.