July 30, 2010
How to get my cat to use a scratching post?
Posted by: admin : Category: cat scratching posts
My cat is always scratching up the carpet. we got 3 posts for her but she still scratches the carpet. how do i teach her?
Cat nip and a little training.
What I would do is do the age old training tool. A spray bottle full of water.
When I would catch my cat scratching furniture or other forbidden thing I would spray his rump and IMMEDIATELY bring him over to the scratching post and give him a hands on training. I would make him act like he was scratching the post.
In less than a week he caught on and I now use my spray bottle on my teenager.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
I trained my cat by tapping the top of the post. She caught on right away (pun intended).
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July 30th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
when she starts scratching the carpet, do you bring her right over to the scratching post? Thats how I taught my cats to stop clawing everything
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July 30th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Put some cat-nip on the post
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Works
July 30th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
put some cat nip on the poll, when the cat scratches it, then say ‘good kitty’. put some stuff on the floor that the cat doesn’t like. Call your local human society for suggestions, or look it up on the internet:)
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July 30th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Cat nip and a little training.
What I would do is do the age old training tool. A spray bottle full of water.
When I would catch my cat scratching furniture or other forbidden thing I would spray his rump and IMMEDIATELY bring him over to the scratching post and give him a hands on training. I would make him act like he was scratching the post.
In less than a week he caught on and I now use my spray bottle on my teenager.
References :
July 30th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
buy some cat nip and put it on the scratching post.
spray with some water when she scratches this carpet
h0pe this helpz
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July 30th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
put a familiar smell on the post like catnip. and if your cat is scratching on other things like your chairs and coaches try putting the post by the chairs and/or the coaches…how it works, good luck
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July 30th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
The easiest way for me to train my cat was just to simply pick him up, as in just picking him up and holding him, then I would bring him over to the sractching post and gently take his paws and use them on the scratching post, I did this as many times as I possiblly could so it enables him to remember this.
I never hit him, nor did I force him to do this, I just gently picked him up, brought him/her (I have one male, and one female cat) over the scratching post and gently used his/her paws on the scractching post doing this as many as 3-4-5 times every day.
He now remembers only to scratch the post with his/her claws
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pet owner of cats and dogs for many,many years
July 30th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Cats have scent glands on their paws, so when they begin to scratch somewhere it leaves a smell that attracts them to scratch in the same place each time. With this in mind, you need to temporarily conceal her claw scent by covering that area of carpet with something that has a smooth surface (cat’s don’t like the feel of scratching them) such as aluminium foil or a sheet of heavy duty plastic. Feliway can also be helpful in preventing unwanted scratching because it mimics the scent found in their facial glands, and generally cats don’t scratch anywhere they scent mark with their facial glands. You’ll need to spray Feliway once a day for 21 days for it to be effective at deterring scratching.
Place a scratch post next to that spot of carpet and rub it with catnip or spray it with honeysuckle. You could also trail toys or pieces of string over the post to encourage her to sink her claws into it. Once she’s done this a few times, she’ll get the idea it feels good to scratch there. Reward her with lots of praise and food treats as encouragement.
Cats have individual preferences for the textures they enjoy scratching and not all of them like sisal posts, because the thread runs horizontally and their claws can get snagged. You may have to offer your cat a few alternatives to see if she would prefer something else. Our male cat is very good and he uses both his post (turned on it’s side) and a wooden log. However our female cat is much more fussy and will only scratch corrugated cardboard, so I save empty boxes for her. I even bought her one of those alpine scratchers that contains a cardboard block, but she wouldn’t use that either.
Once your cat begins to scratch her own item and it becomes impregnated with her claw scent, she will always want to scratch there so as to top-up the scent every time it fades.
These links have lots of helpful advice on training cats where to scratch and how to protect furniture, wallpaper etc.
http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20problems/cats/scratching.html
http://www.catscratching.com/
Hope this helps.
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July 30th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
A cat needs to scratch, that’s natural behavior and should not be punished at all! Sometimes though, this behavior can interfere with our lifestyle and we don’t want our best sofa or newly fitted carpet being used as a scratching ground. Cats scratch to keep their claws in good shape. Layers of the claws are shed and underneath sits a new and sharp nail which provides the best protection possible for self-defense. Scratching is also a form of territory marking. Every time a cat scratches, it leaves its personal scent behind. Small glands between the toes make that possible. You can watch how a cat stretches itself while scratching. This helps to keep the muscles in its legs, back and paws in good health. The claws act as a sort of anchor, and are buried into the surface of the scratched item.
Most common types of damage are scratched furniture, ripped carpets and shredded wallpaper. You want to eliminate the problem before it occurs. Buy or build a stable, tall scratching-post, right from the start. Here are some tips to do it right:
- The post should be at least two feet high, covered with sisal-rope.
- Get more than one, especially when you have a multi-cat household.
- Place the post close to the furniture or other areas which are most at risk.
- While catnip can make a cat attracted to the scratching post, what you really want is to have the cat’s scent on it. Cats scratch to mark their territory. Their scent is left where he scratched because of sweat glands between the pads of his paws; once that scent is left the cat will return to re-mark it again later. So rub your cat down with a towel, and rub the towel all over the scratching post.
- If your cat starts scratching the "wrong" object, gently carry your cat to the desired post. If the cat still hasn’t used the post, demonstrate how to use it by scratching the post with your own nails.
- Never force your cat. When it starts scratching the post by itself, make sure you use verbal praise with a rewarding treat and affection. The point is to use positive reinforcement, not punishment.
- When you have a kitten, start early with the "pawing at post" technique
- Invest in what’s called a “cat tree” which acts also as a leisure area for your cat. Different textures and heights make it more interesting, you perhaps want to build it yourself.
- Try some repellent like pepper-dust or some commercial products on your furniture to keep your cat off these areas.
- Be persistent and don’t give up.
http://www.catcatcat.com/behav2.html
Use cat claw trimmers and only take off a tiny bit at the end of the nail. Some people say to do it every other week. I think it‘s safer to cut off less than you are told, and to do it more often, (like once a week). Never use trimmers that are made for humans or dogs, because you are more likely to hurt her that way. You can ask your vet or groomer to show you the proper way to do it. Here’s a website that shows you how: http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm
Good luck!
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July 30th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
this is seriously the best method all you do is ( by the way it doesn’t hurt them) squeeze the palm of his hand well sort of until his claws come out and then put his claws on the post and rub it up and down and there you have it should work it worked with all of my friends
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August 2nd, 2010 at 6:52 am
Mein Sofa hat die besten Jahre bereits hinter sich und das modernste ist es auch nicht mehr, deshalb hab ich beschlossen mir jetzt mal ein neues zu kaufen. Der Bezug des neue Sofas sollte ein bisschen was aushalten, da ich eine kleine Katze habe die des öfteren mal über das Sofa herfällt und ihre Krallen schärft. Hat jemand von Euch Erfahrung mit Haustieren und kann mir einen bestimmten Stoff empfehlen?