As an owner of a cat, one of your main priorities will be to train your cat to prevent it from scratching your furniture. This will not only prevent stress for you, it will enable you to form a better bond 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. Not only do cats like to scratch, they have to scratch. Scratching comes naturally for cats and they need to do it. However you can train your cat to scratch something else, other than your prized furniture.
Cats need to scratch in order to stay healthy. Scratching allows a cat to stretch and exercise their muscles. Cats paws have scent glands and scratching helps them to leave a scent in order to mark their territory. Cats need to scratch for claw health and keeping them nice and sharp, for when you annoy it. Obviuosly there are reasons as to why a cat needs to scratch. You need to encourage this behavior in the correct manner instead of preventing it.
Punishing your cat because it scratches your furniture is not going to make it stop. 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.
One of the first things you need to do when getting a cat, is to purchase a scratching post. Give your cat more options to scratch by buying more than 1 scratching post. 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. I think we all share this particular trait. Using a scratching post soon becomes a habit, and your cat will happily continue to use the post in the future.
The area of the house where your family sits is also a good place for a scratching post. Cats do like to socialize with members of the family, even though at sometimes seems not to be the case. If your cat chooses to have a nap on your lap, a nearby scratching post will come in handy.
The only way to train your cat to use a scratching post is to make your cat familiar with it. Try playing with your cat by moving string up and down the post, so your cats claws come in contact with 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. Just by using these simple methods you will easily be able to teach your cat to use the post instead of your furniture.
Embed the scratching post firmly so that it cannot fall, and make it a reasonable 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.
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