ways to prevent cats from scratching furniture

We all love our feline friends but it can’t be denied that when they scratch up the furniture that we either bought with our hard-earned money or have been family handlooms, it can be extremely frustrating. Although we can’t completely stop cats from scratching as it is a natural feline behavior, we can certainly prepare them and the furniture to ensure there is minimum damage.

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Why Your Cat is Scratching the Furniture? 

Before figuring out how to stop your kitty from destroying your furniture, you need to understand why they are doing it in the first place.

1.   It’s a Way to Sharpen Their Nails

Scratching objects helps cats to get rid of the dead layer of nails, so that they maintain their sharp claws. It is a natural behavior that allows them to shed their claw sheaths (the outside layer of the claws).

2.     It’s a Method to Mark Their Territory

The claws of cats contain scent glands that release chemical and even visible scent marks when they scratch an object, hence helping them mark their territory. So destroying your furniture might just be a way for your cat to feel secure and at home.

3.     It’s a Process of Maintaining Their Emotional Well-Being

When cats scratch objects, it's not just a physical activity for them, but also a mental one. Scratching is a way for them to stimulate their minds, which helps them feel emotionally secure. When cats feel emotionally secure and mentally stimulated, it contributes to their overall physical well-being. In other words, scratching is an important activity for cats that helps keep them healthy both mentally and physically.

4.     It’s a Practice to Grab Your Attention

As you might have already noticed, mischief is a key characteristic trait of cats, so destroying your couches and sofas is a way for them to express theirselves when they feel neglected and want to grab your attention.

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Effective Ways to Prevent Your Cats from Scratching 

Making conscious efforts to improve the behavior of your cats and finding innovative ways to protect your furniture will help you tackle this situation efficiently.

Provide a Designated Scratching Area for Your Pet Cat 

Ideally, you should provide a designated scratching post for your kitty. By doing so, you will ensure the scratching is limited to a specific area and your priced furniture is not vulnerable to getting damaged by the claws of your feline friends.

Try and provide them with a tall upright post that they can scratch even when they reach their full height. It should be sturdy enough to withstand the sinking of the claws of your pet cat since the intensity of the scratch is only going to increase with age. Usually, cats begin scratching when they are eight weeks old. So, making adjustments beforehand is a healthy habit for cat parents.

Try Nail Caps or Socks for Your Cat 

Today’s market is filled with comfortable, fashionable, and safe ware for your pet cats in the form of nail caps, socks, and boots. You can get one for your kitty and have them roam around your house without you having to worry about them damaging your furniture.

With these, they can still continue scratching wherever they want but there won’t be any destruction left on the scratched surface. However, not every cat breed will adapt well to them. So, if you find yours getting increasingly frustrated with these accessories, don’t force them to wear them. Try and adapt the other methods mentioned in this list instead.

Use Scratch Spray 

A scratch spray is an innovative method to trick your feline into not scratching areas that you want to protect. When sprayed over a specific area, it signals your cat into thinking that either it has already been scratched by it or someone else, thereby discouraging it from scratching it again. This will also redirect their attention to other activities, which is a win-win situation for you.

Even though there are various scratch sprays available in the market, you should always read the ingredients list to ensure the components used are neither harmful to your cats nor to you. You can even make your own scratch spay by mixing essential citrus oil and vinegar with garlic or peppermint essence.

Make Your Furniture Scratch-resistant 

A fantastic way to protect your furniture from the claws of your kitties is to make them scratch-resistant. You can use various types of throws, blankets, towels, fabrics, and covers on top of your furniture to ensure scratching feels less satisfying for them.

This way, they will eventually give up on scratching and resort to the designated scratching post that you have allotted for them. There are many aesthetically pleasing double-sided tapes available in the market as well that you can use to cover the furniture as well. These are available in rolls and panels and are easily removable later.

Don’t Resort to Declawing Your Cat 

Last but certainly not least, punishing your cats in any form, especially declawing is never recommended. This is not only an inhumane treatment that can be physically harmful to them but will also result in them resorting to other aggressive behaviors such as biting and littering everywhere. Furthermore, it also causes a ton of anxiety in them.

Extremely cruel, this process will leave long-lasting pain that any true pet lover should never go for. You can’t punish your kitties for doing something that is natural to them. Preventive measures don’t have to be drastic like this. The other points mentioned here will get the job done. Instead of punishing them, reward them with treats when they maintain the scratching rules put in place.

Conclusion

Scratching is a natural behavioral trait for cats. You can’t stop it altogether but you can certainly minimize the damages that your furniture may have. Keep encouraging your pet cats with treats whenever they scratch the designated area. Avoid declawing and give them positive affirmations to be scratch-trained.

At the end of the day, you need to understand that if your cat is scratching, then it is a sign of good health. A little bit of compromise through extra effort from your end will do them good.

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