WHY DO CATS SCRATCH?
WRITTEN BY XENA
Cats are territorial animals and they mark the territory by scratching, at the same time emitting odors, which also means that the place is theirs. Scratching is instinctive and will not disappear with the fact that the cat lives in a house or apartment, and not outdoors.
Therefore, your pet’s favorite scratching object will probably be your furniture. And not just any. Cats love furniture made of plush, tweed, wool, linen, or silk because they can extract fibers from such materials.
And besides, such materials are difficult to clean cat hair. Because of that, it is best to choose materials made of microfiber, or even shiny leather. But, as the cat's temper is different, the best solution is to provide your furry pets with scratchers.
The scratcher should initially be placed in the place where the cat was already scratching. Later, gradually, the scraper can be moved from one end of the room to the other, or you can get more scrapers.
The scratcher must be strong enough, stable, and high, otherwise, the cat will not want to use it. To encourage her to use it, put her favorite toy on the scratcher, play with your cat next to the scratcher, feed her next to the scratcher, and for each use of the scratcher, reward her with her favorite treat.
If your pet continues to "sharpen its claws" on your furniture even with a scraper in the house, protect those parts with aluminum foil or double-sided tape.
Keep in mind that, in addition to the claws, the cat also left its scent on a piece of furniture she was scratching. To prevent it from happening again, you need to remove its odor as well, as otherwise it will come back to that part over and over again and scratch it.
There are various neutralizing agents to neutralize odors and deter cats, but also those that serve to attract cats to the desired place (scratcher).
If the cat is persistent and returns to the "crime scene" again, simply spray it with water or chase it away with a loud whistle to make the cat uncomfortable with the place where it wants to scratch, because the cat never does anything that makes it uncomfortable.
"We take care of our pets as for ourselves"
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