This article will provide some easy and useful things you can do to train your cat scratch on a scratching post and to avoid destruction of your furniture.

Scratching is a natural feline behavior – cats scratch to mark territory and to stretch themselves. In addition, scratching brings great pleasure to they. Actually, you can’t stop your pet from scratching, so you need to train them to use another item to scratch on.

Give Your Cat an Alternative

The owners should provide their cats with this kind of products. It is recommended that the post is upright and resembles the shape of a tree. The scratching posts should be high enough to allow the cat to stretch its body completely.

You can make a scratching post by yourself, or you can purchase one, but in both cases you should make sure the post is secured and will not fall over. If the scratching post falls over, the cat may get scared and never use it again.

Vets and specialists recommend that the scratch post should be covered with sisal. Sisal is perfect for shredding, it is rough and they love to scratch on it.

The location is also very important. You should place in a common area of your home with high traffic rather than hide it somewhere. As mentioned before, scratching is a means of marking territory and cats would mark the territory where humans stay and spend time. After your cat is trained to use the scratch posts, you can move it to a more hidden area of your come.

How to Train Your Pet to Use a Scratching Post

Some of them would refuse using the cat scratching post. If your cat reacts in this way, you can take its paws and stimulate a scratching motion on the post to your pet how to use it. However, cats know how to scratch and this may make your pet even more unwilling to use this post. So your cat needs associates the post with something positive. For example, you can locate the scratching post near the sleeping place of the cat. You can try playing with the cat near the post or attach its favorite toys on it. If this isn’t helpful, you can rub catnip on the post and give the cat a treat every time it uses the post. All these actions will help the cat develop ownership of the scratching post.

Make Your Furniture Less Appealing

Cat owners should know that while they train their cat to use the scratching post, they should simultaneously encourage it to stop using other habitual scratching items. You can cover your cat’s favorite scratching places and items with tinfoil, sand paper or double-sided sticky tape. This will make the surface of the objects unappealing and will help you encourage your cat to stop scratching on them. You can remove the covering as soon as your cat starts using the scratching post.

When scratching, a scent is released through the cat’s paws. Therefore, it is recommended that you clean all areas where your cat used to scratch. If the cat continues scratching on these areas, you can use harmless but unpleasant methods. For example, you can use a spray gun or water bottle to squirt the cat with water every time you see it scratch on your furniture. However, the squirting should be done while the cat is scratching; otherwise there won’t be positive effects.

Cat owners should know that physical punishment will do no good for the training of their cat. You can’t change your cat’s behavior through hitting; the only thing you would accomplish is to make your cat nervous and anxious, and its behavior would become even worse. It is not difficult to train your cat to use a cat scratching post – you just need some time and a lot of patience.

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Category: Pets
Keywords: Cat Furniture, Cat Trees, Cat Beds