Friday, September 7, 2007

Cat Scratchers: get rid of those bad habits

All cats scratch, which is why it is so important that you make sure that you provide your kitty with a nice scratching post so that they don’t ruin your expensive furniture! Cats don’t distinguish between furniture and scratching posts initially, and will always go and scratch what feels best. It is not bad cat behaviour to scratch – you just need to direct your kitty to the right place to do it.

To improve cat behaviour it is highly recommended that you purchase a specialized scratching post, or find out how to make your own. Then you need to encourage your cat to play around the post until they discover how great the scratching post feels. If it is a good alternative to furniture, you might find that your cat starts to leave your furniture alone!

Something else you may wish to consider is attaching things to your existing furniture that cats generally don’t like. These items include anything that sticks to fur (like sticky tape, prestik or double sided tape) and metals like tin foil. Remove the attraction of your furniture and your kitty will learn good cat behavior in no time!

Cats are easy creatures to please, and they love to be attended to (and waited on) day and night. Making sure that your kitten always has plenty of love and attention will occupy their mind, and won’t leave them bored and frustrated which is the cause of most scratching. Keep your cat happy and they will exhibit good cat behavior. You might also want to clip your kitty’s nails on a regular basis so that they don’t drive him or her mad.