How to Control Cat “Scratching”

How to Control Cat “Scratching”

By Alvin Febrianth, DRH

            We are usually very annoyed with cat behavior “Scratching”. So many people worried with this cat behavior, because their cat always destroying furniture in the house, especially a chair or sofa. The owners sometimes can only scold their cat without knowing more about this behavior find a way how cat scratching can be controlled.

          Scratching is important and more complex than we realize. We may be under the misconception that scratching is merely cat attempt to sharpen his claws to razor-sharp perfection or that the behavior is based on a willful attempt to get back at you or destroy his surroundings. In truth, scratching serves many purposes. In addition to conditioning the claws, it’s a very effective way for the cat to stretch his back and shoulder muscles especially after wake up.

Scratching is also used as a form of territorial communication or marking behavior. Scent and sweat glands in between the pads of the feet mix to produce a unique smell. When claws are scraped down a surface the scent is deposited and the combination of the mark, discarded claw husks and the smell provides a strong visual and scent message to other cats. Evidence of scratching outdoors can often be found on trees, fence posts, sheds and wooden gates, for example, all strategically important locations in a cat populated area.

Scratching is also used as an emotional release or displacement behavior. When your cat is anxious, happy, excited or frustrated, he can release some of that built-up emotion by scratching. Think of the times you’ve seen your cat scratching on an object after a nap or when you’ve come home from work. You may even have noticed him scratching after an encounter with a companion cat. Cats will often scratch vigorously in the presence of their owners or other cats as a sign of territorial confidence. Things like this usually done by an indoor cat and is often done in a chair or sofa as well as objects made from fabrics such as carpets.

After learning more about the behavior of cats do scratching, we must know what we would do to controlled and reduced these cats behavior scratching in place that should not be. We cannot simply shoo our cats away from the couch, they would return to the place to do scratching. You have to provide a scratching post that meets his needs. Now you can buy a scratch post with various models and sizes. We should also not be wrong to make and put a scratch post. The behavior modification technique begins by making sure you have a scratching post that that meets the qualifications: appealing texture, tall enough, stable, and placed in a good location. In general, the most appealing texture for cats is sisal. The rough texture makes it easy for cats to dig their claws in and get an effective scratch. Carpet-covered posts are too soft and don’t meet the needs of most cats when they’re looking for a place to scratch. Additionally, many cats end up getting their claws caught in the carpet loops. The height of the scratching post should enable the cat to get a full stretch. If the post is too small the cat has to hunch over to use it and that doesn’t allow for a good back and neck stretch. Make sure the tall post is also very stable. A tall post needs a wide base in order to prevent it from toppling over the first time cat leans against it. For the first time introduced a scratch post on our cats, should be placed near the sofa or in the usual places like to scratching. If the cat still scratching in another place immediately moved to scratch the post in order to quickly get used to. Train and changing behavior cat use scratch post requires patience.

In addition to using the scratch post, another method to control our cat scratching behavior is trimming a cat claw. For some people may be afraid to trimming the nails of their cats. Because if we are wrong trimming claw the cat claw becomes bloody and make a cat become scared. Trimming the nails is usually done routinely every 1-2 weeks to keep your cat nails short, thereby reducing the cat scratching behavior. Trimming the claw is different than declawing. Declawing technique requires surgery performed by a veterinarian to remove all parts of the nail is not only cut off the tip of the nail, Veterinarians do this in case of injuries in the cat claw. To reduce scratching behavior this technique is not recommended because it can change the behavior of the cat itself.

Before starting trimming cat claw we have to prepare the equipment first. Which must be prepared, including nail clippers are advised to use a cat nail clipper, the size is smaller than the dogs nail clippers and even some people use human nail clippers but the results are not as good as using cat nail clippers. Other equipment that is cloth or towel to hold our cats if hard handle, cotton and antiseptic useful later if we cut too short so the nail is bleeding.

The first step to cut the nails is making the cat as comfortable as possible so make it easier to cut the nails. If the cat is hard to handle we could use a cloth or towel to hold the body so the cat cannot move freely. It recommended assisted by others to hold our cat if it cannot handle by yourself. Now that you're in position and the cats in position, put the claw in the right position, too. Take a paw in your hand and use your thumb and pointer finger to gently press down on the top and bottom of the paw on the joint just behind the claw. Don't get too close to the pink part of the nail where blood vessels and nerve endings lie. Just like the pink part of a human fingernail, the quick is very sensitive; cutting into this area will likely cause bleeding and pain. In such case the bleeding can be stopped by pressing the nails with cotton until it stop, after that it may be given antiseptic. Immediately take it to the vet if blood coming out a lot and cannot stop. All nails should be cut at a time so that our cat nails grow simultaneously.

Consult with your vet to get more information about the behavior of scratching, train a cat to use the scratch post and learn the correct technique to trimming cat claw. Remember behavior of cat scratching cannot be eliminated but we can control it.