Cat Scratching

Taking care of your pets is not an easy task. Different kinds of pets show different kinds of tendencies and at times it is very difficult to understand them. If you have a cat, the problem becomes more difficult as she is not as expressive as a dog. A cat seems more lost in her world more than anything else around. If you have brought home a new cat, you must be worried about her scratching behavior. By now, she must have shred your curtain, frayed your sofa and must have left you at your wits end to deal with it.




Well, better relax. If your cat is busy with scratching, it is not very unnatural. It is in fact her daily habit and you must get used to it. It is a territorial instinct by which she places her mark and establishes her home turf. So you must stop over worrying. Do not think that you cat only marks her domains by this scratching habit, in fact through this activity she is trying to make her self familiar with herself by leaving her visible claws mark and odor that comes out of her paws. So after scratching, it would be very easy for her to recognize and relate to the place once again.



Scratching also keeps your cat in shape. This act will keep her get active enough for her day to day activities. If you ever pay attention to her ways, you will know that this act actually helps her pulling and stretching the muscles of your cat's front quarters. By now you must have realized that you can not stop your cat from this tendency. However one thing that you can do is to re-channel her to the place where she does not spoil your valuable items. Here are few tips which you can apply in making your cat understand the right place and right ways to scratch-

First of all, bring a scratching post for your pussy cat. Make her understand that this is the scratching zone for her by taking her front paws there and making her do scratching motions at the post. If you want her to successfully use this scratching post, make sure it is tall enough for her to fully expand her body, and most importantly, stable enough so that she doesn't topple over when she scratches.

If your cat is stubborn enough to not to give up her old scratching zones through your direct appeals, you will have shoo her away through indirect methods to let her distract from this place. You can use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make these zones unfavorable for her. You must know that cats have a repugnance to citrus odors.

Regularly trim your cat nails but make sure that you never de-claw them. If you de-claw her nails is like injuring her. This can lead to physical, emotional and behavioral disturbance in her life. Always remember her claws are a vital part of her anatomy, essential to balance, mobility and survival.