Why Does My Cat Scratch
Some of the reasons cats scratch are:
To release a scent that will stay on the scratched object and mark its territory. Another reason is to actually sharpen their claws YIKES! and remove old pieces of claw. Somewhere in the process of a cat’s routine pruning and territory marking, your sofas, chairs, beds, wallpaper and arms and legs, will feel the effects and they aren't exactly desirable.
How to stop a cat scratching.
Cat scratching is a fairly common problem among cat owners, you will usually find that the majority of cats that scratch are in the younger age bracket and more often than not, they are simply exercising there claws a little. To young to yet realize the power they can wield through those lethal little blades of destruction.
There will be an number of cats though, that still scratch as they mature, and boy do they do it with finesse, they get it down to a fine art and it can really make as mess of things, least not the owner. When this situation gets out of hand there are a few remedies.
Two of the main ones are cutting your cats nails shorter with a pair of nail clippers, preferably ones that are designed specifically for the job. This can be an awkward process since you cat is likely to put up a bit of a fight so the best time to do this would be while it is relaxed sitting in your lap. The key here is nice and slow. You don’t want to alarm it or make it suspicious in any way so don’t rush this job, even if it takes you a few days.
There is of course one major drawback to this method, it is a lifelong process and after a while it will get a little tiresome.
One other major approach that produces really good lasting results is the cat scratching post; you should be able to buy a fairly cheap cat scratching post from any half decent pet store. If you feel a little more ambitious, you could always make a cat scratching post but in all honesty for the time you spend making one, you may as well go out and buy a cat scratching post as they won’t really break the bank. To encourage your cat to scratch the post rather than your leg or sofa, try putting a little cat nip on the post, they usually go crazy for this stuff for some reason and it will quite literally act like a homing beacon for your cats claws.
