Destructive Scratching Behavior

Cats don’t realize that scratching causes damage to your possessions – they’re just doing what comes naturally. Cats scratch for many different reasons. The most important is to leave both visual and scent marks around their environment. Claw maintenance, stretching, and to play are other reasons.

The most effective way to stop your cat from scratching your furniture and other belongings is to give her something to scratch that meets her behavioral needs for scratching in the same way the ‘off-limit’ items do.

It’s pretty much a losing battle trying to scold or punish your cat for the behavior. After all, scratching is normal and necessary behavior for cats. They can’t stop scratching anymore than they can stop breathing.

The trick is not to stop your cat from scratching, but to get her to scratch where you want. There are also things you can do to discourage her from using your household furnishings by making them less attractive to scratch. For some great ideas on how to provide these scratching surfaces and prevent destructiveness problems, see our program Helping Kitty Be Good, available in a DVD or audio CD format.

Declawing cats is a very controversial topic, with strong feelings by both proponents and opponents. You can talk with your veterinarian about the procedure. We believe scratching problems can most often be taken care of with the right behavioral measures.

PRODUCTS THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND, PREVENT AND RESOLVE CAT DESTRUCTIVENESS PROBLEMS

To learn how to prevent elimination and destructive scratching problems with your cat, get our DVD Helping Kitty Be Good. Here you’ll learn what cats want and need to be healthy and happy in your home.