Dog
and cat pet tips - on Pets.ca
Cat illness, dog is sick, behavior
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Tip - 27 - Cat scratching
- cat scratching posts
Although many humans don't appreciate this behaviour, kittens
and cats don't scratch to make us angry, they NEED to scratch.
Scratching is a natural hardwired behaviour in cats (just like
breathing or purring) and they do it for a several of reasons including:
- Removing the outer layer of their nails to keep them sharp.
- To maintain muscle tone.
- To mark their presence.
Enter the scratching
post - This toy/ tool is one of the most important things
to purchase (or make) for your cat. They can be purchased in
any pet store. A good scratching post is very sturdy and is
usually made with a carpeting or rope-like material that cats
love to dig their nails into. Sturdiness is an important quality
since the cat often presses its bodyweight onto the post to
get a good scratch. If the cat feels insecure or unsteady on
the cat scratching post, it simply won't use it. Location is
another important quality. If you can't close a door to keep
your cat from scratching say, the couch, then put a good scratching
post near the couch and chances are the cat will use it instead.
Remember, cats need to scratch, so it's up to you to make them
scratch where you want. Praise your cat while it uses the post
and the chances increase that it will continue to choose it
over the sofa.
Scratching post tips
that work:
*Spend an extra few bucks and get several good scratching posts.
*Place them strategically in areas where you don't want the cat to scratch
expensive items like sofas and furniture legs.
*Place them at first in a prominent area of the room for easy access, then
slowly and gradually move it where you want.
*If your cat responds to cat nip rub catnip on the post.
*Get at least 1 multi-level platform cat scratching tree. Cats are huge
fans of 'vertical space'. They LOVE to climb, scratch, and take a snooze on
these.
In some cases a cat
may still scratch in inappropriate places. Sprays like bitter
apple, actual orange peels and double sided tape are good deterrents.
A squirt from a water bottle while the cat doesn't see you is
another classic deterrent, so is placing tin cans or other noisy
items in key areas that the cat should avoid.
See the
other pet tips here:
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