Feline Psychology: Prevent your cat from scratching the furniture

Some of the feline behaviors end up being a great annoyance for the owners. Especially his habit of scratching sofas, armchairs, chairs or any place where you can sharpen your nails.

Although this is a normal feline behavior, there is a way to train them correctly so that this type of action does not destroy your furniture. That’s why in this content, we’ll talk a little more about this subject and how to deal with it correctly.

How to apply feline psychology at home?

Cats often scratch furniture so they can sharpen nails and remove worn-out claw tips. That is, so that they can give way to new claws.

However, this type of behavior can end up becoming frustrating for the owner. Mainly because no gatekeeper wants to have their house destroyed by this.

Cats also sharpen furniture so they can demarcate space and objects. Because when a place is scratched, the cat can make it visually clear that that place belongs to him.

Kittens are very territorial, so they will do a lot of things to demarcate their territory. In addition, kittens also end up scratching furniture when they stretch and exercise to stretch their muscles.

What a tutor should never do is teach the cat not to scratch as this is part of its nature. Other means must be sought for the animal to be able to do this.

For example, looking for a scratching post to buy at a pet store that is placed in a strategic corner of the house to protect the sofas.

There are models that are used to place on the arm of sofas and armchairs to prevent the upholstery and its interior lining from being destroyed. Therefore, you must teach your cat to scratch in the right places. This will solve some of your annoyance.

Solution for cats that scratch furniture

If your kitty has a habit of scratching in inappropriate places even though you’ve already provided him with a scratching post, then one way to stop your kitten’s instinct is to keep him away from those places.

There are also some sprays for sale in pet stores that leave the place where the cat usually frequents, with an unpleasant smell for him.

Thus, this kitty starts to avoid these places and suddenly starts to be interested in the appropriate places for him to perform this action. With this, he cannot destroy other areas.

Cleaning the places in the house or apartment that you want your cat not to destroy is essential so that the cat’s scent is not concentrated there and it does not take over that region.

Look for anti-scratch sprays that are made with quaternary ammonia. A substance that has the power to eliminate the smells that pets leave.

That way, you can avoid headaches about it. Another way is also to use other activities so that cats lose interest in scratching furniture.

With an environment full of distractions and activities , your pet will not scratch out of boredom. Although cats are quieter than dogs, playing is part of a healthy routine .

Therefore, investing in toys with laser, feather or just balls is enough to keep your animal entertained in its activities.

How important is it to understand your cats better?

From the moment you, as a tutor, adopt a cat, you must be aware that from that moment on, you are the one who lives in his house. Sounds like a joke, right?

This happens because the felines have a mania to really think they are the owners of the house. So much so that in a short time he is already setting himself up in the spaces and doing the recognition of the place .

Therefore, all objects are ‘under supervision of the animal’ and from the moment you change something, this may already be enough for the kitty to be stressed.

This stress can lead you to scratch furniture, purposely drop objects, or isolate yourself. This movement of annoyance must be anticipated and, from an early age, set up a place that is just for him.

When it comes to scratching posts, it’s interesting because there are several types of materials that your feline can adapt to better.

If by misfortune nothing goes right in the first purchase of the scratching post, don’t give up!

Or, if you bought toys and the cat didn’t show much interest, try other fabrics. Cats are guided by pleasure , so they often have quirks that are difficult to understand or control.

And that includes the act of scratching, which also generates some kind of satisfaction in cats that make them want to repeat that behavior over and over again.