First, the bad news: You won’t be able to completely stop your cat scratching the furniture. Cats naturally engage in this behavior, which they do for a variety of reasons. They do this to maintain their claws in excellent condition and to mark their territory, both visually with scratch marks and odorlessly with pheromones they shed through their paws.

Additionally, as you have surely observed, scratching provides a chance for a solid stretch. After all, you must allow your cat to be a cat!

But don’t give up. Your sofa or rug can be kept secure in a number of ways. The secret is to send your cute little destroyer toward a different objective. How? Read on.

Avoid declawing your cat.

One 1990s craze that should never be revived is declawing your cat. It appears that the process is really severe. According to Zazie Todd, a specialist on animal behavior and the author of “Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy,” it entails removing the cat’s knuckle from the end of its paw and can result in chronic pain.

The cat doesn’t gain anything, she claims. You shouldn’t stop cats from doing something that is natural for them if you consider scratching to be a typical activity.

According to Ellen Everett, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, an increasing number of veterinary clinics are refusing to declaw cats. Others only do so in dire circumstances, such as when the owner could otherwise give the pet up.

Along with New York and Maryland, more than a dozen American cities have passed laws outlawing the practice.(Stop Cat Scratching The Furniture)

A Suitable Scratching Post

Cats should use scratching posts as their preferred area to use their claws. To discover a post that your cat adores, though, may require some trial and error as not all of them are created equally.

Texture is an important consideration. Some cats enjoy the knobby texture of a scratching post wrapped in carpet, while others favor cardboard or sisal. “You might just have to offer them a little scratching post cafeteria or buffet and see what they select,” advises Amy Pike, a veterinarian behaviorist and proprietor of the Animal Behavior Wellness Center in Fairfax, Virginia.

The issue of vertical vs. horizontal is another. Although the majority of cats adore lofty scratching posts, others prefer a surface that is flush with the ground. Make sure you acquire something robust if you’re going vertical.

The appeal of furniture, according to cat behaviorist and author Jackson Galaxy of “Total Cat Mojo,” is that it doesn’t topple over when cats stretch out and pull downward for an extended period of time. You should opt for a sturdy scratching post with some weight at the base if you want to replace a sofa or chair.

Place the scratching post in the proper spot.

It won’t matter if you find the ideal scratching post if you hide it. Your cat hasn’t been destroying your favorite chair out of retaliation; rather, it’s because you spend a lot of time there. According to Everett, busy rooms in the home are typically “areas where they get good attention from their owners, like petting, cuddling, and playing,” and as a result, cats want to claim those rooms as their own. (That’s how you put it, and it’s sort of nice.)

Therefore, it won’t be effective to put a scratching post in a spot that is rarely used: They don’t care to scratch portions of the house that aren’t important to them, according to Everett.

Instead, place the post close to the furniture that your cats are damaging so they will be more likely to recognize it as a replacement. To make the post even more alluring, you can add catnip.

You shouldn’t scold your cat for scratching.

Although this part has a feline-like tone, it is true that punishment doesn’t work very well for our feline friends. You’ll likely just succeed in agitating your cats because they won’t associate your stern words or tone with the scratching.

Try praising your cat instead for the behavior you prefer. They will be more inclined to use their scratching post in the future, according to Todd, if you witness them using it and you wait until they are finished before giving them a treat.(Stop Cat Scratching The Furniture)

Don’t let your furniture get scratched.

Although there are many techniques to protect the sofa, some are more aesthetically beautiful than others.

With a product like Sticky Paws, which is simply double-sided tape and deters many cats from scratching, you can wrap your furniture.

These things are used by Galaxy as a training aid: “It doesn’t mean you have to keep that stuff on there for the rest of your life with this couch or cat,” she says. They will get knowledge. He also emphasizes that this strategy only functions if you give the person itching another outlet.

Other ideas include adding throw blankets to protect a scratch-prone area or covering the lowest portion of a chair or sofa with a material like sisal.

When looking for new furniture, consider the textures that your cats enjoy scratching. Choose furniture upholstered in smoother materials, like velvet or leather, if they enjoy rough fabrics. Because it doesn’t have have your pheromones on it, Todd thinks new furniture offers a fresh opportunity to train your cat. “If you’re bringing home something new, it’s going to smell different, and that would be a good point to make sure that you’ve got your scratching post lined up and in the right place,” she advises.

Purchase cat nail caps

Cats vary in their levels of tenacity and destructiveness. You might wish to take into account a product like Soft Paws, which are tiny caps that you put over a cat’s natural nails, if you frequently return home to damaged furniture.

These enable your cat to scratch normally without creating as much damage. Everett claims that some veterinary facilities will apply them for owners, despite the fact that they can be a bit laborious to apply and that they last for roughly a month to six weeks. They come in a variety of colors as a fun extra, giving your cats the appearance of having received a vibrant manicure.

You must occasionally let the cat win.

Sometimes you just have to give up. For example, Pike has a chair in her home that her cat used as a scratching post, “and we leave it as such,” she says. She argues that it’s better to leave a piece of furniture available for cats rather than completely remove it when they show such a strong affinity for it. (This also applies to a scratching post you may believe is nearing the end of its useful life.)

Pike effectively protected the rest of her furniture by giving up the chair. She explains, “When we have company, we take it away and we move it, so it doesn’t look so disgusting,” but other than that, the cat now resides in the chair. “It’s turned into a cat scratching post that a person can occasionally sit on.”

Also Read : How to Build a Strong Bond With Your Cat