Solutions To Scratching & Alternatives To Declawing
My two best tips for appropriate scratching are redirection and play time. When the cat is scratching, redirect him to his scratch toys. This takes patience but a cat can be trained. A bored kitty is a naughty kitty. If they aren't getting enough playtime with you, or if they don't have toys they like, they will get into trouble trying to make their own fun. I have fostered nearly 200 kittens and this has given me a rare opportunity to see what works for many different cats. This blog post is going to focus on different products you can use to save your furniture and teach your cats to scratch appropriately.
The first thing you need to do is identify the problem area, where the main scratching is occurring. Is it a doorway, a dresser, a rug, a chair? Then consider the type of material. Is it wood, fabric, leather? A lot of cats have a preference and will keep going back to the same area or furniture made from a specific material. For example, I have one cat that loved scratching my wooden bedroom doorway. I have another that likes to scratch couches made with a certain type of fabric. Another one likes to scratch carpet. There are many different types of scratch toys available to cater to their needs. We’ll get to the scratchers but I’d like to start with the nails themselves.
Nail Trimming
Keeping your cats nails trimmed is important. When you’re training your cat to scratch appropriately, you’ll want to clip their nails every week or two.
This is a basic pair of nail trimmers for cats:
Some nail clippers come with a tiny LED light to help you see and avoid cutting down to the quick (which is painful and can cause bleeding):
Once the nails are trimmed, you might consider using claw caps. They are soft, rubbery-plastic coverings that are glued on to the cats nail. There are different sizes to grow with the cat and they are completely safe to use.
Claw Caps:
This article has some helpful information about claw caps:
Grooming bags can be used if your cat doesn't like pedicures:
Toys
You'll want to look for a scratch toy that is similar to the problem area. Look for similar textures and shapes.
My absolute favorite scratch toy is the Turbo Scratcher. The scratch pads can be turned over to maximize use and are replaceable when they wear out. The ball track is fun and attracts their attention to the scratch pad, ensuring they use it more often. You can even get a ball that has a flashing light inside! The Turbo has been super popular with all of our foster litters. (Note: the Bergan brand is my favorite but is currently out of stock)
Turbo Scratcher:
Replacement Pads:
Flashing Ball:
If you have a cat that scratches rugs or carpet, you might look for scratchers that have more carpet texture:
Protecting Your Carpet:
There are some that are flat and can give them the same feeling of scratching on the carpeted floor, like this:
If they like to stretch and scratch, this ramp is a good option:
If your cat likes to scratch the side of a couch or chair:
I had to get creative with my cat that liked to scratch on my doorway. I ended up going with a sisal, wall-mounted scratcher. The sisal provides a dense scratch surface that is closer to to density of the wall than the corrugated cardboard or carpet scrathers. I mounted the scratcher to the wall, right next to the doorway he preferred. He has literally never scratched on the doorway again. This is a great option even if you are renting your home. The holes from the screws are small and can be filled and covered easily with spackle and paint. It's also a great space saver as it takes up no floor space and it's convenient because it can be mounted near any problem area.
Wall Mounted Scratcher:
If you have a cat that is scratching the furniture because they like to climb, a cat tree might be a good option.
Cat tree:
Space Saving Cat Tree:
If you get one type of cat scratcher and your lil dude doesn't care for it, try another one. Cats have their own personalities and preferences so you just have to help them figure out what they like. You can also get some catnip spray and use it on the scratcher to get their attention.
Catnip Spray:
Finally, some dedicated daily playtime with their favorite human can go a long way towards good behavior. Give them a positive and appropriate way to expend their energy. My favorite way to do this is using toy wands and laser pointers. Here are a few of our cat-approved house favorites:
Cat Dancer:
Feather Teaser
Rechargeable Laser Pointer
Pro-tip: I like to "marinate" the toys that attach to the Feather Teaser in a jar of catnip pellets. They go crazy for this! The pellets are much cleaner than loose catnip.
Catnip Pellets:
Deterrents
You can place double sided on the problem area. Cats don't like the sticky feeling on their paws. If the area is large, there are larger sheets of double sided adhesive that are specifically made for this purpose.
Double Sided Tape Roll:
Double Sided Tape Sheets:
Most cats don't like the smell of citrus. I love this orange spray to keep cats away from certain things but it does need to be reapplied daily. It's perfectly safe for cats, they just don't like the smell, and it has been safe to use on all of my furniture.
Angry Orange Spray:
Refill Concentrate:
Squirting them with water when they scratch. You can get a small spray bottle and set it on "stream" instead of "mist". I personally prefer to spray the floor right next to them instead of spraying the actual cat.
There are motion activated deterrents that you can place near the problem area like this:
You can use a bitter spray on the forbidden area. It's completely safe, it just tastes bad. This is better suited for problems like chewing on cables but they will get it on their paws while scratching and lick it off. I have to warn you that bitter spray gets everywhere and can end up on your hands too. This is my least favorite option for scratching deterrents.
Bitter Spray:
*Please note: This blog contains affiliate links. When an item is purchased through an affiliate link, I get a small commission at no cost to you. Any money I earn from affiliate links is used to buy food or litter for cats in our local foster program.
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