Is your cat digging their claws into your furniture or the carpet? Cats WILL hook their nails into something, because they need to shed nails, and leave their ‘message oils’ on the surface to remind themselves (and advise others) of their state of mind.
However, if the something is precious, then there are a few tricks to divert your feline friend onto a more suitable surface. First you have to find a solid item, of the preferred material that you are happy to have shredded by your cat (what we call ‘damage’, cats call ‘art and favourite messages’).
A good scratching post is 1 metre high, and solid enough to withstand a good tug as most cats pull against the post to stretch after a sleep. Most cats like a carpet surface, some prefer sisal and some will only use cane. A few even prefer a horizontal surface (which is easy – just a carpet mat will do!). Then you need to put the post near where the scratching is already occurring (as scratching areas have a loCATion significance as well as a scent significance!). And to stack the odds, you can purchase ‘Feliscratch’ from pet shops or on the internet. Put Feliscratch on the surface that you want to have your cat shred so it will attract your feline friend to your selection – and 9 of 10 cats will then use that to scratch on.
You might be able to move the new post away from the original area but some cats won’t tolerate this. You can also protect your valuables by wrapping them in bubble wrap or ‘Sticky Paws’ as a deterrent initially to increase the chance of substituting the new surface. You can also arrange to have ’Soft Paws’ put on your cat’s nails when they are groomed – they last about 6 weeks before the claw grows out. Trimming the nails only marginally reduces the damage – as the cat will go straight back to your furniture to sharpen the ends – they just won’t be able to dig as deeply (for a while). In the end, most owners accept that pets and children damage stuff, and just throw a throw rug over the damage!
