First, let me be the first to step in line and so EMPATHIZE with
you! I've SO been there. But experience with so many
cats, (nearly 30 in my life time thus, far), different kitties have
their preferences.
What is
your cat scratching instead? Are they scratching the wooden
door frames, or do they love your upholstered couch, maybe they love
your shag carpeting. Perhaps they love newspapers, or bags.
If your kitty is
scratching wood - your kitty needs a wooden scratching post.
We're in a house with 5 cats at the moment, and only one of them
needs a wooden scratching post. She loves it. Use fir
wood. Make sure the scratching post is at least 30 inches in
height - this gives your kitty plenty of room to stand and stretch
at full length while scratching, and thus promotes usage.
So, all those
little SHORT cheap scratching posts you've been buying - throw them
away - that's why your cats aren't using them!
If your kitty
likes your couch, get a 30 inch, (at least that high) scratching
post that doesn't have deep carpeting.
If your kitty
likes your shag carpeting, then by all means get a shaggy carpeted
scratching post - remember it should be at least 30 inches high.
You can try sisal
scratching posts too - some kitty's like that. If your kitty
is scratching your basket weaved clothes hamper, they may like the
sisal. If nothing else, buy them a hamper, and keep all your
spare kitty toys in them, while kitty enjoys scratching it!
Any carpet kitty
LOVES the scratching post that goes to the ceiling. They'll
love climbing it, sitting on the bases, and of course they love
scratching it. Tie a toy around it too, that they can bat at
with their paws. I had bought every carpet scractching post
known to God, and couldn't please my kitties until I got the one
that went to the ceiling. It wasn't mega in bucks
either. It was around $35.00 at Walmart.
Did all of the
above, but kitty is still scratching the furniture and/or
walls? Here are some methods you can employ:
Spray bottles -
accompany a spray with while making a "shh" sound.
In the future you'll be able to use the "shh" sound
without the spray bottle and Kitty will obey. Spray and "shh"
kitty, when Kitty scratches, somthing you don't want them to scracth.
Be sure to praise Kitty, when they stop the bad behavior. You
can then take Kitty to the scratching post, and encourage them to
scratch that instead.
Spray bottles
work, while you're there, but the minute you step out of the room,
Kitty is scratching again? Use the Soft Paws or Soft Claws -
these really work. You glue these on to Kitty's front claws,
and sometimes even back claws. We had to use these on the wood
Kitty, as she'd run up the door frames, and slide down embedding
scratches in the wood, and the carpet kitties who were determined to
do in my carpets and the couch. You may have to use them up to
a year, before Kitty figures out, they can't scratch. We
finally were able to stop using them after several months of using
them. Now, our wood kitty uses JUST the wooden scratch post,
and the carpet kitties use the ceiling scratching post.
Have a hellish cat
that causes you to bleed when you do anything to their claws?
Get the Klaw Kontrol bag. Whoever invented this needs to be
kissed a thousand times. I have one of these kitties, and this
is a God send, when it's time to trim her nails. You can find
them at Drs Foster & Smith.
They also sell the Soft Paws or Soft Claws.
Do NOT declaw.
I did this to one kitty, who liked our wooden trash can. When
we moved into a house with Waine's coating I panicked. I'm so
sorry I did this. She got sick for two weeks. Had to take her
back to the vet. She looks like she walks on her toes, (and
this is years later and forever more for her), instead of flat
footed, like the other kitties. I had no idea at the time,
when I did it, what it's equal to doing. It's equal to
removing the tips of your fingers off down to your first
knuckle. If I had only known that then! I would have
never done it.
Do you have ANY
questions, or need help with Kitty? Feel free to email me
here:
I
Need Kitty Help!
To yours and Kitty's purrfect relationship! God bless!
In His Joy,
Seqkat
>^..^<
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