Why is my cat scratching furniture?

It’s natural for cats to scratch. Many live for it. It’s their method of leaving “territory messages” for other cats.

These are the most common reasons your cat may be destroying your furniture:

Cats scratch to claim territory with pheromones

Scratch marks provide a visual message and the pheromones left along the scratch areas leave a natural message that warn other cats to back off!

Cats scratch to manicure their claws

Many cats like to have their claws nice and pawdicured. They scratch to remove the outer layer of their claws.

Cats scratch for fitness.

Cats like to stay limber and stretch out their shoulders, spine and legs. Reaching high up on a tree, or your couch leg, feels great after a long nap. Cats who don’t get a lot of exercise or play may be working off some extra energy.

Direct cat scratching to appropriate areas at home.

For all of these reasons, cats will commonly scratch the sides of a couch, drapery or even your own legs.

Stop unwanted cat scratching inside your home with these 5 healthy habits and behavioral modification methods:

1. Trim your cat’s nails regularly.

Call us if you need help with nail trimming.

2. Give your cat positive scratch reinforcement.

Positively reinforce your cat when he or she is scratching in the right places: on scratching posts or other designated scratching areas.

Positive Scratch Reinforcement for Cats:

• Praise
• Treats
• Feeding

3. Increase playtime and exercise for cats who scratch out of boredom or because they want attention.

Give your cat plenty of exercise and environmental stimulation to prevent him or her from needing to work off some extra energy by scratching.

4. Designate a spot for your cat where scratching is OK in your home.

For cats who love scratching, designate a scratching area in your home. Train your cat “this post is for scratching” with our favorite scratching pheromone product, Feliscratch.

 

5. Use Feliscratch, a cat pheromone, to teach your cat where to scratch in your home.

Feliscratch is a new product released by the makers of the natural cat pheromone product, Feliway.

Feliscratch stimulates a cat’s territorial pheromones, communicating to the cat that “this post is for scratching.”

Feliscratch provides a “natural” message to cats via its territory pheromones. It is clinically proven to reduce unwanted scratching and redirect to scratching posts. We cannot smell these pheromones that cats release, only they can. And they are powerful.

How do you use a scratching cat pheromone product like Feliscratch?

Feliscratch is purchased in a kit with nine pipettes full of the solution. A sisal scratching post is recommended to use with the product.

Dr. Kat’s Recommendation

Feliscratch is a drug-free and surgery-free method of reducing unwanted scratching behavior in cats.

To use Feliscratch, Apply one pipette in three lines to the scratching post daily for one week.

Once the product dries in about five minutes, the scratching post should be put in an area where your cat scratches or sleeps.

After the first week of daily application, it gets applied once at the beginning of the 3rd and 4th week.

 

Where can I buy Feliscratch for my cat?

Feliscratch is sold in our clinic and on our online pharmacy, (free expedited shipping) and comes with a company guarantee. If the scratching problem is not solved, the company will refund your purchase.