The lowdown on your cat’s inappropriate scratching

Every cat owner has been there — the incredibly frustrating moment when you’re welcomed home from work with a fresh batch of claw marks on your brand new, very expensive sofa. Suddenly your adorable feline friend goes to the top of your blacklist; but it’s important to understand that your cat isn’t doing this to be defiant or spiteful (despite what their face may say) and that the issue won’t be solved by punishing them or attempting to stop them from scratching.

For most cats, scratching is actually a normal and essential part of their daily routine, and will occur for one of the following reasons:

• Inappropriate scratching not caused by stress or anxiety:
• Territorial marking by leaving both a visual mark and a chemical scent
• Claw sharpening
• An effective way to stretch

This type of scratching is a very natural behaviour for a cat and punishing them will cause confusion. The best solution is to direct your cats scratching towards a suitable surface (ideally the scratching post you bought lovingly for them that they haven’t touched).

FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY is the only solution clinically proven to redirect your cat’s scratching.

It works in three ways:

• The blue liquid mimics the visual message (scratch marks) that attracts your cat to the scratching post
• The formula is made up of the Feline Interdigital Semiochemical (F.I.S) analogue, which will redirect your cat’s scratching to the surface where the product has been applied
• The formula contains catnip, which also attracts the cat to the scratching post and promotes pheromone detection

Here are some other ways to help prevent damage to your furniture/direct your cats scratching to an appropriate surface

Clean all identified scratched area (with warm water) to remove the scent marks left by your cat(s).

Provide a scratching post (tall enough and sturdy), near to where your cat sleeps, where your cat scratches or near entries & exits. Provide at least 1 per cat if you have several cats.

Try positive training i.e reward them with treats when they scratch in the appropriate place.

Sometimes, scratching can be a sign of of stress.

If your cat is scratching excessively due to anxiety and insecurity then punishment or discipline will also add to its distress and probably make the situation worse. These are the signs of stressful scratching to look out for:

• If cat is scratching in multiple different areas around your home
• If scratching occurs near windows and doors
• If you own more than one cat and have noticed tension between them
• If there have been recent changes to your cat’s routine

If scratching is anxiety related, plug in a FELIWAY CLASSIC Diffuser where your cat spends most of its time, especially if there are many affected areas, to reinforce your cat’s feeling of security. It also may be worth booking in a visit to the vet to ensure they’re not feeling unwell.

To treat your cat’s inappropriate scratching correctly, you need to work out why your cat is scratching by taking a step back and observing their behaviour.

For more on how to help prevent inappropriate cat scratching, visit the Feliway website.