Ever wondered why cats scratch? The primary reason cats scratch is because they are marking their territory visually, as well as chemically. Cats have sebaceous glands underneath their paws, which they use to scent mark, their territory. The secondary reason why Cats scratch is because they need to keep their claws in shape and to stretch their paws, which allow for better flexibility in their body. A cat’s claw grows extremely fast, and therefore a cat needs to keep his or her claws nicely trimmed and sharp. If a cat would to avoid such behavior then the cats claw would grow extremely large, and would be uncomfortable for the cat, because a cat’s claw is retractable. Therefore, Mother Nature has given them this instinct to scratch your furniture or anything they can lock their claws into.
To counter act this problem, one can invest in a scratching tree. A scratching tree is usually an artificial tree for indoor use, which has carpeting on the wood, as well as carpeting on the base. A cat should naturally be attracted to the tree, as trees are usually their favorite object to scratch nails on. Furthermore, there are also indoor scratching posts which have carpeting or some type of thick fiber over them, which allow the cat to jump on the post and scratch. If a cat is hesitant of using a scratching tree or a scratching post, and prefers a specified area to scratch? Then one can simply place a scratching mat in the problem area, most scratching mats are designed in a way that cats can’t resist scratching on them. If that doesn’t work, you can sprinkle a bit of cat nip onto the scratching post, and that will certainly get the cat’s attention. Cat nip is great for getting a cat’s attention. Almost 2/3 of cats will respond to catnip. Cats can smell the nepetalactone which is the active ingredient in cat nip from one part per billion. The cat nip stimulates the cat’s pheromonic receptors, as a result a cat will usually go into a euphoric mood, when cats come in contact with cat nip they may roll over it, chew it, leap about, and or heavily salivate.
The domestic cat (felis catus) also known as the house cat. The domestic cat is a small carnivorous mammal, which has been domesticated by the man; domestication of the cats has been recorded as far back as 9,500 years ago. Cats are known to have great sense of hearing and their hearing is amongst the best in mammals. Their ears are, extremely sensitive and cats can pinpoint their ears to find the exact location of their prey. Cats are usually nocturnal, which means that they are most active at night. They sleep mostly during the day for around 12-16 hours on average. However, most house cats have adapted to live with humans and are also active during most of the day. Much of the cat’s wild instinct still exists in the domestic cat. Cats are known to kill a variety of prey animals, which include mice, birds, and rabbits. Cats are solitary animals, which are unlike dogs, and they are extremely territorial animals. Cats love to play, playing reinforces their hunting, killing, stalking and ambushing skills, and therefore, it’s only natural for cats to have love for playing. Cats are known to engage in play fights with other cats, as well as humans. This play fighting teaches and reinforces their fighting skills in a real serious situation when a cat would have to defend itself against other cats. Cats are quite intelligent and can be trained by humans to perform simple commands. Quite often people usually train a cat to use the toilet.
In summary: Cats make great pets, they love to play and can entertain you for hours on end. Cats can be trained to follow simple commands, and can be toilet trained. However, controlling cats completely is not possible, as cats mostly have retained their wild instinct and therefore, will scratch your expensive furniture. Nevertheless, you can curb that behavior by purchasing an indoor scratching tree or an indoor scratching post. If that doesn’t work, then you can simply put a scratching post near your expensive furniture for the cat to scratch at. You can also place some cat nip onto the scratching post to get the cats attention. Cat nip can significantly modify a cat’s behavior and is like a sedative for the cat.
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