Cat Training: Scratching

Cats have a weird way of saying that they love you, they leave marks in a lot of places of your house. You will usually know if the house you're in has a cat for a pet even without seeing the cat. You will be able to see scratch marks in almost every corners of the house. Scratching is very normal behavior for cats and there are many reasons as to why they do this. Some cats scratch furniture and floors in order to release pent up energy inside of them, they scratch so they become tired instead of restless. Another reason they scratch is because they want to remove some parts of their claws or they want to sharpen their claws. Cats also mark their territory by scratching surfaces and leaving their scent on it. Cats also scratch surfaces because they want to flex their bodies and move their muscles.

Most owners take time to train their cat to change this type of destructive behavior. Cats can be trained to follow commands so they can also be trained to change their behavior towards objects and people. When cat training scratching should be one of the areas you should focus on. Since this is a normal trait for them, you cannot really stop them from scratching but you can change where they do it. You can provide your cat with objects that it can scratch freely. You have to observe what types of objects the cat likes scratching, look at where it is located and try to figure out what its texture is. You will have to make the cats favorite scratching object seem unappealing by covering it or by spraying it with an odor that cats do not like. Look for a scratching post that will match the texture of the object your cat likes scratching and place it near the area where this favorite object is located. Make sure that the new scratching post has the exact same texture as the favorite object and remember to make it stable.

When the cat uses the scratching post give it treats and pet it fondly. If that cat really comes to like the scratching post, you can slowly move it to a better location. These movements should not be big jumps, remember that you need to take it slow with cats. The favorite scratching object of the cat has to remain unappealing until you are sure that the cat will not go back to using it and has really taken to the scratching post.
You will usually progress with changing this behavior slowly but surely. Just stick to it and you will see results in no time.

As a pet lover and someone who devoted his life to animals I consider myself an expert trainer and the one person you can go to when needing advise with regards to your cats.