Living With Your Cat's Claws

Laurie Anne Walden, DVM

Cats need to scratch objects. Scratching is normal for cats, and even declawed cats engage in this instinctive behavior. You can’t train your cat not to scratch, and it wouldn’t be humane to try. But there are ways to direct your cat’s scratching so she’ll scratch more where you want her to and less where you don’t.
 
Why Cats Scratch
Understanding why cats scratch helps us figure out how to convince them to use a scratching post and not the sofa.
 
Cats have a physical need to scratch. Scratching grooms the nails, flexes the claw-retracting apparatus, and stretches the muscles.
 
Scratching is also a communication method for cats. Cats are territorial, and scratching is one way they mark their territory. When cats scratch, they leave visual signs (scratch marks) and scents (from glands in their paws) as signals for other animals.
 
Anxiety—for example, from conflict with other pets—can increase a cat’s marking behaviors. If your cat is clawing the furniture more than usual, stress is a possible reason. Punishing a cat for scratching could certainly increase his anxiety level.
 
Giving Cats Things to Scratch
Cats have individual preferences for scratching surfaces. The right type of scratching post is whatever type your cat likes best. You might need to try several before finding your cat’s favorite. Here are some general tips:

• Scratching posts should be located wherever the cat feels the urge to scratch. Providing multiple posts is a great idea, especially if you have more than one cat. Possible locations are where the cat sleeps, where the cat spends a lot of time, at edges of the cat’s territory (near windows, for example), and wherever the cat has been scratching other things.
• Most cats like vertical scratching surfaces, although some prefer to scratch horizontally. Look where your cat has been scratching. If he scratches furniture legs, he would probably like a vertical post. If he scratches the carpet, he might like a horizontal scratching pad.
• The scratching post should be tall enough let the cat reach up and stretch full length.
• The scratching post should be stable enough not to wobble if the cat jumps on it.
• Most cats like sisal as a scratching surface. Some prefer corrugated cardboard, wood, bark, carpet, or rough fabric.

 
To encourage your cat to use the scratching post, try these ideas:

• Dangle a toy from the post.
• Apply catnip to the post.
• Use a synthetic feline pheromone product specifically meant to encourage scratching (one includes a color indicator that gives cats a visual stimulus for marking territory). Read the packaging first. Some feline pheromone products are intended to stop cats from scratching, so use those on your furniture, not the scratching post.
• Reward your cat with petting, praise, or food for using the scratching post.

 
Keeping Cats From Scratching Other Things

• Don’t punish or yell at your cat for scratching. This could increase her anxiety and cause her to scratch more.
• Put an attractive (to your cat) scratching post right next to the object you want her to stop scratching. Furniture protectors made of cat-friendly scratching material are available to cover furniture legs and couch corners. Be proud of your new decor.
• Use a synthetic feline pheromone product meant to discourage scratching (don’t use it on the scratching post).
• Remove the object you don’t want your cat to scratch or cover it with something that is unattractive to your cat (like sticky tape or a smooth covering). Be sure you’ve provided an attractive alternative first.

 
Other Measures

• Trim your cat’s claws regularly. Start slowly and give your cat lots of positive reinforcement if he's new to nail trims.
• Provide environmental enrichment to reduce stress, especially in multiple-cat households.
• Consider soft nail caps for cats. These caps must be reapplied periodically but limit the amount of damage claws can inflict.

 
More Information
Living With a Clawed Cat (American Association of Feline Practitioners): https://catfriendly.com/cat-care-at-home/living-clawed-cat/
Scratching (The Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative): https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats/basicneeds/scratching
 
Photo by Jonas Vincent

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