Western Arizona Humane Society
Victoria Cowper,
Community Relations Manager
This is a regular column, presented every two weeks to provide information about pet and animal care, including the legal responsibilities of pet ownership. We invite you to send your questions to answer in upcoming issues.
Please send your questions and comments to the Today's News Herald or directly to me a W.A.H.S. 855-5083 or wahs@ctaz.com

Since we have an abundance of charming cats and kittens, we continuing our Adopt A Shelter Cat Month thru July. If you are looking for a companion animal, we can offer two cats for one adoption price. Following are some helpful hints if you are thinking of getting a new cat or kitten to brighten your day.

Why does my cat scratch?

To your cat scratching is a perfectly normal and necessary behavior. Cats use their claws to mark their turf. Scratching leaves both a visual mark and a scent for other cats to smell. Cats have sweat glands in their paw pads and when they scratch, they rub oils and secretions from their skin.

Scratching is often interpreted as a misbehavior. The cat doesn't realize that they are destroying property. Scratching is your cats way of stretching and exercising their body, and of trimming and conditioning their claws.

They will also scratch as a sign of stress. If your cat is sitting by a window and he sees an intruder cat spraying a bush in his year, its going to irritate him because he can't do anything to scare the intruder cat away. Your cat my express his frustration by scratching the window sill to claim his territory.

Since my cat needs to scratch, what can I do to limit the damage?

Provide an acceptable alternative for scratching. Give your cat his own special place to scratch, one you can reasonably hope they will find more appealing than your home furnishings.

Vertical scratchers will go after wall, door side moldings, backs of chairs and sofas. This type of cat would prefer scratching posts and poles. Scratching posts are pieces of wood vertically anchored to a flat horizontal base, and are usually covered with carpet, rope, cork or some kind of loosely woven fabric.

Your cats scratching post should be sturdy enough so that it won't tip over when in use, and there is correct individual height. Your cat should be able to reach the top of it with his front claws when standing on his back legs.

Horizontal scratchers tend to prefer rugs, carpets, chair cushions an other flat surfaces. Provide a scratching pad that is usually mad of corrugated cardboard and is about 18" long and 6" to 10" wide.

If you own more than one cat, provide several scratching posts or pads. Put your cat's scratching surfaces in visible, high-traffic areas in your home where your cat will use them. Because cats scratch to mark territory, if the scratching area is out in the open, it's much more likely your cat's going to use it.

How do I teach my cat to use a scratching post?

Whenever you notice kitty scratching on an inappropriate object, tell them "NO", and immediately take them over to the appropriate scratching surface. Rub his feet onto the surface where you want them to scratch so they can get the feel for it. Later, if you notice your cat using the post on their own, praise them.

Once the scratching post has been torn beyond recognition, get a new post and put it next to the old one. Once the cat starts using the new one, you can discard the old post - but don't toss it prematurely. Sometimes pet owners make the mistake of getting rid of a post when it's gotten all frayed and tattered, and that's just the point where the cat likes it.

You can make the scratching post more appealing to your cat by rubbing catnip onto the post or by attaching toys to the top.

Are there other alternatives to keep my new cat from scratching?

If your cat is clawing your furniture because of environmental stress or boredom, involving them in activities should reduce their scratching. If your cat is always looking out the window and watching birds and they see all this activity outdoors and there is nothing to do indoors, they may scratch as a way to displace some of this energy. Play with them more, give them toys they like, and they will use the energy more constructively.

Make home furnishings less desirable. Put pieces of double-sided tape along the tops of chairs and sofas. The hairs on the bottoms of kitty's feet will stick to the tape and discourage them from walking there. Place strips of aluminum foil across your furniture, mot cats dislike the crinkle feeling underfoot. If your cat has started scratching on the side of a chair, temporarily cover it with a plastic sheet.

You may also want to spray areas that are off-limits to cats with bitter apple or bitter orange repellant, available at pet stores. Such spays are not harmful to pets, yet their odor is something most cats want to stay clear of.

Could you give me some other tips to reprimand my cat?

Avoid negative reinforcements such as balloons that pop when touched, upside down mousetraps or squirt bottles. You want to make your furniture less appealing for scratching, but you shouldn't scare of frighten them. If your cat does ruin a chair or couch with his clawing, don't give in and let them have it to scratch, because later, when you get a new couch, your cat won't understand why they can't scratch that one too.

The main key is to make clear to your cat what it acceptable to scratch and what is not and to be consistent in enforcing the rules. Once your cat's learned the proper place to scratch, you, your cat, and of course, the furniture will be a lot better off.

Remember, a spay or neutered cat is much happier staying indoors (which cats in Lake Havasu need to do) than an unspayed or neutered cat. It helps curb objectionable behavior.

The dedicated staff and volunteers at the Western Arizona Humane Society are happy to answer any questions, and help you make the "purr-fect" match for a new companion animal.