I used to have a cat, but haven't since I bought a house and completely remodeled it. Now the house is done, and I'd like to get a cat again. I don't like the idea of de-clawing - I think it's cruel. But, I now have expensive furniture in the house and also 2 very expensive antique persian rugs.
How is a clawed cat trained not to scratch/claw these things. I've always had problems in the past with this.
Answers:
Believe it or not, your feline friends have more intelligence than your canine ones do and can learn more tricks faster than a dog can. That is a proven fact. I also can attest to that since I can train my two cats to do the same things my brother is training his two dogs to do and they learn it quicker and master it faster than the dogs.
To train a cat to scratch where they should, you need to either take a vacation for a week or make sure that your feline friend has his own room and is locked in it when you are not in the same area with him/her. Cats love to scratch and they love best to scratch things above where then can elongate their bodies. They also prefer natural things to scratch more than man made ones but use what they are given or can find if the real macoy isn't available. Be sure to have at least one Condo (cat climber) in each room the cat is allowed it or at least in an area that is close to a double room like living/dining area or dining/kitchen area. Make sure it is at least 5 to 6 feet high or higher and their is at least 1 long pole/post that has either natural wood or natural twine rope on it. They are making them that way now all the time. Also, get yourself a thick all natural twine/tweed foot wiping mat from your department store or rug shop. Be sure that it is not flimsy but a good tight weave. A lot of cats prefer to scratch in a standing down position rather than a standing up stretched position. This way, you can allow your cat to choose. I have one cat that does the rug and the other that does the poles. Put catnip on the mat and rub it onto the poles so that the smell is there more than the actual catnip itself. This encourages them to go to that area. Cats naturally scratch so you do not have to do the motion of scratching with them like you would a dog. Cats also love treats and since they are obligate carnavoirs, (all meat eaters), the best treat is a piece of plain cooked all natural meat in a small portion with no spices on it. You can make these yourself and keep them in the freezer with the meat you are having for dinner but do not use seafood or beef. Beef tends to be a harsh meat on the cats intestines and seafood isn't good for them. It isn't their normal food if they were in the wild and cats do not fish, they hunt. Chicken, duck, turkey, venison, are all good choices. When you get ready to prepare this for yourself, take some and put it into a pan of water and cook it just until it is done. Break it into tiny pieces and freeze them in ziploc freezer bags. You can take out what you need and keep it in the refridgerator or nuke it for a few seconds until it thaws and use it for treats. Now, keep an eye on your cat. Whenever it does something you like it to do, praise it (always using the same praise so they get the message and learn that praise), like 'good kitty' or 'good boy', etc. and immediately give the treat. Whenever they do not do what you want them to do, use a very stern voice and command and the best one is to pick a sound that you would not use whenever you talked to a human. For example, never use the word NO since you also use that with humans and if they hear the word NO they may take it as a 'bad' thing they are doing when all they are doing is a good thing. That will confuse them in the long run and prolong their training. I use ehhh! ehhh! ehhh! very loudly and in a different tone than my normal voice. I only use it when it is absolutely necessary and they know it means they are in trouble now. I had both these cats trained to the scratching post and rug in a week while they were still less than 3 months old. Now, I still praise them for stratching in the right places several times a week just to reinstate that they are good boys and give them treats too every so often but they just scratch there because it is habit now. I've trained them to stay off things they aren't allowed on and even stay out of places they shouldn't be in as well as they know a lot of commands for only being a year old. They can sit, stay, lay down, fetch, jump up, jump over, roll over and also play games like peek a boo, hide and seek and my favorite one is red light, green light, a game I liked as a kid. My younger one plays bat and ball and ping pong ball too. Of course he play with his paw but he can hit 7 out of 10 back to me. Training a cat is not different than training a baby. You have to use lots of love and patience and repetition. One thing to remember though with animals, is that you need to think like them to have success. An animal does not look at you as a human. They look at you as the 'leader of the pack' and they will constantly rival for taking over the leadership of the pack. No matter what game you play with them or what you are teaching them, never let them win in the end. If you are holding a toy on a string and they grab it with their teeth and pull, make sure that you allow them to pull it because that teaches them their skills, just never let them get the whole thing and run with it unless you chase them and get it back. The more they win, the less you will have control over them. House pets can have a lot of fun in this type of discipline and you can have lots of fun teaching them but through it all, you are still the leader of the pack and not their owner. Good luck.
Yes you buy a scatching post and teach it to scratch that and not the carpet/rugs/furniture.
Have a couple cat scratchers around and sprinkle cat nip on them. If you see them start to use your couch, redirect them to the cat scratcher. Some cat's never have that issue. I had one that did and one that didn't.
YAY! u r a VERY good person for choosing not to declaw ur kitty. i had this prob too, but i went online, and the areas that ur cat can reach on these valuable items, u should like put strips of foil, and when the cat goes to claw these items, the foil will annoy it, and it will learn that it does not like to claw these items, and once it gives up clawing on them, u may remove the foil. (i noe, the i dea of foiled furniture is odd, but it works)
You can give it more attractive alternatives, but I don't think you can "train" a cat for things like that. Not any cat I've known.
The other posters are right. Put out more attractive alternatives.
Try softpaws, you can get them at petsmart or at the link posted below.
Thats tough because its a natural behavior for cats. You can try Soft Paws. Its a product which you glue over the nails. You can do it yourself and it won't shred the furniture. Just make sure you don't trim the nails too short since the super glue needs something to hold on to. Yes super glue. Thats what we use at the vet clinic where I work at. They come in different colors as well.
You put sticky tape on or by the areas you don't want the cat to scratch and squirt her with water if you see her scratch those things. Get scratching posts and praise the kitty when you see her use them.
There are covers that you can buy to place over the cats nails, if you want to be bothered with it. One of my cats came declawed from the pound, the other has claws. I take the clawed one every week and pop her claws out and trim them down with clippers, but she is a very mellow and cooperative cat. Other than that, it's very, very hard to train kitties. Try getting a scratching post that smells like catnip so the cat will be encouraged to use that instead of your things. I attached a link to the claw covers.
I've had cats my whole life and they have all been declawed and none have ever been traumatized as they say happens when you declaw them. I have the happiest cats in the world. You just have to keep them in the house. It make them nicer if it does anything to their personality.
I got 2 cats. And they both know how to use da scathing post.all u got 2 do is show it 2 them. After a while they'll know not 2 scracth the rugs but the scratching post.
My cat has never scratched the furniture because I got her declawed and it did not do anything to her personality and she is the sweetest cat and it did not do anything to her. She is a very happy cat.
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