If your cat is driving you nuts with scratching and you look like this from time to time, you’re not alone! You hear it from a distance…Your cat is after your rug, or your couch, or your chair, or maybe one of a hundred different things in your house.  You’ve paid good money for all these things and you don’t want your cat destroying them just for fun right?  Well there’s good news, your cat isn’t doing this for fun or just to annoy you (at least most of them aren’t!). The better news, you can train your cat to stop doing this kind of thing to your furniture. So how to top a cat scratching furniture is today’s topic, but before we get into training your cat not to do this, let’s first look into why they scratch to begin with.

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So why do cats scratch?

Cats have claws that grow rather quickly and will continue to do so their entire lives. Just like human fingernails or beaver teeth or rat teeth, they need constant attention.  Beavers constantly chop down trees with their teeth which keeps them in check. Cats are not much different in this respect.

Cats claw and scratch things to shed off the outer shell of their current claw and reveal the newer layer underneath. This has two primary impacts, first and foremost they need to find something to scratch to get the old layer to fall off. The second is that of course your cats nails are going to get sharper as the nail gets longer and they continue to shed the outer layers.

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How do I convince my cat to stop scratching?

The most common and best method to stop your cat from scratching up things you care about is to buy your cat something you want her to scratch up. No surprise I’m sure you’re going to say, you’ve probably already got one. In fact you’ve probably already got a few different things you’ve bought for your cat to see which one he or she likes.  So the real question at hand is how do I convince my cat to start using the things I’ve bought for him or her to scratch.

First and foremost it is important to understand that in general it is far easier to teach an animal a new behavior than it is to teach them to stop an old behavior. This is because positive reinforcement is far more effective than negative reinforcement. If I just got too “sciency” for you don’t worry about. The key take away is that when you reward your cat for something they’ve done well they are more likely to remember it than if you punish them for something bad.

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Positive reinforcement

Given this your job is mostly focused on convincing your cat that using the scratching post is a good thing and will result in something positive. That something positive should depend on what motivates your cat.  So what motivates your cat?

Every cat is different, but the most common things  that drive cats are food (treats/catnip etc.), attention & praise.  So you need to start providing positive reinforcement when your cat uses your selected scratching post.  There are a few great ways to do this and combining these methods works even better if your cat reacts to more than one of them:

• Catnip: Rub catnip right into the rope/material of the scratching post. A lot of cats are crazy about catnip and will scratch the post just to get to the captnip. This works extremely well because the cat not only is using the scratching post, but is getting automatically rewarded for doing so. This establishes a great amount of reinforcement for your cat to continue coming back to the post over and over.
• Treats: Every time your cat uses the scratching post be sure to provide a treat for doing so. While some cats aren’t food motivated in any way, the greater portion of our felines enjoy a good snack. Obviously be careful not to overfeed your cat with treats as this can have other negative consequences like becoming overweight. If your cat is really food motivated, try to train them right before meal time because then they’ll be craving those treats a little more than usual
• Praise & Love: Every time your cat uses the scratching post be sure to praise her and tell her what a good cat she is. While cats don’t necessary know what you’re saying they are clearly smart enough to pick up on tone and emotion and they do register positive reinforcement in this way.

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Negative Reinforcement

Now I know that positive reinforcement can be a slow road and your cat may still scratch your furniture while he or she is learning.  So what can we do to help deter the bad behavior even if it isn’t going to be as impactful? Beyond the positive reinforcement options  there are a wide variety of deterrents available to stop your cat from scratching things you don’t like them scratching.

In general this tends to be less effective, but it is still worth exploring these options, especially if you have only a couple of places your cat seems particularly interested in scratching up:

• Sprays/Deterrents: There are numerous sprays available on the market that have a scent that humans can’t really detect, but tend to drive cats away from a specific area. This Bitter Apple Spray for Cats is one of them. If you have a specific spot or spots you don’t want your cat to be scratching you can reapply these sprays every couple of days or weeks depending on the directions and it will help deter your cat.
• Double Sided Tape: You can put double sided tape on furniture where your cat commonly scratches today. When your cats sensitive paw pads touch the tape they will not like and it will deter them in the future. Just be careful not to damage your furniture with the tape!
• High Pitched Yelps: For lack of a better description, a high pitched yelp is basically you making a bit of a loud yelp when your cat is scratching something you don’t want them to scratch.  Cats don’t tend to like loud noises, no surprise since none of us do. But if you can do this whenever it happens, especially if you’re out of sight, it can be an ok deterrent.

A few other options are available to you as deterrents, but they can sometimes have an adverse impact depending on the cat and the frequency with which you need to use them:

• Spray or mist bottles filled with water: You can buy a spray bottle pretty much anywhere these days. The general idea is that you spray the cat whenever the cat is scratching where you don’t want them to scratch. But be careful because they might just starting being afraid of you. I would recommend you only use this method if you can spray them without them seeing you do it (which is really hard).
• Shaking a tin or aluminum jar of change: Pretty straight forward. Get a coffee can like the old Folgers Crystals ones (do those still exist?) that is empty and put some change in it. When your cat is scratching something he or she shouldn’t be shake the can. Cat’s don’t like this noise and will stop what they are doing. This one is a little easier to do outside the room where your cat can’t see you, but again has the risk of them seeing you and starting to associate the sound with you instead of with the scratching..

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Yelling at your cat is a big no no…

Let’s also specifically discuss yelling at your cat.  You should be very careful about yelling at your cat, especially on a constant basis. I know you’re tempted to do it, I know I am too from time to time. They keep getting in front of your laptop while you’re typing (like right now). They keep bonking their head into your phone while you’re trying to do something. They keep scratching up your stuff! I know how it goes, but you have to be the bigger person. Not physically in this case, you’re likely a lot bigger than your cat already.

Bottom line. You need to stay calm because if you yell at your cat often she can and will start to associate really loud and unhappy sounds with you and over a longer period of time can become afraid of you as opposed to afraid of scratching whatever they are scratching.

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Let’s wrap it up…

A few other considerations to keep in mind. In general cats tend to like a scratching post that is tall enough for them to use while fully “stretched out” standing up. This means you might need to buy a rather large scratching post. Check out my review of my favorite scratching post by Pioneer Pet. It is one of my favorites and I’ve seen great success with it with both our resident cats and multiple fosters.  Rubbing a bunch of catnip directly into the post has worked really well, just make sure you sweep up what fell off so they don’t get the catnip for free to speak.

A last closing note. The most important part about this entire article is that you need to be persistent with your cat. Training a cat to do what you want requires consistency, timeliness and persistence.  Be sure to reward your cat immediately after they scratch on the post and do it every time you see happen. Over the long haul you can start giving fewer and fewer treats and simply providing pets and telling her what a good job she is doing. If you don’t see much progress after a week don’t give up, keep at it.  It can sometimes take a few weeks to start modifying your cats behavior.

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If you have any additional items you’d like to see added to this post then please comment below or directly email me at Craig@StuffCatsWant.com so I can update the information here.

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If you’re currently considering adopting a cat versus purchasing a cat then I would urge you to research adoption in much more detail and head down that road.  There are a wide variety of resources that will detail all of the benefits of adopting instead of purchasing, but below is a short summary that can highlight some of the most important reasons to adopt instead of purchase.

Cat Selection & Post Adoption Support:

• Pre adoption support & guidance: Cat shelters and rescues end up taking care of cats for at minimum a few days before the cat is considered for adoption. The people that interacted with the cat gain valuable information about the personality and demeanor of the cat which can be be extremely useful for potential adopters. If you’re looking for a lazy, low energy lap cat versus a high energy play all the time type of cat then the folks at the adoption center or foster home can definitely help you select the right cat.
• Post adoption support & guidance: Shelters and rescues are in place for the welfare of the animals, the last thing a rescue wants you to do is adopt the cat and then return it a few weeks later because it isn’t behaving as expected. To ensure you have a positive experience the bulk of people working in shelters and rescues go out of their way to provide you with all of the knowledge you need to take care of your cat properly and have fun doing it. This includes adoption guides, introduction guides, phone check ins, email check ins and the list goes on.
• You can adopt an adult cat: While a lot can be said about how darn cute kittens are, if you’ve ever raised one yourself you’d probably think differently about wanting to adopt one. When kittens are just over 8 weeks they can be adopted out to a family safely, but that doesn’t mean they are fully independent by any stretch of the word. Kittens require constant attention and without appropriate training and socialization from you and your family they can develop troublesome habits like biting and scratching.  Adult cats, typically somewhere between 12-18 months or older, already have a much more established personality and have already passed through these phases.
• Emergency support: If you ever encounter a situation where you are no longer able to take care of your cat anymore, the bulk of rescues ask that you do your best to return the cat to that specific rescue.  This means that if you end up sick or end up moving out of the country short notice and can no longer care for your feline you can return it to the rescue you adopted from and know that it will end up in good hands.

Animal Welfare

• Animal care: The Humane Society of the United States estimates that some 90%* of pets available in pet stores are sourced from puppy and kitten mills. Mills are basically factory farms responsible for the mass production of young animals. These mills typically provide horrendous conditions for both the adult and young animals in them. The animals are almost never cared for properly and are often kept in spaces so small they hardly have room to stand up and walk around. This results in poor health all around and can be the key reason an animal you adopt from a pet store or a disreputable breeder can have health problems in every way shape and form.
• Saving the life of a cat: When you adopt from a cat rescue organization you save the life of a cat. While the cat you adopt is already in the organization and thus safe to some extent, you’ve provided it a great new home that will make it much happier!  On top of this you’ve also opened up a space for that organization to take on another cat from the local pound where it might otherwise be euthanized due to a variety of factors.

 

Value

• Personal pride: You can be proud of the fact that you are helping an animal in need that might otherwise have ended up living on the street.  You can also know that instead of contributing to supporting puppy or kitten mills or a disreputable breeder that might raise animals in horrible & unhealthy conditions, you instead took the high road and helped make the world a better place.
• The cost of adoption lower: Adopting a pet from a rescue or shelter is generally significantly cheaper than acquiring one through a breeder. Adoptions from most organizations will range from somewhere between $25 and $150. These costs are also often driven by age, so if you are willing to adopt an older animal from the organization you’ll often see the price on the lower end of the spectrum.  Note most organizations are even taking a loss on each cat they adopt out, sometimes in the hundreds or thousands of dollars.  If you can spare a few extra dollars as a donation please do donate to your local group.

 

Peace of Mind

• A MicroChip ID: While anyone can install a MicroChip on a pet (and I strongly recommend you do), some shelters and rescues include a free microchip & registration for lifelong notification of a lost cat.  A common MicroChip included in shelter pets is from Avid. Avid provides a registration database for you to enter your pet’s MicroChip ID & your contact information so that if your cat ever escapesare ever lost you will be contacted by any agency that locates your cat. If your shelter does not include it I’d highly recommend you visit Avid or a similar company to get your pet Microchipped ASAP.
• Medical care & pet documentation: Cats adopted from shelters and rescues will always include the full historic information of the pet and shelters will not let someone adopt a cat without fully disclosing any medical or behavioral concerns. This documentation will include the veterinarian’s intake report that documents the health of the animal upon entry into the system all the way through to every medical procedure performed and every drug administered. This ensures you know what your cat went through before it ends up in your home and also ensures you have a clear picture of any potential medical conditions you may be taking on as a new cat owner. On top of this, because cats in these organizations are often housed together the organization will ensure the cat is up to date on all relevant vaccines that will keep it safe and help it live a long life.
  

 

If you have any additional reasons you think should be added to this page please email me at Craig@StuffCatsWant.com and I’ll get your recommendation added!

*Source Document

So you’re on the road to adopting a cat huh?  While I applaud you for already being an incredibly good looking, smart and talented individual, I’d also highly recommend you consider the following before you move forward with adopting a furry little friend!

1. Age:

Sorry, this one is long cause it is important. The age of a cat is a key driver in the behavior of most cats. Not surprising since this is true across pretty much any animal you’ve ever encountered. If you’ve never had a cat before you should definitely consider adopting an adult cat for your first experience. An adult means anything over the typical one year mark. Some folks still consider cats up to 18 months old kittens because their behavior and their personality can still change significantly over those last 6 months. Here’s a quick rundown of things to keep in mind:

Kittens:

• The bulk of people that come into the shelter I volunteer at want kittens, but many have never had a cat. Kittens are incredibly time consuming and require a lot of attention. You really shouldn’t leave a kitten home alone for more than a couple hours at a time, definitely not a full 8 hour workday.  Given this, if you’re set on a kitten and you don’t work from home or have someone home all day you should consider adopting a pair of kittens or another younger adult cat. Not only will they keep each other busy, but this benefits you as an owner. Cats let each other know when they’ve played too hard or ‘crossed the line’ so to speak. Kittens understand and apply this same learning to humans and are less likely to play as rough with people if they have a companion to learn from.
• Kittens are curious. They are far more likely than adult cats to eat things they shouldn’t, claw at things they shouldn’t, and in general get themselves into all sorts of trouble an adult or senior cat would avoid.
• The way a kitten acts at 8 weeks is no guarantee he or she will act the same way at a year or two years. Cats have a personality that fluctuates quite easily until they reach adulthood. Once they are adults their personality will be a lot more consistent.
• They are incredibly fragile! If you have young children or a large dog that has never been exposed to cats or kittens before then you should be very careful with adopting a kitten. Not that either the children or the dog are intending to hurt the kitten, but either one could easily accidentally injure a kitten unknowingly.
• You should expect kittens to have litter box accidents one in a while. They will pee or poop outside the litter box from time to time. This is just part of growing up for them.

Adult cats:

• Adult cats are awesome and there are tons of them that would love to come home with you. Most of them have already gone through all their shots, all their checkups and all that good stuff. You can adopt them knowing full well what you are getting!
• Adult are already pretty set in their ways.  If you meet an adult cat while looking for one to adopt and he or she hops right in your lap…You can pretty much expect that behavior on an ongoing basis.
• Adult cats, while still fragile (they are cats after all), are far more resilient than a tiny little kitten. Younger children and dogs tend to be less of a potential threat to an adult cat.
• You get to skip all the hassle of the kitten stage and an adult can can be on its own for longer periods of time with far less impact.

Senior:

• Senior cats are probably somewhere in the area of 8 years or older. That’s a rather arbitrary age, but given experience this is where I often see cats start to become a bit less energetic than their younger compatriots.  Senior cats love to eat, snooze and some of them love to snuggle.
• One key thing to keep in mind with senior cats is that they, just like any other creature, can start encountering medical conditions as they get older. This can require medication, cat care, extra time, etc. Be sure to talk to the rescue you are working with to get a clear understanding of the medical status of any cat you’re considering adopting, but with seniors do be extra diligent!

 

2. Cat Care & Patience:

While cats are indeed far less dependent on humans than dogs are, you still need to provide a few basics for your cat on a daily basis. They’ll require at minimum food, water and a litter box (and you’ll want to clean it daily).  While there are lots of automated options that can assist you in the case that you work long hours or need to go on a short business trip, you need to set aside time to to spend with your cat. Most cats do crave your attention, albeit on their own terms. They want to play, snuggle, cuddle and act like a a little hunter pouncing on toys or laser pointers. Be sure you will able to provide this to them on a constant basis!

 

3. Lifespan:

Cat lifespans continue to get longer as our understanding of their health continues to get better. These days you can expect a cat to live an average of 15 years if not up to 20+ years. If you’re interested in keeping your cat for such a long time you might consider a different pet option. Rehoming cats, especially as they get older, can be detrimental to their health and happiness.

 

4. Indoor vs Outdoor:

Cats are indeed hunters by nature, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve acclimated to the fast paced changes that have taken place in the world in the past 100 years. While it may seem cruel in some ways to keep a cat indoors, it is by far the safest place for the cat. Cats have many predators outside, the worst of which is humans. Beyond this there are all sorts of other concerns in letting your cat go outside from fleas & ticks to getting in fights with another cat or dog. I won’t tell you never let your cat outside , but if you really want to let your cat outside I’d personally recommend harness and leash training your cat so they are outside in a controlled environment that is safe for them.

 

5. Cats have claws:

Do not declaw your cat. While common 20  years ago research shows that it is horribly painful for the cat and it is the equivalent of cutting off the last digit of each of your fingers as a human.  Cats can be trained to use scratching posts, but it may take time and effort to train them to do so. You need to be sure you have the patience to train your cat to make this transition in your home. On top of this do note you’ll have to trim your cats claws every two weeks because they manage to turn them into razor blades quite quickly! If you have really nice furniture and don’t want to even think about them scratching it then look for a cat that is already declawed. Many of them do flow through rescues on a constant basis and they still need homes. Do note that cats that are declawed are more likely to bite/nip because they quickly realize their paws are no longer a useful defense system.

 

6. Spaying/Neutering:

There’s no reason not to do this. There are so many cats in shelters worldwide that the last thing the world needs is your cat getting pregnant or causing another one to get pregnant. Please Spay or Neuter your cat if it hasn’t already been done. The ASPCA provides great guidance on local spay/neuter programs that can do this at a very low cost.

 

7. Cats are nocturnal:

While cats are normally nocturnal creatures you certainly can get them onto your own schedule so they don’t keep you up all night playing or just wandering about.  One of the most important things is to keep a consistent schedule, feed them at the same time every day and go to bed at the same time every day.  This can require some patience the first few days/weeks, the last thing you want to do is cave in and get up and give attention to your cat if he or she is acting up late at night. This just enforces their understanding that being a pain late at night gets them attention!

 

8. Adopted cats are not free:

This page on PetFinder.com provides a great breakdown of the average cost of a cat year over year.  You should definitely take this into consideration. While some of these numbers are on the high side in my experience, you should definitely expect to spend money on the normal day to day stuff like food and water, but you must also take your cat to the vet each year for a checkup at the least. Key things that I notice here as odd are buying new bowls and toys every year. Go stainless with the bowls and you’ll be good for life .

 

9. Allergies: 

This is simple, but be sure nobody in the home is allergic to cats before you adopt one. Note that cat allergies are more often driven by pet dander than they are driven by pet hair. There are certain types of cats that are more hypo allergenic than others, but generally none are fool proof in this regard.

Do not in any circumstances adopt a cat as a surprise for someone that has never had one because if they are allergic and the cat needs to be returned it can be rather traumatic for the cat. Cats don’t like travel/transport in general and take time to adjust to new people/places. Moving them from a shelter to a new home and back quickly is no fun for anyone and it can make it much harder for them to get adopted again.

 

10. Your apartment/home:

There are a few parts here worth covering:

• Be sure your home is ready for a cat. Just like in Field of Dreams, the ‘If you build it they will come.’ rings true for cats. Cats basically consider any place they can get to as their territory.  Be ready for cats to aim to climb all over everything and anything in your home. Most cats don’t purposely knock things over, but if you have anything particularly fragile or important it may pay to pull it off the shelves for the first few weeks to see how your cat explores.
• If you rent your home don’t try to adopt a cat in place that doesn’t allow it. Be sure to get approval before you go out to adopt a cat. If your landlord discovers it and threatens to boot you for doing this you’re likely going to have to return the cat. Just like the above, not fun for anyone involved and can be very tough on the cat emotionally.

 

Other Considerations:

There are a boatload of additional factors you can consider when adopting a cat, but these are by far some of the most important. A few others that I won’t mention in any length, but you still may want to keep in mind are:

• Do you have children in the home?
• Do you have a baby in the home?
• Do you have other pets in the home?
• Is your home noisy or quiet?
• Do you have a “safe spot” for my cat?
• What plants are in the house?
• How much disposable income can you spend on a pet?
• Do you want to get pet insurance in case of emergency?
• If the cat doesn’t turn out to be a lap cat will you be disappointed?
• Is everyone in the home/apartment ok with getting a cat?

 

If you think there are any other key considerations I should include on this page please email me at Craig@StuffCatsWant.com to let me know or leave a comment below to call out something you find important!

My Background With Pets & Pet Stores

When I was young I always used to be excited to go to the pet store and see the puppies, if you recall from the About page I grew up with dogs. It was such an exciting experience because they were so fluffy and full of energy. They would run on full for about 30 minutes or so until it seemed like they got so tired they just collapsed where they stood and fell asleep. What adorable little fur balls they were!  I had always just made the assumption that’s where we got our pets and that was the place everyone got their pets. Clearly I wasn’t the sharpest pencil in the box :). I came to find out much later that my parents never got any of our dogs through a pet store and never really considered it, instead they liked the idea of adopting animals whenever possible.  As I got older I learned a there are a lot of different ways to go about getting a family pet, but if you’re here I’m assuming you’re interested in or at least considering adopting a pet.

Adopting Has Tremendous Benefits

I’m truly glad to see you’re considering adoption in place of a pet store or a breeder. Even though adoption has gained a significant amount of attention in the recent past both in the news and by word of mouth, a lot of people still get their pets through pet stores and breeders.   While there are of course great pet stores and great breeders (I’ll have a follow up post specifically on good breeders) that act responsibly, there are also a large number that don’t have the best interest of the pets or of the families buying those pets in mind.  Getting a pet from these disreputable types of breeders can result in an incredibly poor experience for both you, your family and the animal you decide to adopt, not to mention the poor animals behind the scenes that are the parents of all of these puppies and kittens. I want you to have the best experience possible with adopting, so I’ve organized some resources below for you to help in your search.

Great Places to Consider for Adopting Cats:

• Overstock.com – As ridiculous as it sounds, Overstock.com is actually a great place to search for a cat up for adoption. You might think at first they are selling cats over the internet, but they actually provide infrastructure & visibility to many smaller organizations enabling people to find cats easily. No joke, this is where I found my first cat and adopted her a week later (check out the About Site page to see Beast). One additional benefit, with Overstock you can also take a look for all sorts of other produts you might need for your future cat!
• RescueMe.org – Another excellent resource for locating cats that are up for adoption is RescueMe.org. The link provided will take you directly to a map of the United States that enables you to look for specific cats on a state by state basis. You can back up and look for specific breeds or even different animals if you’re considering a dog or even a rat!
• PetFinder.com – PetFinder.com is a great source of information for adopting animals in general. It not only enables you to look for cats within a specific geographic region, but it also includes the ability to search by additional filters like breed, age and gender. This lets you hone your search to look for the perfect cat to fit your home.
• International Rescue – If you don’t happen to be in the United States and still happened upon my site I don’t want to leave you high and dry. While I have no experience with with any organizations outside of the USA this website provides a large list of cat rescues available by country across the world. Hopefully it can be helpful to you in your search!
• Craigslist.org – While I love Craigslist, my name is Craig after all, I personally don’t recommend you use Craigslist for adopting a cat.  There are simply too many potential concerns to account for where and Craigslist doesn’t provide any level or coverage or security when you meet with someone.  If you do decide to pursue a cat adoption through Craigslist make sure you are aware that you are adopting a pet you really have no knowledge about beyond what a complete stranger tells you.  You could easily adopt an animal that is very sick or in need of thousands of dollars in care without any knowledge. If you do proceed though, be sure to meet somewhere in public and obviously use cash as the payment method to avoid any potential scams.

Where Else Can I Adopt if None of These Work?

Beyond these major locations I listed above, there are hundreds if not thousands of community organizations that are managed by small local groups. These organizations are made up of tons of people that care deeply about cats just like the larger organizations do. They provide their time, money and homes to take care of cats until they can be adopted out into a new family. You can easily locate these organizations by with a simple Google search, for example “Cat Adoption Organization Chicago Illinois.”  No matter which organization you ultimately decide to adopt from, do be sure the read their policies and requirements. Most organizations will require updates on how the cat is doing and some might even require a home visit before allowing you to adopt a cat. These

Helping You Adopt Your Cat…

The rest of the Adoption section is dedicated to helping you select the right cat and to ensure you are fully prepared for bringing a cat home for the first time. If you’re an experienced cat owner, you might know a lot of this information already, but hopefully I’ll provide you with a few nuggets of wisdom you didn’t possess before. You’ll find a couple of key topics covered:

• Adopting vs Purchasing A Cat
• Top 10 Things to Consider When Adopting a Cat
• A Cat Adoption Kit (all the supplies you’ll need to adopt your first cat)

If you have any recommendations on additional information that should be included in the adoption section of this site please don’t hesitate to email me directly with your thoughts or leave a comment below.  You can reach me at Craig@StuffCatsWant.com.