Why Cats Scratch

Why is it important for a cat to scratch things? What does it symbolize and what benefit does it serve the cat? Some people consider de-clawing the cat; a very cruel and painful surgery that leaves the cat clawless so that it couldn’t scratch again.

Scratching is important for a cat’s instincts. Cats need to scratch so that they could show their status in the community, to mark their territory, show a sign of love and affection, to remove anger and frustration and to exercise their claw muscles.

When cats are declawed they are taken away the right to use these abilities. Declawed cats show anger, frustration and resentment to let the owner know what they feel like.

For most of the other cat-owners who are not that cruel, scratching could be a terror on their furniture. It is best to bring a scratch pad for your cat so that the cat could relieve its scratching needs there. As with everything, a cat needs to be trained to scratch on a scratchpad or the accessory will not serve the purpose.

When you bring a scratch pad, keep it in a place that’s closer to the cat and the furniture that the cat likes to scratch the most. It is natural for the cat to not understand the scratch pad’s purpose, so you need to take the cat by its paws and make it scratch on the pad so that it knows what the pad is used for.

Next time when the cat goes for a scratch, divert its attention to your pad so that it could continue to scratch there. If there is one particular furniture piece that your cat scratches the most, then replace it with the scratching pad. This will also help the cat to learn where it needs to scratch.

It is better if kittens are trained to scratch the scratch pad. At that age cats are dependent on their owners and will easily learn anything that is being taught to them. The time spent on training them at that age will certainly pay off when the kitten develops into a cat with excellent habits.