Read time: 1.5 mins
Those tiny sharp claws pack a pretty nasty punch (/scratch) should you be on the receiving end. But let’s look into why cats scratch and whether there’s a way to stop your furniture from being destroyed if you have a sofa shredder on your hands!
Well, there are actually two main reasons why cats scratch:
- Scratching actually releases a unique smell from scent glands in the paws that will linger on the surfaces your cat chooses to scratch. This lets other cats in the area know exactly who’s around and helps identify each cat’s territory.
- The other more obvious reason is to keep those claws in good condition. Just like sharpening your knives, cats will scratch surfaces to maintain sharp claws in case they need to defend themselves.
If your cat is an indoor cat, this is where you might run into problems. Even indoor cats will have the instinct to mark their territory and keep their paw-weapons in good condition. If they’re limited to the home, no doubt the cats will get creative and look at their indoor options. Often cats can be found scratching carpets and furniture, anything with good enough purchase to maintain their talons. Also, unfortunately, the sneaky floofs may also learn over time that scratching gains attention from their human parents, so they’ll actively scratch where they know they shouldn’t just to grab some extra attention!
The best counter to this is scratching posts and plenty of them. Making options available to your indoor cat that are more appealing than your curtains, and praising them when scratching the correct place will hopefully condition your cat into understanding where they should and shouldn’t claw. If you have multiple cats at home (lucky you) then be sure there’s one for everyone, as cats are territorial and will want their own place to shred rather than share.
