This post may contain affiliate links. We are compensated for referring customers to our affiliate partners.
If scratching were an Olympic event, a cat would win the gold, silver, and bronze each year. Scratching is a normal cat behavior. They don’t do it to irritate their owners and they certainly don’t understand that you paid over 2k for that couch that they just tore into. They usually scratch to stretch their muscles, mark their territory, or to remove the dead husks from their claws.
Kitten Training
If you take a kitten into your home, one of the best things you can do is to start training them by giving them scratching posts and pads. Use posts that are at least 3-feet tall so that your cat can really get a good stretch when using it. Be sure that the covering is rough enough as soft, plushy carpet won’t fulfill your cat’s clawing needs. Once your cat reaches adulthood, you can still use techniques to break the scratching pattern, but it might take longer to train them so be patient. Try sprinkling a scratch pole with catnip to encourage use and apply double-sided sticky tape or a spritz of a citrus-scented spray on your couch to keep them away.
Trimming The Nails
Trimming a cat’s nails is much easier than you think. There are plenty of how-to videos online, but simply press on the cat’s toe until the nail is extended. Use a pair of good quality cat nail clippers and clip off the tip of the nail, taking in care not to damage the vein inside. As long as you get the hooked part of the nail, your cat won’t have anything that will do damage the next time she stretches out. If you don’t want to do it on your own, just about any groomer will do the clipping for a very reasonable fee. Or, there are soft plastic nail caps that can be applied to your cat’s nails that usually last about 4 to 6 weeks, so ask your vet about this option.
Stats About Declawing
Some people think that the best option for stopping a cat from scratching is to declaw them. In fact, 31% of cat owners in the US have had their cats declawed. But unless you have researched this method thoroughly, you might not understand exactly what that entails. Declawing a cat is not a simple surgery, nor is it a safe alternative to scratching. There are times when declawing is medically necessary, such as if a cat has tumors or cancer in their nail beds, but otherwise it is a very weighty decision to make.
Declawing a cat requires the amputation of the last bone of each toe to remove the nail and prevent it from growing back. If performed on a human being, it would be like cutting off your finger at the last knuckle. Some of the drawbacks for declawing include infection, tissue death, lameness, back pain, nerve damage, and bone spurs. Some cats can develop behavioral problems after being declawed including biting and not using the litterbox properly. Many vets are against declawing, and declawing is illegal in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Other Reasons For Scratching
If your cat is suddenly scratching people, or seems to be acting out in different ways, she could be uncomfortable or ill. Cats who don’t feel good might hide away from their owners, or lash out. When it comes to the food you give your cat, there are ingredients that can cause sensitivity or allergic reactions. Doing a cat food analysis on the ingredients on the bag can tell you a lot about what might be going on with Miss Kitty.
The Troublesome Ingredients
Artificial dyes can cause a host of problems in your pet:
- Yellow 5 has been linked to hyperactivity, aggression, and insomnia
- Red 40 can lead to hyperactivity
- Blue 2 can be linked to brain tumors and allergic reactions
- Yellow 6 can cause allergies, hyperactivity, and adrenal gland tumors
And preservatives such as BHT and BHA are now known as cancer-causing carcinogens that are not fit for human consumption, but can still be found in several brands of pet food.
Ingredients that can cause upset stomach and allergies in your cat include:
- Corn products such as whole corn, corn meal, corn gluten, ground corn
- Wheat and wheat gluten
- Soy and soy hulls
Analyzing The Ingredients
It’s important to keep your cat away from these troublesome ingredients to keep her healthy and happy. A cat food analysis will show vast differences in the foods that are sold on the market today. For instance:
- The top 2 ingredients in a commercial bag of Meow Mix Indoor Formula are ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal, which both pose an allergy sensitivity to some cats. There are meat by-products on the list which provide glucosamine for joint health, but also included are Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40, and Blue 2, all of which can cause a host of problems.
- Looking at Blue Buffalo Freedom Indoor Adult Fish, you’ll find the first 2 ingredients to be deboned whitefish and salmon meal. No dyes, and no corn. Also included is taurine, an essential amino acid that is critical for normal heart muscle function and vision, as well as natural ingredients like carrots and sweet potatoes.
Caring for a cat can be a tough job, but someone has to do it! The sweetness and love that they give back isn’t even measurable, so be sure that you do right by them by providing the best possible care that you can.
