Dear Miss Behavin’:
I adopted a cat about a week ago, and it’s already clawing at my furniture and scratching up the walls. Help!
Congrats on the new kitty, but my apologies at the fun it’s having at the expense of your home. Cat’s scratching their claws is quite a natural behavior, partly in terms of trimming their nails through removing the outer lay, marking their territory, and just getting in a good stretch. Without any appropriate items or being directed to these items to scratch on, many indoor cats take to the nearest furniture, rug, drape, or wall. They don’t quite realize that we’d like these items and areas to remain as is and not with their newly etched artwork or signatures.
To help redirect this behavior, give your cat plenty of items that are meant for scratching and a wide variety in textures and surfaces. Some cats quickly take to horizontal cardboard scratchers while others might prefer vertical cat scratchers that can also be found on cat trees. It can be easier to provide a scratching post that is made of material dissimilar to your floor covering, whether it be carpet or wood. That way the cat doesn’t accidently associate the floor as the perfect place to scratch as well. Other scratching material include those made of sisal fabric, regular cardboard from a box, and even wrapping paper.
Just be sure that the scratching post is sturdy and heavy enough to support your cat’s weight and tall or long enough to ensure your cat can fully extend their body from head to tail and work their shoulder muscles as they scratch.
To make a few inexpensive cat scratchers, take a large cardboard box and open out the box completely. None of the sides should still be connected, as this will create an even larger floor scratching area for your cat. Feel free to drizzle a few bits of catnip on the cardboard to further entice your cat to investigate it. Large cardboard cereal boxes can do the same trick and are much lighter for smaller cats to enjoy.