Pets that are delicate and vulnerable to many
ailments require different ways of special care. This is because these
animals need “customized” care so that they will remain healthy and
live long lives. Cats are examples of such animals because they have
“special” needs that need “special” attention. Cats need to have a
place to scratch as they grow because it is part of their development
to “practice” their claws. Unfortunately, most house cats use home
furniture as scratching post and therefore destroy valuable pieces of
furniture. In response to this, scratching posts designed and built for
cats to provide them with a fixed and permanent place to scratch
instead of your home furniture have been developed.
Training Your Cat to Use Scratching Posts
In
training your cat to use a scratching post, the first thing you should
do is to place it near your cat’s favorite sleeping space or play area
because it will help familiarize your cat with the scratching post. To
make your cat use it, you should not put its paws on the post and force
it to scratch because doing so may be unpleasant for the cat and will
make it avoid the post. Instead, you can use your own fingers to
scratch the post, which will give your cat a good idea of what it is
supposed to do with the post. In addition to this, you can also dangle
toys on the post to encourage scratching. When your cat gets in contact
with the post, it will discover the texture of the post and begin to
scratch it at that point. It would also be a good idea to train your
cat to use the post after their nap. Most cats scratch after waking up
and stretching. To encourage your cat to use the post regularly, you
should praise or reward it every time it uses the post. On the other
hand, reprimanding it when it scratches your furniture is also a good
way of discouraging the cat from doing so.
Scratching posts can
be considered customized cat furniture as they are designed to cater to
the need of cats to scratch. However, buying the right scratching post
and training your cat to use it are two different things. Pet owners
need to know how to effectively train their cats to use scratching
posts so that their home furniture will be spared from the claws of
their cats.
