Walk through the doors to our cat condos, and you’ll be greeted by soft “meows” and inquisitive glances. We always have adult cats up for adoption, and we do our best to make their stays with us as pleasant as possible until their perfect new human family arrives to adopt them.
There are many reasons why these cats are now in our care, and a common one is excessive clawing. Some of the cats have clawed their owner’s furniture, rugs and other possessions so much that the cats have been relinquished in utter frustration for a common kitty behavior: shedding their dead claws and marking their territory.
All cats have a need to scratch, and all the punishment in the world won’t make them stop (but it often will make them avoid you, and take out their frustrations in other, less-appealing ways). So, stop being angry at Fluffy, and be proactive in teaching her to leave your furniture alone and enjoy her own scratching post.
Scratching not only helps cats to clear off the dead claw material, but it helps them to feel at home because they have scent glands on their paw pads. When they scratch, they leave this “calling card” to other cats (humans cannot smell it) on the surface.
If you want your cat to be happy and fulfilled (of course you do) one of the best things you can do for her is to provide her with acceptable places to scratch and mark, which will also save your belongings.
Find out more by reading “Cats and Claws” now:
https://atlantahumane.org/education-center/cats-and-claws/
Happy scratching!