Cats need to scratch as part of their behavior. It is a normal instinct that serves a number of purposes.
#1 Mark their territory…. Cats are territorial animals and communicate their presence by scratching. When they scratch your furniture they are sending a signal to other cats that this area is their territory. In addition to revealing the visual scratched surfaces, scratching signals olfactory communication. Inside your cat’s paws are tiny scent glands.
These glands release invisible chemicals that are deposited onto anything the cat scratches. Humans cannot smell these secretions, but other cats can. This plays an important role in territorial signaling.
#2 Maintain their nails…. As your cat’s nail grow, scratching helps your cat shed the outside nail layer.
#3 Exercise….During scratching, your cat will stretch their body helping them to maintain their muscles. The next time your cat awakes from a nap, you will notice your cat scratching to stretch her muscles.
As you can see scratching serves a number of important functions and cats are programmed to exhibit this behavior. That is why it is unrealistic to try to stop your cat from scratching. If your cat’s scratching is damaging your furniture or carpet, you can manage this problem by redirecting your cat’s behavior to a sturdy scratching pad.
As a cat lover I understood that cat parents surrendered their cats to shelters or had them declawed because they didn’t know how to change this unwanted behaviors. Cat owners were unhappy with cats using furniture and carpets to do what came natural to them - scratching. Please DO NOT DECLAW.
Find out why SCRATCH THIS(TM) scratching pad, designed to redirect this natural instinct, will provide a lifetime of scratching pleasure!