Cat Behavior Problems - Simple Behavior Modification
Every cat owner will have problem with his pet's scratching behavior. Fortunately, cat behavior problems can usually be solved by making a minor change to your cat's routine. These cat behavior problems don't take a lot of money or time to solve, and they'll greatly improve your experience with your cat.
If you've ever lost a carpet, rug, or piece of furniture to your cat's attentions, you can testify that cats' natural scratching behavior can have serious consequences. Scratching is a natural instinct of cats to keep their claws in shape, and it can be corrected by something as simple as placing a couple of cat scratchers away from your more valuable belongings.
Having a cat scratcher is an easy change to encourage your cats scratching the scratcher rather than the rug or the carpet in your house. There are many different models that can be purchased and or built. The easiest way to get a scratcher is to buy one. But it can save considerable amounts of money building one on your own.
It is simple to build a cat scratcher, and it will save you a lot of money relative to buying one. Either course of action will be far cheaper than replacing the carpets and furniture that a cat will damage or destroy, if you don't get a cat scratcher one way or the other.
A cat's instinct to scratch is nature's way of allowing it to groom itself properly. Cats need to keep their claws trimmed at a manageable length so they won't break causing the cat pain and discomfort. It is therefore important to keep in mind that cats need to have access to something to scratch in order to keep their claws adequately groomed.
For that reason, most cat owners will buy a cat scratcher to help their pets relieve their scratching urges. In some extreme cases, pet owners may have their cats declawed, but this is a step pet owners shouldn't take unless they have no other choice; a declawed cat is defenseless against aggressive animals and cannot climb trees to escape from them. Many nations have made it illegal to declaw their cats; check the laws in your area, but don't declaw your cat unless it is the very last resort and the result of extremely high amounts of scratching. There are several very effective ways to modify cat behavior to prevent your cat scratching your furniture, walls, and floors.
Published August 28th, 2007
Filed in Recreation