Dr. Jennifer Creed possesses extensive knowledge of animal health, particularly around issues affecting cats. In addition to treating common feline ailments, Dr. Jennifer Creed advises pet owners on how to train their cats and manage troublesome behaviors such as scratching.

1. Managing Scratching Behaviors
in Cats
Dr Jennifer Creed

2. Introduction
• Dr. Jennifer Creed possesses extensive knowledge of animal health,
particularly around issues affecting cats. In addition to treating common
feline ailments, Dr. Jennifer Creed advises pet owners on how to train their
cats and manage troublesome behaviors such as scratching.
Cats scratch things in order to claim their territory, as well as to help
maintain their claws. While natural, this behavior can be frustrating for cat
owners whose pets destroy furniture, carpet, or other household items. To
manage scratching, keep a number of guidelines in mind.
To start, give cats a different outlet for their scratching instincts. It’s a good
idea to provide cats a variety of posts covered in different materials, such as
carpet or wood. Some felines prefer a vertical grain to their posts, while
others prefer horizontal. Encourage cats to try out their designated
scratching posts by using catnip as an attracting scent or by placing favorite
toys nearby.

3. Scratching Behaviors in Cats
• When you figure out which type of posts your cat likes, put out more
of that type.
While these scratching posts will become ratty looking over time,
don’t immediately replace them with better-looking ones. Cats
prefer posts that they have already torn up and that have become
familiar objects to them.
To further help prevent scratching damage by a cat, be sure to clip
his or her nails on a regular basis as well. You might try putting
special caps on the cat’s claws to help protect items around the
house. However, declawing is a last resort . While it might seem like
a solution, the procedure is very painful for an adult cat for the cat
as it removes their nailbed as well as the claws.If declawing is done
when the kitten is young , however, the recovery is much quicker.