My sofa and nerves are in tatters. I thought my cats were well trained but I was disgruntled when I came home the other night and found a couple of my silk damask throw pillows shredded into pieces and the stuffing of my couch spilling out like guts! I also noticed some scratches on my antique armoire! The culprits, of course, are my cats. I just don’t know exactly which of the four did the crime or if all of them were guilty! I can’t really blame them, given their killer hunting instinct, cats don't hesitate to use both their claws and jaws to destroy everything in sight.
I asked my friend and cat lover, Shawn Ulmsted, for tips on how my cats could keep the scratching and chewing to a minimum. Here’s what he has suggested:
Have lots of toys around to keep them busy. Toys can be store-bought or home made. An empty paper bag, a ping pong ball tied to a string and hung tantalizingly from a door knob, a rubber ball too big to swallow, a wadded up ball of paper, a ball of yarn, or a feather on the end of a wire are all good cat toys. And make sure that what you give them is always theirs. If you let them play with your shoelace, don’t get upset when they eat the rest of your shoes.
You can't really blame your kitties for tearing the stuffing out of your couch if it's the only thing around they can sink their claws into. That’s why a scratching post is a must. Cats scratch a lot because they need to loosen the exterior layer of their claws to let new growth come through.
Whatever you do, be consistent, fair, and give your cat lots of praise and attention when she gets it right. When you witness your cats chewing or scratching something they shouldn't, squirt them suddenly and immediately with a water pistol. This is a tried and tested (and relatively humane) method of discipline for cats, who usually hate getting wet. You can also startle her by clapping your hands, shouting "No!" or hissing.
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