Cat Scratching Clinic – Lesson 3
Lesson #3: Why do cats scratch?
To better understand and discourage your cat from 0. your favorite chair or sofa, it helps to learn more about why they scratch to change their unacceptable behavior. Cats are the only mammals that walk directly on their claws rather than their paws. Walking on “tiptoes” called digitigrades, they are better equipted to move fast, climb and hunt.
Rather than maliciously trying to destroy your favorite piece of furniture, your cat is tearing off the ragged edges of the sheaths of their talons; shedding old claws to expose new growth.
Exercise: Scratching is a great energy burner & stretch opportunity.
Pleasure: Like a wonderful massage, cats find scratching a pleasurable, natural activity.
Marking: Like rubbing up against your leg, cats mark their territory with scent glands. Theses glands produce chemicals called pheromones to announce to other cats, their territorial boundaries.
So the next time you see your cat engaged in scratching, you’ll know it’s a happy cat. Hopefully what its scratching, makes you a happy human!
Tomorrow’s topic: How to pick the best scratching post.
Posted: April 21st, 2008 under Cat Behavior, Cat Care, Scratch Posts.
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