By acquiring a small pet, each person feels responsible for his upbringing and care, and he must also be prepared to resolve problems regarding the kitten. It often happens that kittens begin to scratch everything that they see around them, and the owners simply do not know what to do with it.
How to train a kitten to a claw-claw: reasons for the pet’s behavior
Every cat has a need such as claw sharpening. However, they do not at all in order to spoil all the surrounding furniture in the apartment, but because they need it from nature. Cats, both adults and small ones, sharpen their claws in order to remove dead particles of claws, to clean and trim their surface, to sharpen the tips.
In addition, they use the point also as a kind of exercise for the muscles of the legs. This can be seen how the representatives of the cat family, after waking up, stretching, releasing claws and immediately clinging to them for something that turns up under their paw. In addition, this is a kind of exercise for the muscles of the legs. You may have noticed how a cat usually stretches after waking up, releasing its claws and clinging to them for something.
Also, kittens sharpen their claws in order to thus mark the territory, since the glands on the pads of their paws are able to secrete a secret, the smell of which is felt exclusively by animals. For this reason, each cat makes sharpening as high as possible to create the appearance of a large and strong predator who left this mark here.
How to accustom a kitten to a scratching post: training features
The process of accustoming a cat to a scratching post is actually somewhat more complicated than, for example, going to the toilet. This is due to the fact that here it is also necessary to counteract the nature of the animal itself, in fact to lend it to training, while the use of the tray, on the contrary, does not contradict the cat’s desire for cleanliness.
As with many other processes, it is recommended to perform this process from the very early age of the kitten, especially in cases where you can use its desire to imitate mom cat in everything. Thus, it will be very useful if mother herself has been able to do this for a long time, because her children will repeat her.
The training process itself can be divided into 2 stages: observation and encouragement / punishment. First of all, you need to pay attention to what surfaces your cat prefers - horizontal or vertical, wallpaper, furniture or anything else. Based on this, a claw-point will be acquired or made by hand. It can be made either from a board covered with several layers of furniture upholstery, a piece of carpet, or a column purchased at a pet store. It is better to install it in the place where the kitten likes to sharpen its claws, this will help to greatly simplify the process.
Then it is necessary to follow the animal again, and if it again takes up scratching the furniture and wallpaper, you should not scold it, it is better to immediately transfer it to the claw tip, as if to show that doing it on it will be much more comfortable.
If this does not bring the desired effect, you can spray the claw with catnip or valerian, or use the old claw left from other cats. The tags of another cat will be present on it, and your pet will probably want to replace them with their own tags.
How to train a kitten to a claw-claw: types of claw-claws
Each animal has its own disposition and predilections. Some people like to sharpen their claws while lying down, while others prefer to do it while sitting. Objects for sharpening can also be completely different, ranging from any furniture and ending with wallpaper, and sometimes in the most unexpected places.
Cat manufacturers are well aware of their needs. For this reason, they sell completely different variations of clawpoints: vertical, horizontal, angular, with toys and many other lotions. So, toys can play a good role, because when playing with them, a small cat will hold its paw on the surface of the pile, and, thus, will learn to sharpen. Of course, the claw point should be well fixed.
How to accustom a kitten to a scratching post: recommendations
So to summarize. In order for the learning process to be as quick and productive as possible, you should adhere to the following tips:
- when observing a cat, stay patient. As soon as you see that the kitten is going to sharpen its claws on a forbidden place, you need to immediately take it to the claw point and, slightly pressing on its paws, draw them along the sharpener cover;
- repeat this procedure as often as possible. You can start right in the morning, when the kitten just woke up and begins to stretch, it can already be carried to the sharpener;
- use smells. You can use special mint infusions like "catnip", herbs or powders, which, when applied, will surely attract an animal;
- put protection on places prohibited for sharpening claws. To do this, it is enough to spray a liquid with the smell of citrus on them, kittens can not stand it;
- buy a sharpener with a toy. Playing with a toy mouse or cat, the pet will cling to the skin with its claws and after some time it will get used to a new sharpening place. You can also spend several times with a rope on an ordinary sharpener, this will help the cat to quickly understand where it is best to sharpen its claws;
- use the method of encouragement and punishment. Always scold your pet for wrong actions and praise for the right ones.
Yes, and most importantly - do everything with love. No need to be angry and screaming at the pet, be sure that there is a little patience and zeal - and your kitten will sharpen its claws only in a place designated for this business.
Below is a video on how to do it right:
