How to wean a cat to tear up furniture and wallpaper?

Cat owners often suffer from the fact that their pets are torn upholstery furniture and spoil the wallpaper. The material in this article will help the reader figure out what the reasons for this behavior may be, and tell you how to stop a cat from tearing up furniture and wallpaper.

Usually, cats raised with young claws quickly understand the rules established in the home. There are several possible reasons why a cat living in a house allows itself to tear wallpaper and furniture upholstery. We note the main ones.

• Warm up. Animals need a kind of gymnastics for the paws. Tightening and relaxing the muscles of the paws, they keep themselves in excellent shape. Such charging not only warms up the muscles, but also perfectly develops the toes of the paws.
• Stress relief. Often, along with the furniture upholstery, cats tuck it over with their paws and stick their teeth. This is the instinct inherent in small kittens, for many adults it lasts for life. So they calm themselves, relieve stress and completely relax before bedtime.
• Sharpening claws The horny layer of cat claws is updated by dropping its upper layer. This is possible if the cat nibbles its claws itself, but since it is much easier for him to scratch his claws on a carpet, furniture, or wallpaper, this is what he does. So do animals who live at home (street ones usually dig their claws into the bark of trees).
• Designation of its territory. On the pet's paws are sweat glands. The secret with the smell of the animal stands out when the cat marks the territory. It makes a pet so that other animals at home do not encroach on the marked sofa or part of the wall, sniffing them. So the cat tells the other animals who is the boss.
• Discomfort from excess length. Cats can not move comfortably with long claws. Itching in the paw pads, claws acquire burrs, walking becomes painful. At this moment, the animal does not care what to claw about, just to get rid of the problem that has appeared. It can tear not only wallpaper or upholstery, but also wooden furniture.

Wean the cat to tear up furniture and wallpaper is not easy, if it is already in her habit. Some owners prefer to change the type of wall and floor coverings. For example, cats are indifferent to plastic panels, ceramic and PVC tiles, high-class laminate, artificial stone and decorative plaster. Someone prefers to close upholstered furniture with a dense fabric.

However, it should be understood that even a replacement cover or an alternative to him will not be able to wean the cat forever from scratching its claws and nibbling objects. This process is natural and vital. And therefore it is necessary not only to wean, but also to think about how to switch attention to other subjects. Consider the most effective methods of protection.

You can try to wean the pet from the habit, having treated favorite hackneyed places with a scent unpleasant for him. It is known that cats do not like the citrus smell, and this should be used. It can be orange, lemon peel or essential oil. However, the oil is inconvenient because it leaves unsightly greasy spots on the surface. An alternative to citrus, ether or spray may be some spices (for example, coriander or chili), which can handle some surfaces (unacceptable to the furniture on which the person sits).

You can save the upholstery of the sofa and chairs by using covers made of special fabric or the so-called anti-vandal eurocovers. In specialized stores, you can choose options with a coating that cats are not too tough and claws.

Wean the cat to scratch the upholstery and spoil the surface of the wallpaper in a more efficient way by cutting off the claws or sticking special plastic lining on them. For trimming claws they acquire a special device - kogterezku, cutting literally 1-1.5 mm regrown length. The device is quite convenient and allows you not to stretch the procedure, and therefore the cat does not have time to worry.

Pads put right on the claws, pre-lubricating them inside with a special glue. Do not worry too much about the fact that it is harmful. As practice shows, glue is not so strong, but for some time the cat will not be able to spoil the furniture upholstery and wallpaper.

To prevent the cat from sharpening its claws and teeth about furniture, wallpaper and curtains, you can try to try atomizer. Scaring can act on individual individuals, if it is done at the moment when the animal pulls upholstery fabric or wallpaper. You can also sprinkle your favorite items. a special pet deterrent spray. On some cats, a citrus scent spray is repulsive.

Protect furniture and wallpaper can be another method. For example, favorite places can be on top paste over sticky, slippery or rustling material. For example, glue the double-sided scotch or foil.

A special device for turning claws is an excellent and effective way of saving both furniture and wall cladding. It can be both an individual object, and part of a game complex for a cat. Its shape is very diverse, as is the material of manufacture. Cats like big game complexes, because this is their territory, where they can spend a lot of time. And this allows you to save upholstered furniture owners.

To prevent the cat from cramming furniture and making fun of the wallpaper, you will have to accustom her to the scraper from childhood. From the first days of the kitten’s stay in the house, it is necessary to establish certain rules of behavior. For example, an animal should have its own things, its own tray, scraper, dishes and stove bench. If the pet will sleep in the owner's bed, it is useless to require him to follow any rules.

It is possible to minimize the risk of damage to furniture and wallpaper by acquiring not one, but two scraps. If you have free time, you can make them yourself, and then put in places that the baby is eyeing. In the early days of education this may work.

Someone shows the cat the principle of the device, scratching the nail with the nails. Other owners drive a toy on it so that the cat, whether he wants to or not, scratches the surface. Still others prefer to attract the attention of a pet with special alluring sprays that cats like. Others take the kitten's foot and scratch the scraper directly with it.

To fix the problem, if it has already appeared, you need to follow the behavior of the pet.At the stage of raising a baby, you can temporarily adjust, for example, by securing walls with wall cladding that the cat does not like. The corners of the walls can be sheathed with plastic panels.

The choice of the claw is important: its length should correspond to the height of the animal standing on its hind legs. You can purchase not only a vertical scraper, but also a horizontal one and its texture should be similar to wood bark. If the pet loves to tear up the wallpaper, he needs a vertical scraper, if he often tears up horizontal surfaces (for example, a sofa seat or a chair), you should buy a horizontal one. When an animal digs into an object besides claws with teeth, it is worth thinking about buying a scraper along with a sunbed.

There are cases when a pet is completely uninterested in a scratching post. Then you need to try to change its position and place. If he even shakes his claws on a column, you need to praise him and encourage him. It is worth considering: cats are learnable and quickly understand what is required of them. Affectionate voice and reward will help to ensure that the pet again and again draws attention to the scratching post.

To achieve the desired result is often not possible. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the weaning of a pet to damage objects that the owner has to combine different methods. But if the pet spends a lot of time on the same furniture, it will assume that this is his place, which means he can do whatever he wants with it.

No matter how it seems to the breeder that he is right, there are nuances that not only do not help, but also create certain hindrances in weaning the cat from scraping furniture upholstery and wall wallpaper.

Cats have excellent memory. No matter how they shouted, they understand the intonation. Given that they cannot do without scratching and turning their claws, the pets will continue to solve their problems there, but at the moment when the owner turns away. Other representatives of the cat family will do it on purpose.

Throwing items in the pet is not worth it. This will not help the cause, and besides, it can harm the animal. For example, an item launched into it can ever hit the target and injure a cat. The point here is not so much in education, as in his absence.

Not all products from specialized stores, designed to scare cats, work properly. Other means are so dangerous that they provoke allergic reactions in animals and even humans.. For example, some means are so dangerous that after use they can cause suffocation in the household. Others are poisonous to the cat and family members.

Other methods of attracting to the scraper have the opposite effect to the one that I would like to achieve. For example, the same catnip can cause interest in cats, attracting their attention. But instead of using the item as intended, they can rub against it with their fur coats, as well as roll alongside the floor.

There are cases when cats stubbornly refuse to recognize claws and continue to use household items for claws and teeth. In this case, you can do differently.

• First, you should experiment with changing the type of surfaces. This may help in relation to the wall cladding, but if not, someone simply covers the walls with panels or does not allow the pet to enter the room where he is engaged in “black work”.
• In addition, other owners of harmful cats put furniture to the wall, change the upholstery on it. Do not think that this will change the situation, because the wallpaper will remain in other rooms of the home.Pet can with new force do the furniture and wallpaper that is in other rooms. Less often, he will pay attention to the carpet or carpet (they are thin and not solid enough).
• If the animal has no carding alternative and stitching claws, to do something effective is unlikely to succeed. In this case, the only correct solution would be to trim the grown edge of the claws with a claw. For a while this will relieve the pet of the discomfort caused by the excessive length of the claws. However, if the cause of his habit lies in stress, he will look for a place to get rid of him.
• As for the situation when the pet not only digs claws in the upholstery, but also goes through with its paws, here it is easier to fix the problem: it is enough to buy your bed for the animal. An excellent way out of the situation will be a large gaming complex with claws and an anti-vandal covering of upholstered furniture.

• Some cat breeders use balloons for educational purposes.. They are inflated and burst at the moment when the animal starts to turn its claws on the upholstery or wallpaper. Other owners hang the balls right in the places chosen by the cat. One unsuccessful movement - and a rather unpleasant noise is heard.
• Sometimes owners try to protect furniture with capes, About which pets simply can not sharpen their claws.
• As for spraying a pet with water from a water gun or spray gun, this method has its drawbacks. For example, if you do it all the time, when the cat turns its attention to the wallpaper, the canvases will quickly move away from the wall in places where water will fall on them.
• Sometimes breeders resort to non-standard solutions. One of them is the use of a gas spray, the principle of which is to use special sensors. Devices of this type are installed near the place of regular damage. As soon as the pet gets close, it will get a deterrent spray. He will not like this, but far from the first time it can be understood.
• Someone prefers to distract the cat from the furniture and wallpaper toys. Sometimes it works.
• A separate category of breeders resorts to extreme measures: they remove the claws completely. However, this method of getting rid of the problem is tough and can lead to such complications as the appearance of arthritis and chronic pain. In addition, it may affect the coordination of movements of the animal. After such surgical interventions, the animal will not be able to climb trees and jump on tall objects. Moreover, it will not be able to protect itself if necessary.

Before you take a kitten, you should think about possible problems: its natural needs should not lead to similar consequences. If a problem exists, it is often a lack of upbringing, which at one time was neglected by the cat owner.

You can learn how to raise a cat by looking at the video below.