How to stop a cat from tearing furniture and wallpaper?

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

Usually cats that are raised from a young claw quickly understand the rules set in the home. There are several possible reasons why a cat living in a house allows itself to tear up wallpaper and upholstery. Let's note the main ones.

• Warm up paws... Animals need a kind of gymnastics for their paws. By contracting and relaxing the muscles of the legs, they keep themselves in great shape. This exercise not only warms up the muscles, but also perfectly develops the toes.
• Relieve stress. Quite often cats, along with the rattling of furniture upholstery, touch it with their paws and dig in their teeth. This is an instinct inherent in small kittens, in many adults it persists throughout their lives. So they calm themselves, relieve stress and completely relax before bed.
• Sharpening claws. The stratum corneum of the cat's claws is renewed by shedding its top layer. This is possible if the cat chews its own claws, but since it is much easier for it to scratch its claws on carpet, furniture or wallpaper, this is exactly what it does. This is the behavior of animals that live at home (street animals usually dig their claws into the bark of trees).
• Designation of your territory. There are sweat glands on the pet's paws.An animal-smelling secret is released when the cat marks territory. The pet does this so that other animals in the house do not encroach on the marked sofa or part of the wall, sniffing at them. This is how the cat informs other animals who is the boss in the house.
• Discomfort from extra length. Cats cannot walk comfortably with long claws. Itching appears in the pads of the paws, the claws acquire burrs, and walking becomes painful. At this moment, the animal does not care what to tear its claws about, just to get rid of the problem that has arisen. It can tear not only wallpaper or upholstery, but also wooden furniture.

It is not easy to wean a cat from tearing furniture and wallpaper if it has already become a habit. Some owners choose to change the type of wall and floor coverings. For example, cats are indifferent to plastic panels, ceramic and PVC tiles, high-end laminate, artificial stone and decorative plaster. Someone prefers to close upholstered furniture with a sheathing of dense fabric.

However, one must understand that even replacing the cover or an alternative to it will not be able to permanently wean the cat from scratching its claws and gnawing objects. This process is natural and vital. Therefore, you will have to not only wean you, but also think about how to switch your attention to other objects. Let's consider the most effective methods of protection.

You can try to wean your pet from a bad habit, after treating favorite carding places with a product with an unpleasant aroma for him. Cats have been known to dislike citrus scent and should be taken advantage of. It can be orange, lemon peel or essential oil... However, oil is inconvenient in that it leaves unsightly greasy stains on the surface. Some spices (e.g., coriander or chili), which can be used to treat some surfaces (unacceptable for furniture on which a person is sitting).

You can save the upholstery of the sofa and armchairs by using covers made of special fabric or the so-called anti-vandal eurocovers. In specialized stores, you can pick up options with a coating that is too tough for cats and beyond their claws.

You can wean the cat from scratching the upholstery and spoil the surface of the wallpaper in a more effective way by cutting off the claws or gluing special plastic pads on them. A special device is purchased for cutting claws - clipper, cutting literally 1-1.5 mm of the regrown length... The device is quite convenient and allows you not to stretch the procedure, and therefore the cat does not have time to get nervous.

The pads are put directly on the claws, after having lubricated them inside with special glue. Do not worry too much about the fact that this is harmful. As practice shows, the glue is not so strong, but for a while the cat will not be able to spoil the furniture and wallpaper.

To prevent the cat from sharpening its claws and teeth on furniture, wallpaper and curtains, you can try to use spray... Scare away can affect individual individuals if it is done at the moment when the animal is tearing up the fabric of the upholstery or wallpaper. You can also spray your favorite items. special spray for scaring a pet... For some cats, the citrus-scented spray is repulsive.

There is another method to protect furniture and wallpaper. For example, favorite places can be from above cover with sticky, sliding or rustling material... For example, glue a double-sided on the torn place of the wall tape or foil.

A special device for sharpening claws is an excellent and effective way of saving furniture and wall cladding. It can be either an individual item or a part of a cat's play complex. Its shape is very diverse, as well as the material of manufacture. Cats love large playgrounds because this is their territory where they can spend a lot of time. And this allows you to preserve the owners' upholstered furniture.

To prevent the cat from tearing up furniture and mocking the wallpaper, it will be necessary to teach it to the scratching post from childhood. From the first days of a kitten's stay in the house, certain rules of behavior must be established. For example, an animal should have its own things, its own tray, scratching post, dishes and a bed. If the pet will sleep in the owner's bed, it is useless to require him to follow any rules.

You can minimize the risk of damage to furniture and wallpaper by purchasing not one, but two scratching posts. If you have free time, you can make them yourself, and then put them in the places that the baby is looking at. In the early stages of parenting, this can work.

Someone shows the cat how the device works by scratching the scratching post with their nails. Some owners drive a toy over it so that the cat, whether he wants it or not, scratches the surface. Still others prefer to attract the pet's attention with special alluring sprays that cats like. Others take a kitten's paw and scratch a scratching post with it.

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

The choice of the scratching post is important: its length should correspond to the growth of the animal standing on its hind legs. You can purchase not only a vertical scratching post, but also a horizontal one, moreover, its texture should be similar to tree bark. If your pet likes to tear wallpaper, he needs a vertical scratching post, but if he often tears horizontal surfaces (for example, the seat of a sofa or chair), it is worth buying a horizontal one. When an animal bites into an object, in addition to its claws, with its teeth, it is worth thinking about buying a scratching post along with a lounger.

There are times when a pet is completely uninterested in a scratching post. Then you need to try to change its position and place. If he sharpens his claws even once on a post, you need to praise and encourage him. It is worth considering: cats are trainable and quickly understand what is required of them. A gentle voice and reward will encourage your pet to pay attention to the scratching post again and again.

It is often not possible to achieve the desired result. Therefore, the owner often has to combine different methods to wean a pet from spoiling objects. But if a pet spends a lot of time on the same furniture, it will think that this is its place, which means that it can do whatever it wants with it.

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

Cats have excellent memory. No matter how shouted at them, they understand intonation. Considering that they cannot do without scratching and sharpening their claws, pets will continue to solve their problems in the same place, but at the moment when the owner turns away. Some felines will do this on purpose.

Throwing objects at the pet is not worth it. This will not help the cause, and besides, it can harm the animal. For example, an object launched at it may someday hit the target and injure the cat... The point here is not so much in education as in its absence.

Not all specialty store products designed to scare off cats work as they should. Other drugs are so dangerous that they provoke allergic reactions in animals and even humans.... For example, some products are so dangerous that, after use, they can cause suffocation in households. Others act poisonously on the cat and family members.

Other methods of attraction to scratching posts have the opposite effect of what one would like to achieve. For example, the same catnip can generate interest in cats by attracting their attention. But instead of using the object for its intended purpose, they can rub against it with their fur coat, and also roll on the floor next to them.

There are times when cats stubbornly refuse to recognize scratching posts and continue to tear household items with claws and teeth. In this case, you can do different things.

• For a start, it's worth experimenting with changing the type of surfaces. This can help with 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 doing "dirty work".
• In addition, other owners of harmful cats they put furniture against 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 dwelling. The pet can re-energize with the furniture and wallpaper that is in other rooms. Less often, he will pay attention to carpet or carpet runners (they are thin and not firm enough).
• If the animal does not have an alternative to scratch and sharpening claws, it is unlikely that it will be possible to do something effective. In this case, the only correct solution would be to trim the overgrown edge of the claws with a nail clipper. For a while, this will relieve the pet of the discomfort caused by the excessive length of the claws. However, if the reason for his habit lies in stress, he will continue to look for a place to get rid of it.
• As for the situation where the pet not only digs its claws into the upholstery, but also touches it with its paws, then here it is easier to fix the problem: it is enough to buy your own bed for the animal. An excellent way out of the situation will be a large play complex with scratching posts 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 turning 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 the owners try to protect the furniture with capes, about which pets simply cannot sharpen their claws.
• Regarding spraying your pet with water from a water pistol or spray, this method has its drawbacks. For example, if you do this constantly, when the cat turns his attention to the wallpaper, then the canvases will quickly move away from the wall in places where water will get 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 be sprayed with a deterrent spray. He will not like this, but it is far from the first time that he can be understood.
• Someone prefers to distract the cat's attention from furniture and wallpaper with 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 complications such as arthritis and chronic pain. In addition, it can affect the coordination of movements of the animal. After such surgical interventions, the animal will no longer be able to climb trees and jump on tall objects. Moreover, it will not be able to defend itself if necessary.

Before taking a kitten, you should think about possible problems: his natural needs should not lead to such consequences. If a problem exists, it is often a lack of upbringing, which the owner of the cat once neglected.

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