This is an article by Elen, a visitor to PoC. We humans are claimed to be divided in to two categories, Cat people and Dog people. I basically agree. I do love dogs myself; I do however not feel I have a natural way of communicating with a dog, I call this ‘I don’t speak …
How to stop your cat scratching furniture by imposing your authority over them (by Elen) Read More »
The Ragdoll as many know is one of the most laid-back cat breeds; perhaps the most laid back as they are selectively breed to have placid characters. However, they are domestic cats like any other at heart. Don’t believe all you read on social media and in news media. Here is a photo of the …
Ragdoll cat put cat sitter in hospital for 4 days plus 3 weeks off work Read More »
This is a short post because the answer to the question is, I believe, obvious. Although my reason might not be the correct one every time but it’ll be the most common reason. When a cat’s owner is away from their home it is often for quite a long time from the cat’s perspective, perhaps …
Why does my cat use the scratching post when I get home? Read More »
In the inimitable words of Dr. Desmond Morris in his excellent book on cat behaviour CATWATCHING the cat caregiver should be aware of the fact that their cat leads a double life. “The cat leads a double life. In the home it is an overgrown kitten gazing up at its human owners. Out on the …
This is a hugely debated topic on the internet and has been for years so nothing new here except this is a free-to-use infographic covering the main points. For me the last point in the infographic is the most important. When the family cat destroys a favorite armchair, I understand the consternation. It is unpleasant …
Infographic on the reasons why cats scratch armchairs Read More »
You want your cat to scratch. It’s in their DNA. They need to do it to feel normal. It is absolutely part and parcel of the behaviour of a domestic cat. You want your cat to behave normally as it enhances their feeling of wellbeing. It is so deep-rooted in the domestic cat psyche that …
How to tell your cat NO to using your furniture as a scratching post Read More »
As this is a very specific question, the answer will be by necessity short. The clue comes from the position of the scratch marks. As you know cats mark territory with urine spraying and scratching. Scratching leaves a both a visual and olfactory signal as scent is deposited on the object scratched via the pawpads. …
There are three points to make in response to the question in the title. The first point is that you want your cat to scratch something! This is because it is natural cat behaviour and you want your cat to express his or her natural behaviour because it makes them more content (feline mojo). The …
How do I stop my cat scratching the carpet and furniture? Read More »
The facetious answer is to get rid of your carpet. I am actually a believer that the best homes for domestic cats are those without carpets. There are other advantages namely winning the battle against fleas. In removing the carpet you remove a place for fleas to hide before jumping onto cats. I just feel …
It is useful to remind ourselves why domestic cats scratch things. A lot of people see it as an irritating characteristic of the domestic cat and simply try to stop it or even in the worst case scenario punished the cat for it. But scratching is a feline behaviour which is very important to them. …
In this compact post, I’ll explain why you want your cat to scratch. Firstly, I don’t mean to scratch you, the cat owner. I mean to scratch an object. The picture below is one of five scratching boards I have in my house… Domestic cats must scratch objects. It is absolutely a part of their …
There are three specific reasons why domestic cats scratch carpet, furniture, scratching blocks, anything which is suitable to scratch. In the wild a suitably sized tree is ideal. We all know that this aspect of feline behaviour is perhaps the most important for many cat owners and one which can turn potential adopters away from …
Why do cats scratch carpet? 3 specific functions are behind this Read More »
I’d like people’s input on this if you have ideas and time. We all know how important a scratching post is. It allows a domestic cat to express his/her natural desires to scratch without upsetting his owner who may be house proud and who may find it distressing to see her furniture scratched. One issue …
Training Your Cat To Use A Scratching Post And Where to Put It Read More »
This is about cat scratching. Valley Girl (VG), in America, took a very nice picture of her super, rescued, polydactyl, smokey, female Maine Coon, Tootsie, with a ruff to match anything from 16th century Europe. She has the best ruff you’ll see on a cat but this post is not about Tootsie’s ruff, it’s about …
by Ruth (England) Poster by Ruth Some people think that if their cat scratches the furniture he is being badly behaved. They are wrong, it is necessary behavior for a cat to scratch and if a scratching post or pad isn’t provided then naturally the cat will use whatever else he can find to dig …
