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Cat Forum / General Topics / October 2005teaching kittens to use scratching post
On behalf of a very fussy guy who's getting 2 kittens, what is the most effective way to train a kitten to use the post instead of the couch? These will be indoor/outdoor cats so declawing is out of the question. I've read up on most of the tricks, i.e. spritzing with water pistol, two-sided tape, catnip on post, etc. I've tried those tactics with my own cats and they didn't work. I just gave up and let the cats have their way with my sofa, but this guy is a neat freak and won't tolerate it. I was hoping someone out there might have a fail-safe method they could share. Thanks. first, get a decent scratching post with some height, not one of those wussy little things no higher than your knee. a scratching post with additional duty as a climber, a plaything, a viewing platform. a scratching post that they want to use! my cats have one that's five feet high with three platforms and a hammock. put it by the window where they have a view. from the time they lived with me, i would play with them on the post, put them on it at every opportunity. also i have bird feeders right outside the window, that they can see from the perches. they soon got the hang of it, and several years later they use it every day for scratching, playing and watching the birds, and almost never assault the people furniture! > On behalf of a very fussy guy who's getting 2 kittens, what is the most > effective way to train a kitten to use the post instead of the couch? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > it. I was hoping someone out there might have a fail-safe method they > could share. Thanks. > On behalf of a very fussy guy who's getting 2 kittens, what is the > most effective way to train a kitten to use the post instead of [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > someone out there might have a fail-safe method they could share. > Thanks. When they scratch the couch, gently pick them up and take them to the post, and rub their paws on it in a scratching motion. Some cats get the idea that way. Not all ...  Signature---->Sagittaria<---- "As the extent of the disaster became apparent, the estimated cost of the relief opereration doubled from 500 dollars to one billion dollars a day, US Senate budget committee chief Thad Cochrane said." > When they scratch the couch, gently pick them up and take them to the > post, and rub their paws on it in a scratching motion. Some cats get > the idea that way. Not all ... I once used a tactic similar to this to train my cat not to scratch the good couch but only scratch the bad couch that was right next to it! I happened to be down on hands and knees playing with her when she was only a few weeks old. She scratched the good couch and I scolded her gently (but firmly) and pushed her off the couch. She gave me a wounded look fortunately so I reached up and pretended to scratch the OTHER couch as if I was a cat. She came over and scratched it too, so I petted her. She picked up on it quickly - me acting like I was also a cat showing her the right thing to do - but she was a pretty smart cookie too. But this did backfire on me later, after I'd moved and got rid of the old yucky couch. Suddenly when there was only one couch in the house, it was the designated scratching post and I never could convince her otherwise. But if you did this only with a post and NOT another couch it will probably be fine. - Sharon "Gravity... is a harsh mistress!" I got my cat one of those tall, heavy duty scratching posts with three legs, three textures and a perch on top. She loves it. She scratches the daylights out of it. She also scratches the furniture. I don't know how you teach a cat not to do something it really wants to do. >I got my cat one of those tall, heavy duty scratching posts with three >legs, three textures and a perch on top. She loves it. She scratches >the daylights out of it. She also scratches the furniture. I don't >know how you teach a cat not to do something it really wants to do. Positive reenforcement when the cat does something good (affection, catnip, whatever) When the cat scratches in a bad location, either a "punishment from god" with the spray bottle, negative feedback ("No", "Bad Kitty", whatever you normally do) as well as relocating the cat to the correct location. Not all cats can be trained, but many can. Remember, the goal is not to stop them from scratching, but rather, to encourage scratching in the correct place. You also need to make sure that the place is appropriate to the cat, right angle, stable, whatever. SignatureI'm sorry sir, you can't park your van on the diving board. Do get a post that is covered in sisal rope and NOT fabric - the idea that carpet or fabric is acceptable is a hard one to change! Much more fun to make a rope post and let the cat "help" you... or get a small stepstool as your base and start wrapping with rope and old carpets. good luck! If your cat isn't interested in the scratching post, lend it to another cat owner for a couple of days. There will probably be enough scent from your cat on the post to attract the other cat. Then when you bring it back the scent of the other cat will attract yours. SignatureFF |
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