By Kathy Lay, Nanaimo News Bulletin - BC, Canada

Jul 07 2007

Cats scratch. It’s a normal, natural behaviour. Trying to stop your cat from scratching will only lead to frustration for you, as well as for your cat.

Scratching is a form of marking territory through visible claw marks and scent from glands in a cat’s paws. It is also a form of exercise for kitty as it stretches muscles of the body.

So you can’t stop your cat from scratching, but what you can do is redirect kitty’s scratching behaviour from things you don’t want scratched to things you don’t mind her scratching.

Such redirection requires a bit of effort on the caretaker’s part, but such effort is miniscule when the alternative and its consequences are considered.

Declawing.com is an excellent website, authored by veterinarian Dr. Christianne Schelling, that describes what declawing surgery involves. Far from being a simple toenail trim, declawing is a painful amputation of the distal phalanx.

An analogy would be having all the ends of your fingers cut off at the joint. Imagine having to scratch in a litter box, or even walk, on those severed endings. Also imagine realizing that your ability to defend yourself has been eradicated.

Cats have elegant, intricately designed bodies, and the amputation of the claws can throw alignment and balance off kilter.

Declawing is considered so inhumane that several European countries have outlawed the procedure, as have Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Japan.

There are many ways to redirect your kitty’s scratching behaviour. Perhaps the most obvious is providing a scratching post. Since scratching serves as a form of exercise, the post should be tall enough for the cat to extend her body.

Cats dislike citrus scents, so applying such an odor to furniture or other places you don’t want scratched will deter your kitty from trying to mark that territory.

Foil or double-sided tape can also be applied to furniture to further discourage kitty from scratching that area.

Since cats do not understand physical punishment, a squirt of water while kitty is engaged in the offensive behaviour will be more effective than yelling or, heaven forbid, hitting.

Soft Paws are vinyl caps that can be glued to the front claws of a cat, which allow scratching behaviour but not the damage that can result from it. They are easy to apply.

With all these alternatives, declawing surgery has become an obsolete option, and in many cat lovers’ opinion, not an option at all.

Kathy operates Kathy’s Cat Care in Nanaimo.

http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=51&cat=43&id=1021688&more=0

**this article was reprinted with the expressed written consent of Kathy Lay**