Cats have a need to scratch materials such as fabrics and furniture. It is an instinct that they cannot avoid, since in addition to sharpening their nails, with scratching they mark their territory. When the cat scratches, it leaves an odor with the glands that its paws have, and that is why they usually repeat the marking in the same areas, to reinforce the smell and the mark that identifies them.

We must never fight against their instincts, because the only thing we will achieve is to stress the cat. What we must do is teach the cat that there are suitable places to sharpen its nails, such as scratchers.

It should be noted that the ideal is the early socialization of the cat with the scratching post. Our puppies, when they are born and grow up for the first few months in a family home, naturally learn to use the scratching posts that are available to them by imitating adult cats. And in the same way, they do not make markings on other furniture or sofas. Therefore, they do not usually have problems in their future homes to adapt to the new scrapers.

If your cat has not learned it from the series, either because you have adopted him in a shelter, you have found him on the street, or socialization at home has been insufficient, the task will be more complicated, but not impossible for that. .

When we get a new scratching post, the first step will be to teach the cat that this is the place where we want it to sharpen its nails. If the cat does not make the gesture of scratching, we can help him by making the gesture of scratching, and thus we will leave a trace of smell on the mast.

If the cat still does not show interest in its new scratching post, we can use cat grass, and place it next to it, and in this way it could be attracted by the smell of the grass, and thus motivate itself to mark its territory.

As a general rule, cats are attracted to scratching posts, but sometimes it may not be so, so we must help you to use it with patience and love.

• Place the scraper in the right spot, as it should be comfortable with the location. Cats usually enjoy staying with us for several hours in the living room, therefore this would be a perfect place.
• Or if the feline has the habit of marking a specific piece of furniture, the ideal would be to place a scratching post right next to it, in order to get its attention.
• Have more than one scraper at your disposal, so that you have more than one marking point to sharpen your nails.
• Reward the cat when it uses the scratcher, with treats or malt, so that it connects the scratching in the right place with something positive. In the same way, when you mark an unwanted place, stop it in its tracks with a NO!
• Use a scratcher that is attractive to him. Not all scratchers are going to be to the liking of the cat. There are cats that prefer towers, others barrels, others cardboard scratchers, therefore, if we are not lucky with the use of our scratching post, we should try other types of scratchers that attract their attention.
• Use attraction products that are applied to scratching posts that smell like catnip or feline pheromones.