Creature Comforts Pet Services, LLC

Compassionate care for your friend

Archives for August 2024

Why does my cat scratch my couch?!!

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Many cat owners are mystified at how to get this destructive behavior to stop.  First off, keep in mind your cat is not scratching your couch to punish you or get back at you.  Cats can scratch for a number of reasons. Stress is one of them. Loud noises or too much change in their environment such as a move or remodel.  It is important to shield your pet from too much environmental stress. While stress can cause furniture scratching, there may be another reason your cat is shredding your couch; love.    Your friend may be scratching to mark her space with scent and as a visual marker.  They have scent glands in their feet and they use this to let others know this is their home and territory.  They do furniture, especially couches and chairs, because you, their person, sits there and they want to claim you as their own.  While this is sweet and loving of them, it is still annoying to us.

Here a a few ideas to help.

Scratchers

Cats need to scratch it not only marks their territory it also helps them to stretch, get exercise, and shed old claw sheaths.  It may take some trial and error on your part, but finding a preferred material for your cat can help.  There is a lot of variety out there from cardboard, to carpet, to sisal, and rope.  Keep in mind too that some prefer vertical surfaces while others may prefer horizontal.  There are even scratchers out there these days that attach right onto your couch.  One way to stop furniture scratching, is to put a cat scratcher right by the marked furniture.  This gives them an alternative that you can both live with.  You can then reinforce scratching on the appropriate surface with treats, petting, play, or anything that your cat enjoys. Cats should never be punished for scratching as this is a natural instinctive behavior that they need to do for wellbeing.  You can also use things on the couch that they don’t prefer, temporarily, like double sided tape, to encourage going to the scratcher instead.  

Hiding spots

Cats need places to hide.  Keep in mind that just because your house is safe for your feline friend that doesn’t take away that her mentality is that of a prey animal.  Cats feel safer if they have a, or even a few places they can hide or get away from stressors.  Hiding spots can be anything from tent covered pillow beds, to a cardboard box with a blanket in it (we all know how much cats love their cardboard boxes!)  

Here is a quick reference guide for your cat:

Vertical Space

Cats love to get up high, it is generally their first go to for escape.  Providing places your kitty can get up high can help reduce his stress and give him a place to watch the goings on in his territory from a comfortable place.  Again, there are a lot of ways to achieve this from elaborate cat trees (look at this one, just for fun), to tops of bookshelves, to cat wall furniture.

Play

Cats do better if they have a chance to get some exercise and spend time having fun with you.  They also get mental stimulation from play and get to use their hunting instincts. Using wand toys or a laser are good options for helping kitty get some energy out.  Keep in mind,  you need to let your kitty catch their “prey” now and then during prey or you can actually cause more stress.  While playing with a laser, you can have the laser land on a favorite toy or even a treat.  A good time to plan play for your cat is right before a meal.  This follows the natural pattern of hunt and then eat. 

There are more things you can add in to help.   Simply reducing the stress in the environment such as keeping things a bit quieter, or putting away a scary object, such as that giant stuffed animal dog.  (Yes I have one of these for teaching CPR.  It scares us all in the dark!)  You can also consider other ways to help enrich your cat’s life, such as a bird feeder in a window for them to watch.  Do a bit of fun experimenting to figure out how to make your home an enriching and comfortable place for your feline and you will both benefit.

Scent and Touch in Cats

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Imagine if you were to walk out your front door in the morning and take a deep breath and breathe in all the neighborhood information.  The neighbor on your right is not feeling well today, and the neighbor on your left took the dog out for an early walk and went down the trail across the street.  And what is that?  Someone you don’t know walked by, but with something yummy and they went to the door of the ill neighbor, maybe bringing them some soup.  On your morning walk you pass another neighbor and hug, making sure to share your scent to reinforce your friendship. This is the scent and tactile (or touch) world of a cat.  Cats have twice the olfactory cells that humans do, allowing them to use their nose to navigate the world around them. Cats use both touch and scent to communicate, maintain social bonds, and defend their territory.  They have scent glands all over their bodies concentrated on their flanks, face, and paws.  Cats living in a social group will have a group scent that both identifies the group and individuals within that group.  They leave these scents on surfaces in their environment.

Have you ever seen your cat open her mouth, curl her lips up, and pause with it open while sniffing something?  Cats have a special receptor called the vomeralnasal organ located in two small sacs just above the hard palate in the roof of their mouth.  It has ducts to both the nose and mouth.  When they are smelling a particularly interesting scent, a cat can open their mouth and breathe in some of the scent to get a better smell. This is called a flehmen reaction.

Allorubbing

Has your cat ever insisted on rubbing her cheeks on something you are holding or even on you?  That is a good thing.  This is called allorubbing, in particular “bunting” or “chinning”, rubbing their chin or cheeks or head on you.  These are expressions of affection and a way for your cat to say “ you are mine”. Facial scent glands allow cats to mark and lay claim to objects in their home range. Allorubbing is the act of rubbing any part of the body against an object or another animal.  When cats are separated from you or one another they will engage in allorubbing when reunited to mix scents and to express affection.  If you have a multi-cat household and they need to be separated for a time.  It can help to reintroduce them to each other by using a cloth to rub each cat, particularly on the cheeks, before putting them together.  Cats view the world much more through scent than visually and this can help them to “recognize” one another.

An interesting aside, male cats will allorub both male and female cats, but female cats will only engage in allorubbing with other females.

Allogrooming

When your cat licks or grooms himself or another cat, he is sharing scent from his saliva and scent glands around his mouth.  This is called allogrooming and can help to establish an overall scent for a group, as well as reinforce social bonds.  (I don’t highly recommend licking your neighbor though!)  Cats will groom any species with which they have a friendly social relationship, including you.

Kneading

Kneading, also known as “making biscuits”, is a behavior left over from kittenhood.  When a kitten rhythmically presses her paws on either side of her mother’s nipple it stimulates the flow of milk.  In domestic cats, this behavior continues into adulthood when a cat feels safe and comfortable in their environment.  A soft blanket, pillow, or lap are popular spots to knead.  A person’s larger size and warmth might evoke the feeling of a kitten beside her mother causing her to knead in an expression of affection toward her person.  Cats do also have scent glands in their feet and this is another way of claiming you as theirs.

Since this is an expression of affection and an instinctive behavior, cats should never be reprimanded for kneading. Owners can keep claws clipped or provide a barrier, such as a blanket between the cat’s paws and skin or clothing.

Scratching

Contrary to popular belief, cats do not scratch items merely to sharpen their claws.  Although it does help to dislodge the worn sheath on the outside of claws as they grow,  it is also leaving a scent to mark the area.  This is why your cat may scratch the side of the couch where you sit.  They are letting other cats know this is their territory with you.

Vocalizations in Cats

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Has your cat ever talked to you?  Cats have a wide range of vocalizations to communicate with and can vary their pitch, length, and volume depending on what they are trying to convey.  Cats’ auditory communications can be divided into categories:  social conflicts between cats, during sexual behaviors,  between mothers and youngsters, and interacting with humans.

Meowing

Meowing is actually a sound kittens make to get the attention of their mothers.  However, adult domestic animals tend to retain some juvenile characteristics.  Domestic cats have kept the meow as a way of communicating with humans.  With a meow they may be asking for something they need such as food, attention, or access to an area.  It is sort of an all purpose vocalizations which could indicate anything from a greeting, to a command, to an objection. We have become their surrogate mothers in this regard.  Adult feral cats do not meow because they don’t have us acting in that role for them.

Purring

Purring is normally associated with contented and relaxed cats, and while they do purr in pleasant situations, they often also purr while sick, injured or stressed.  It is now thought that purring is used as a way to convey contentment or appeasement, to self soothe, or to seek companionship.  Looking at the context can give you a good idea of why your cat is purring in different situations.

Chirrups and Trills

These sound like the combination of meow and a purr.  This is what mother cats use to greet their kittens upon return, or to get their kittens to follow them.  Domestic cats often use this to say hello to their people.  Of course, they may also be aching you to follow them to the food bowl!

Hissing and Spitting

Hissing is a pretty unmistakable sign of agitation and spitting is a more extreme or emphatic version of a hiss.  It is important to note that this is an involuntary defensive response.   A cat’s mouth is open and teeth are showing during a hiss. It is a signal to warn away would-be dangers.  Different cats will hiss in different situations, depending on how agitated they are.  Well-socialized cats tend to hiss less than a cat who has less experience with the world.

Growling and snarling

This is a long duration, low frequency vocalization.  Growling sounds more like a rumble, where snarling is a growl punctuated with a higher pitched sound.  These occur during aggressive interactions.  Sometimes a growl might also occur as a warning to another animal or person whom the cat thinks might take away a resource, such as food.

Yowling

This resembles a long drawn out meow or howl and can occur in two very different circumstances.  One is a female’s signal of willingness to mate to males in the area.  The other is to communicate intense discomfort, distress, or displeasure. Sometimes in elderly cats this can indicate disorientation or confusion.

Chattering

Chattering is made when a cat rapidly and repeatedly brings her teeth together.  It often happens when a cat sees a prey animal, thus eliciting her predatory instinct, but she cannot reach the prey.  This is often seen in cats watching birds or squirrels through a window.

All cats are different in the amount they tend to vocalize.  Some breeds are more vocal than others.  Cats sometimes become more vocal as they age.  This is thought to be due to either dementia or declining eyesight.  Hearing loss can also cause a cat to vocalize more frequently.