Is your cat scratching the furniture?

I remember a surgeon asking me describe the declawing procedure in a cat in my final surgery exam at vet school. I answered very coolly that I would never perform such a procedure and therefore had not learnt the section at all. I was very lucky to get away with it and still stick by my convictions after 12 years as a practising vet. Happily, I have only worked in the UK where this procedure is banned. Declawing is extremely painful as there are so many sensitive nerve endings in a cat's paw.

*Cats scratch to mark their territory via sweat glands in the paw as well as with the visible scratches showing any trespasser just how huge their claws are and how much damage they can make.

*They also exercise their claws by scratching and remove any dead nails.

*An American product is available called soft claws. These are small vinyl caps that are glued onto your pet's claws. They are reported to be safe, non-toxic, easy to apply and last for 6 weeks. I am not sure if they will take off in the cat-loving UK though. I personally wouldn't use them. I remember watching a programme on BBC recently - The Dragon's Den, where a hopeful inventor walked in front of all the potential British investors with his soft claws product and his cat and he was flatly turned away - they realised there would be no market here.

*Cats can be taught to scratch in areas that you want them to. If they have chosen a special area, cover it with a small rug and once there are a few threads hanging out, they should return to this spot.

*Experiment with vertical and horizontal cat scratching posts - many cats prefer the vertical posts and experiment with textures. We leave an old chair for our cats to scratch and that seems to work.

*Never tell a cat off for scratching.

*Any stress in the home such as a new baby, new pet or an intruder in the form of the neighbour's cat will make your cat scratch even more.

*Feliway is a natural calming spray that produces cat pheromones and can be sprayed on the scratched areas. Try it for 3-4 weeks. It does not stain furniture and is completely safe. It makes for a much better alternative to the drastic step of even considering declawing in some countries.

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