Siberian cats, like other breeds of felines, will scratch furniture for many reasons- including claw care, boredom, and anxiety or distress. If your Siberian is scratching your furniture, you can use several different tricks to train them to stop.
The rest of this article will explore why Siberian Cats scratch furniture and how to prevent furniture-scratching behavior in your home.
Why do Siberian Cats scratch?
Siberian cats will scratch furniture for several reasons, including to take care of their claws, relieve boredom, and show their distress.
Natural Instincts
Cats’ natural instincts tell them to scratch. For millennia, cats have used their claws to scratch and climb trees and to explore their environment. Domesticated cats operate the same way- they just have less access to nature and outside scratching material.
Claw Care
As their nails grow, cats’ nails can become frayed and splintered. They scratch to trim their own nails and make sure they are healthy. Just like humans trim and file their own nails, so do cats!
If you want to make sure that your Siberian isn’t scratching furniture, for this reason, you could invest in a pair of cat nail trimmers and regularly cut your cat’s nails.
Be aware that nail trimming is a very different action from declawing. Declawing causes a great deal of harm and pain to felines, but nail trimming can be a healthy way to care for your cat.
Boredom
Your SiberianCan You Let A Siberian Cat Outside may attempt to alleviate its boredom by scratching furniture or other material. Cats, especially Siberians, need outlets for their energy.
If you want to address boredom-related scratching, try playing high-energy games at regular intervals. This might allow your feline’s energy to be used in more productive ways.
Anxiety or Distress
Excessive furniture-scratching may also serve as a warning that your Siberian feels anxious or distressed. If furniture-scratching is combined with other behaviors such as hiding, excessive meowing, and changes in eating and bathroom habits, your cat may be stressed out.
If you believe that your cat is struggling with anxiety, you can add more comforting human interaction and some energy-utilizing tools such as scratch posts. This should limit anxiety-related scratching!
Do Siberian Cats scratch furniture more than other breeds?
While scratching comes naturally to felines, Siberians have personality traits that may impact their furniture-scratching behavior more.
Active behavior
Unlike other breeds, Siberians enjoy staying very active. If they are not able to spend their energy in productive ways, they may turn to behaviors such as furniture-scratching.
To curb hyperactivity, make sure that you play high-intensity games with them at frequent intervals. If they feel tired from playing and exercising, your furniture might not suffer the claws of your bored, hyper Siberian.
High Intelligence
While Siberians prefer to stay active, they also possess a high level of intelligence. Because of this, they may respond well to training techniques that discourage furniture-scratching. They will better be able to learn how to move their scratching behaviors to objects other than furniture.
While you Siberian has a high level of intelligence, training and changing any behavior still takes time. Don’t become frustrated if training takes longer than you originally wanted.
How to keep a Siberian Cat from scratching furniture?
Scratch posts
Cats have a natural tendency to scratch, so you can protect your furniture by redirecting that energy! Scratch posts come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the best ones have both vertical and horizontal scratching surfaces. If your cat doesn’t seem to enjoy their scratch post, try looking for a different type or size of the scratch post.
In addition, pay attention to the location of your cat’s scratch post. Make sure it stays in an area that your cat enjoys being around, such as next to a window or their bed. If you place it in an area where your cat does not like to spend time, they may not take advantage of the scratch post.
If a scratch post still doesn’t tempt your feline, you could always try a cat tree. Although usually more expensive, a cat tree may save your furniture from your active pet.
Early training
Like all animal behaviors, training can take a great deal of time. Training may be easier, however, if you start training your Siberian from a young age. If you adopted your cat at a later stage in life, don’t worry- your cat can still respond well to intentional training.
When you see your cat scratching the furniture, don’t scold! Instead, lead them to an appropriate substitute such as a scratch post. Instead of a harsh tone, you can use a spray bottle with water or loud noises when you notice furniture-scratching behaviors.
Furniture Covers
When you first start to train your Siberian cat, you may want to invest in some cheap furniture covers. This way, while your cat continues to learn, they won’t actually ruin any of your furniture.
Smell Deterrents
If your cat continues to scratch your furniture, you may need to deter them by targeting their sense of smell. Amazon and pet stores carry furniture spray that you can apply to your furniture, thereby keeping your cat away.
Tape
You can deter your cat from scratching with more than just their sense of smell. Double-sided tape, when applied to areas where your cat frequently scratches, discourages them because of the stickiness. Tinfoil can be a good option too- take advantage of easy ways to discourage scratching!
Final Thoughts
Siberian cats may scratch furniture. However, with training and tools, you can train your Siberian to direct their scratching elsewhere.
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