Three things your cat wants you to know!

                 
1. "I scratch for a reason!" There are many reasons why cats might scratch up items in your home. Here is an article on scratching (including furniture scratching) that can help you understand your cat.



Cats make great pets. They love to play, they love to cuddle when you're watching TV or sleeping, and they purr for no reason other than being near you. But they also love to scratch. Unfortunately, the things they love to scratch are often the legs of your antique table, your upholstered sofa, or your expensive stereo speakers. And no amount of reprimanding or pulling out your hair in frustration seems to make them stop. But don't despair; there are some things you can do.

Scratching is easier to deal with if you understand why cats scratch in the first place. In the wild, cats scratch around their immediate environment to signal their presence to other cats and to claim the area in question. The marking takes two forms: visual and olfactory. The visual mark is in the form of clawing marks and is so obvious that even we humans can recognize it (not that we appreciate its significance). The olfactory mark is subtler, involving the release of pheromones. These are substances secreted from the body to be picked up by members of the same species, causing them to alter their behavior.

Cats secrete pheromones from superficial glands in the skin of the cat's paws through the process of kneading. The message is invisible to all creatures and is undetectable unless you have the right equipment (a super sensitive nose) and are close enough. A competitor coming up to the site will see the scratch marks and then smell the message: another cat has already claimed this place. One thing's for sure; the signal is not a friendly one.

Scratching has additional functions, too. You might think your cat scratches to sharpen his claws, but it more likely it provides your cat with a form of physical therapy for the muscles and tendons of his paws. It also assists in shucking off old nail husks.

The Domestic Situation

Healthy and natural to your cat, scratching can become a real problem for the owner. Even your fairly secure
housecat will occasionally feel the need to leave his mark by scratching, and the most usual target is your furniture.

Faced with this problem, many people consider declawing surgery. Many veterinarians believe declawing is a painful and unnecessary surgery and refuse to do it for humane reasons. Instead, they advocate training your cat to use a scratching post. However, some veterinarians still believe declawing is a safe procedure.

Declawing Facts




Intensity of pain. Many cats recovering from this surgery suffer from pain as they wake up. In fact, declawing is considered such a painful surgery that it has been used in studies to investigate methods of pain relief.

Duration of pain. In most cases the pain appears to subside after 24 to 36 hours. However, during that time your cat will be gingerly walking around the place as if his paws are extremely tender – and they probably are. In other instances the pain lasts considerably longer, especially if there are surgical complications.

Adverse consequences. Some cats are still hobbling around years later, though the majority eventually return to "normal" as far as we can tell.

Litterbox use after the surgery. Your cat might find the litter painful on his tender paws. Vets often recommend putting torn up newspaper in the litterbox to prevent litter particles from adhering to the wounds. This practice sometimes leads to litterbox aversion and subsequently inappropriate elimination of urine and/or feces.

Behavioral change. Aggressive cats may be more likely to bite instead of swat with their paws once they have been declawed.

Alternatives to Declawing

There are several good options to declawing. These take the form of training your cat to use scratching posts, trimming the nails, and nail covers.

Scratching Posts

To persuade your cat to use a scratching post, you have to understand some basics:

Keep one extra scratching post in the household. If you have four cats, keep five posts. Once the problem is under control, those that are not being used can be removed.


Each scratching post should be tall enough for your cat to stretch up to its full height without being able to reach the top, i.e. about 3 feet high.

The scratching post should be steady. No self-respecting cat will entertain the thought of using a post that rocks or falls over.

Use the correct material. One of the essential functions of scratching is to leave a visible mark. Fabric that doesn't tear or fray will be of no use. Burlap is a favorite with many cats.

Choose an attractive location for your cat. Most people try to hide scratching posts from view. This completely negates the whole purpose of scratching for the cat. Position posts in obvious areas at first, preferably near scratching sites that your cat has selected for himself, then gradually repositioned to less obvious places later.

Deterrents

Several deterrents are available and may help.

Physical. If a particularly valuable piece of furniture must be protected during training, heavy gauge plastic sheeting can be applied to alter its texture and to serve as a deterrent.

Chemical. You can try moth repellent aerosols, which contain naphthol, though the area has to be "freshened" periodically as the odor will fade.

Pheromonal. Feliway®, a pheromone-containing proprietary spray, has been touted as a repellant for furniture scratching cats. The idea is that the pheromone, a natural scent signal and, in this case, an extract of feline facial secretions, will alter the "significance" of the previously scratch-marked area.

Environmental measures. Territorial stress may aggravate marking. If there are squabbles between cohabiting cats, or if a dominant or anxious cat is constantly aggravated by neighborhood intruders, you should address these territorial issues first.

Nail Covers

A few years ago an excellent product was introduced to reduce damage from furniture scratching humanely. "Soft Paws"™ (or Soft Claws) are [[AWT|6316plastic nail caps]] that can be super-glued to a cat's claws following a preliminary nail trim. The results are often spectacular, with damage to furniture practically non-existent while the nail caps remain in place. The manufacturers recommend a complete replacement every month or so, but replacing lost nails individually as they fall off also works (and involves far less work).








. "I'm trying to communicate!" Here are some keys to understanding feline communication These tips can really help strengthen your bond with your cat.
Dr. Nicholas Dodman

Although cats have a reputation for being independent, there are times and situations when they can (and do) interact with others of their own kind and humans in a social way. When motivated, they make their needs and wishes known to others without the benefit of speech or language as we know it. Cats have subtle ways of communicating, some of which have eluded scientific scrutiny for years. The senses and behaviors cats use to facilitate communication include vision/eye position, olfaction, touch, voice, body language, and operant actions.

 Vision/Eye Position

A blind cat is at a serious disadvantage when it comes to communication because so many signals sent and received by cats are visual. On the aggressive end of ocular signaling is the stare. An irate cat will transfix her adversary with a blood-curdling look of animosity and malicious intent. If you've even been the subject of one of these looks, you'll know what I'm talking about. The corollary to the stare is the fluttering blink of trust and affection. If a cat doesn't
trust another creature, she will keep her eyes wide open. Semi-closed eyelids are indicative of trust. ("See, I don't even have to keep my eyes open.")

Without vision, a wealth of communication is lost, leaving a cat literally in the dark as to the intentions of other animals nearby. All is not lost, however, as auditory, olfactory, and tactile signals will help fill in the blanks.

Audition/Vocalization

Cats make a variety of sounds in a variety of intonations. McKinley (1982) classified cats' vocalizations into two basic categories – pure (simple) sounds and complex (multiple) sounds. Pure sounds include the growl, squeak, shriek, hiss, spit and chatter. Complex sounds include the mew, meow and moan.

The growl, shriek, hiss and spit are pure sounds that communicate aggression. To another cat there may be some qualitative differences between these warnings. For example, it may be that the hiss and growl signal two levels of warning whereas the spit and shriek are more extreme utterances inferring that "boiling point" has been reached or exceeded.

The only benign communication in the pure sound group is the squeak – a high-pitched, raspy cry given in play or in anticipation of feeding.

Chattering is not a sound used in communication but rather is reflexive chattering of the teeth brought about by frustrated predatory ambitions (i.e. seeing birds on a feeder on the other side of a window).

Two complex sounds are interesting: the mew and the meow. The mew may just be the kittenish equivalent of the adult meow as, like the meow, it signals a wish for attention from a benevolent attention-seeker. The meow is made up of two sounds, phonetically "me" and "ow." The former is thought to mean "here I am" and the latter "don't hurt me." Kittens, of course, direct the mew toward their mothers. Adult cats direct the meow toward humans perhaps because, as cats' feeders and groomers, we fill a parental role.

Touch

Cats groom other cats, and sometimes their significant humans, as an altruistic stress-relieving measure. Perhaps they expect payback at some time in the future (reciprocal altruism) but it is nonetheless an affectionate gesture. This form of grooming is tendered and received in a way that indicates close relationships or mutual bonding.

Operant Behaviors

Cats will sometimes indicate their intentions by their movements. Walking directly toward another cat or person is an indication that she is about to initiate an interaction some way. If the cat's tense body posture or angry vocalizations indicate trouble it may be a good time to run and hide, though if the cat appears relaxed and happy and is squeaking softly it may simply be trying to get your attention.

When they want to be fed, cats will often walk obliquely in front of an owner seemingly trying to trip them up. Entwining themselves around a stationary person's legs also indicates that it's time for food or attention. Bunting, or head rubbing, is an affectionate gesture that involves marking with special biological scents, called pheromones. Urine marking and furniture scratching - other olfactory communications - signal anxiety or frustration.

Body Language

I reserve the term "body language" for those shows or alterations in a cat's body "morph" (shape and appearance) that convey a signal to others. Of particular interest are eye signs (like pupillary dilatation), ear signs (e.g. ears swiveled back), head/neck position, and tail position. Body morph changes, however, must be interpreted in context for their significance to be appreciated.

Though body language can indicate a cat's mood, not all of the signs are emitted consciously for the purpose of communication. For example, a cat doesn't dilate the pupils, puff up its coat, or flatten the ears, to signal its mood to some other creature, but rather undergoes these transformations automatically. Dilated pupils admit more light; piloerection makes the cat look bigger than it really is; and ears are flattened for their preservation in a fight.

Some body language signals are consciously adopted to ward off unwelcome advances. Previously socialized cats will understand the significance of each other's body language in this respect. To a cat, an open-mouthed threat is a serious warning, as is a stiffly held body with the head held low and rump elevated.

Not all body language signs are ominous, though. A kitten whose tail position describes a question mark and who is merrily frolicking around is signaling to others that he is ready for play. A cat that curls up on your lap is signaling its trust and affection.

Conclusion

A wealth of information about a cat's mood and intentions can be gleaned by paying careful attention to its behavior and appearance. With careful observation and attention to detail, it is possible to comprehend with some precision whether a cat is fearful or irritated, hungry or angry, in prey mode or relaxed, seeking your attention or trying to avoid you. Cats communication systems may not be as sophisticated as our own but they achieve the desired effect. Cats never did find it necessary to discuss where they came from or where they go after death. They just live for the minute and communicate what they need to communicate with regard to their likes and dislikes, needs and wants, affection and trust. Greater love hath no cat than this.


When your cat climbs into your lap, tucks in his paws and begins to purr, all is right with the world, and this is one thing we love about our cats: that feeling of contentment they share with us.




3. "Please take care of my litter box." Many cats don't want to use dirty boxes or ones that don't suit their needs. Find out why cats don't want to use the litter box.