Fringe factor

Dear Fisher,

My name is Rasta and I have this frequent impulse to scratch the furniture at the house I live in. My humans get pretty mad at me. They got a new sofa for the guest room and I just couldn’t help digging my claws into the woven stripes. I like the dark blue ones the best because I thought it wouldn’t show up so much. Well, that wasn’t really true.

My humans rarely go into the guest room, so of course, I could get my fix and be free to do my work without them getting mad at me. But then, the dreaded company was going to show up, and that ruined everything. Now I am in trouble. They are pretty mad at me. Help!

Rasta

Dear Rasta,

You are in more luck than you might think. First of all, your humans made a conscious decision not to do away with your claws because they feel it is an abhorrent procedure and did not want to put you through that. At the same time, they were probably well aware of the scratching-the-furniture needs cats seem to have.

However, things may look a little differently to them now that you have exercised your creative side. How nice that you decided on only the dark blue stripes. That does show some sort of consideration for the new sofa and the dreaded guests. In the old day, everyone thought cats were color blind. Later, scientists studying color-blindness in cats found first, that cats are not color blind, and second, cats just do not give a hoot about color. So, I commend you for your rare insight (no pun intended).

Cats scratch for various reasons. Glands between your toes give off a secretion with a distinctive odor to you. You just signed your name to that sofa. Cats are at home just about anywhere once they cordon off their own happy places. It really is a natural response to a new piece of furniture in the house.

Sometimes, cat scratching is just a way to get rid of your old molting claws. This is a grooming decision you might have made for yourself. I do caution you though, that if you make too many like decisions, the kitty toenail clippers will come out to help! It is not such a bad thing once you get used to it. Nail clipping by your humans can go a long way to dissolve the anger over the new fringed furniture. If they decide to make a habit of helping you with your grooming, you will be wise to accommodate them.

On the really upside of all this, you may be the proud owner of a new spectacular scratching station made just for you. Check this out. I found a way for your humans to build you a scratching post to beat all scratching posts. It is made from a 4-foot wooden ladder, wrapped with about 600 feet of ¼ inch un-oiled manila rope. Remember to mention that oiled rope can be toxic to cats. Get a few Berber carpet tiles, round shaped plywood, a staple gun, a few carriage bolts, and a drill. Walla! Get complete directions at CAWS. Talk about a happy place!

Both you and your humans should take a look at the decision not to de-claw and feel good about it. By your very nature, you are going to get into a scratching frenzy somewhere in your house. They will do well to provide you with the place. There is really not much else they can do. Getting mad at you will not help at all. As for punishment, there really is no humane way to punish a cat. They are just being cats and rarely understand what all the fuss is about.

Your friend,

Fisher

published in tbt* Tampa Bay