Felicity Interacting with Natural Scratch

One of my many kind customers recently sent this photo of her cat Felicity interacting with Natural Scratch.  One of Felicity's paws is in the Mouse Hole, which is located just below the top of the post.  I advise people to put treats and catnip in the hole to encourage their felines to interact with Natural Scratch. 

Once a cat is interacting with the post, it's just a matter of time before scratching, which can be reinforced with praise and kitty treats, will occur.  

The Mouse Hole and Antenna--the stretchy string toy above Felicity's ear--and the training booklet are among the reasons I often refer to Natural Scratch as a "system."  It's much more than a scratching post, and everything about it is designed to help you redirect your cat's clawing to an approved target.  

Cat scratching? No. Interesting? I think so.

It's a little hard to see, but the bundle of fur in the middle of the picture on the deck railing is a gray squirrel.  We have many here in Brookfield but this one did something I've never seen before.  It took a nap. 

He or she stopped the usual running and leaping that characterize these rodents; bent forward radically, appearing to grab its hind feet with its paws; and went to sleep. 

The day was rainy and overcast so the light was poor and the picture isn't great.  Didn't want to use the flash for fear of scaring the critter away. 

Cat scratching declawing

If cats could talk, they'd say, "Don't mess with my claws!"  'Course they'd also be able to understand easily that they should only scratch approved surfaces, such as Natural Scratch. 

Trouble is they can't talk and don't understand many words.  They are like infants and toddlers.  As such, they need to be trained. 

The good news is that it's possible to have the best of both worlds with cats.  You can allow them to keep their claws and they can be persuaded through positive reinforcement training to claw an approved target such as Natural Scratch and to leave other things alone.

It will take a little time and effort but it's a fun process that always works if you follow the step-by-step method.  Find out more at www.naturalscratch.com. 

Cat scratching solution

All cat lovers know that our pointy-eared friends are wonderful companions. Not perfect but a lot of fun.

Scratching is an activity they need to engage in to keep their claws sharp and at the right length.

This occasionally leads to conflicts because when confined indoors they have to scratch items in the home. The solution is providing a good and approved scratching target and then training the cat or cats to use it.

Natural Scratch is readily available at http://www.naturalscratch.com and it comes with an easy-to-use training booklet http://www.naturalscratch.com/nstraining.html.

It's guaranteed and usually ships within a couple of days.

New Scratching Post Coming

Soon, a second type of scratching post will be joining the cedar one at naturalscratch.com.  I have high hopes for it because our three cats have reacted so well.

It's not a replacement for Natural Scratch; rather it's an expansion of the line.  The idea for it came--as did the idea for the current Natural Scratch--from a book about cats that my wife purchased many years ago.  

I have been working weekends to design the post and spec where to get the parts.  Think it's going to be a hit with many cats.  

Cat scratching debris

Ranking up there with the sound of a cat clawing Natural Scratch is the light debris produced by scratching that is deposited near the base and that can be vacuumed away easily.

This indicates that the post is receiving regular feline visits. Also, it is evidence that off-limits items in the home are being left alone.

These are excellent developments in the life of anyone providing a residence to a cat with claws.

Cat scratching in a perfect world

In a perfect world, cats would do exactly what their human companions want them to do with little or no prompting. For example, when presented a scratching post--any scratching post--and told to claw it exclusively, the cat would do just that.

However, our world, though endlessly amazing, is far from perfect.

Many cats will ignore a well-suited scratching post, even Natural Scratch, and target something that is strictly off-limits. In these cases, the problem is that the cat hasn't come to the obvious conclusion that the post is perfect for scratching and approved for scratching and he or she should claw nothing else.

What works to change this behavior to what we would expect in a perfect world is training. All cats can be trained to claw Natural Scratch exclusively, please find out more at http://naturalscratch.com/nstraining.html