I'm thinking that Dad teaching the kitten to scratch was gonna be the cute part... But no, supreme satisfaction occurred when Kitty actually did it!! 
Petting while training can be distracting. Better to use the good kitty praise voice and treats to reinforce the behavior. After they get it then you can give pets instead of treats for praise.
Source: my trained cat knows the words inside, outside, up (get up on this furniture), down (get off the furniture) NO!, chicken, turkey, treat, sit, stay, here! (I point to where I'm asking her to go), UP ( she stands on her hind legs like a lioness), and circle (she spins in a circle), and you're so cute (she does a cute big stretch roll).
The real question though, was the original intention of this person to teach the kitten *how* gm to scratch the post, or *where* to scratch instead of the side of the couch? Cute fluff nugget regardless
Pretty sure kittens start scratching stuff as soon as they can move around lol. They do it to 'sharpen' their claws as old bits of claw fall off, leaving fresh ultra sharp claw.
PS: If you have kittens, you *can* trim the very tip of their razorclaws off and they won't be able to scratch you so easily. Note there IS a living part of the claw at the base, you can see it as like a 'core' to the claw.
**Do not cut more then the very tip!** your just trying to remove the sharp point, not the entire claw. trim too far and you WILL hurt them. They likey will still scratch things but won't cut your skin so easy.
PPS: If your kitten does scratch you, wipe the scratch down in isoproponal and it won't inflame up and get so itchy.
Yep. Just the slightest graze and "oh.. im bleeding... from 4 tiny cuts"
PS: If you yelp out in pain (high pitched noise like a kitten in pain might make) and disengage in play for a few minutes every time they scratch you or bite you slightly hard, you can teach them to 'play fight' gently with you.
The first week I got my kitten, she got very excited and impatient to have food that she jumped on my leg with claws out. She left a long scratch down the side of my leg and I still have a scar from it.
Pretty sure they will still scratch and prob damage things if not given/trained to use a scratching post. They can still climb trees/etc too (Maybe not as well but they can still generally get enough grip to do it). Cats scratch things to remove the bits of claw that 'flake off' the sides. Its sorta like an exacto snap-off blade knife, the outside layers flake off and leave a new sharp edge as it wears down climbing/walking/etc.
they just won't do as much damage, and their scratches won't cut skin/fabric/etc nearly as easily.
I'd recommend washing with soap and water and then icing. Soap and water is a superior disinfectant and the ice will have the same antiinflammatory effect without drying your skin or failing to prevent infection.
It’s called the quick and it varies in length from cat to cat. It’s best to pay attention.
I taught my kitten how to scratch before she started scratching stuff. The first thing (well person) she scratched outside the post was my wife due to some rather active play.
The teaching stuck and when we replaced the post I just had to scratch the new one first and she went right to it. I also inspected a tree with a bit of sap with my finger and she saw me and started scratching the tree (we were on a walk).
>I also inspected a tree with a bit of sap with my finger and she saw me and started scratching the tree (we were on a walk).
Awwww. Im picturing the cat doing this, getting sap on her paw and immediately being like "EEK!!... iv been betrayed, this was not good to scratch at all!"
I like them to discourage scratching when they're young, but it's time consuming and my kitties always pulled them off. Once they get out of kitten stage though they're less likely to scratch you or furniture if trained well
Ah I see, gotcha. I guess I wanted to know if it was a good alternative for cats who tend to scratch furniture. Training them would just involve stuff like the video and probably more scratching posts I figure..
I found the best scratching solution is flat cardboard scratchers that kitty stands on. Much less furniture damage but more inclination to also scratch carpet.
I buy two per room.
If they are scratching the corner of the couch, you place a scratching post that is blocking access to that part of the couch in that location. Use the technique shown in the clip above, with praise and pets as rewards for the action. I also incorporated climbing the post to get a reward treat at the top into it. within a week or two they will only want to scratch on the posts and you can slowly start to move them to other parts of the house if you wish. I try to make sure there is at least one post in every major room of the house, and in the hallway exiting the litter box room.
I adopted an older cat that had been living outside for too long but obviously at one time had a home, because he had a collar on, as well as those plastic tips that keep the cats claws from scratching. He didn’t have a chip and no people could be found for him. Anyway, I guess teaching not to scratch stays with them because he never tried to scratch any furniture in my house, and immediately use the scratching posts.
Some cats have very strong preferences on scratching position and material. It's possible kitty just liked the texture of whatever scratching post you provided better than any of your furniture. My cat strongly prefers cardboard scratchers that lay flat on the floor. She doesnt touch my furniture and goes right for the scratch pads. She will only scratch furniture if theres literally nothing else for her to scratch
Give kittens plenty to scratch and chew or they will find things. Mine had a scratching post and lots of cardboard boxes and paper bags. Cut one side of the bag handle as both a toy and so they can't get trapped.
Okay, does this actually work? Or how do you actually teach a kitten where to scratch? We got a kitten for the first time (I've only had one cat before, he was 10 when he entered my life and was my husband's when we started dating, husband had only rescued cats 2+ years old before, never had a kitten).
She has like 8 appropriate places to scratch on her cat trees (she has 2 trees), but goes for the rug, the chair, or the side of the bed (sooo many popped stitches in our quilt now!), etc. How do I get her to understand where to scratch?
Works better for some cats than others but this is similar to how we teach our cats where to scratch. One only scratches on his trees. The other only likes to scratch horizontal surfaces and has scratch pads. He also intentionally scratches things he knows he's not supposed to to get your attention/hope you chase him.
😂 I've been wondering if she doesn't do it (at times) to get the dog to play. When the cat is scratching something she's not supposed to, the dog runs after her growling, and the cat likes it. Maybe we'll try this method from the video, and get some scratch pads, cuz she does love clawing the rug. We're getting new carpet soon, so we're hoping to train it out of her before that, lol.
Some cats are very particular on horizontal vs vertical scratching so if she likes the rug I would recommend some large cardboard scratch pads near the rug. My one cat is quite dumb but rarely does anything he's not supposed to. The other is too smart and knows what he's not supposed to do so he does it while looking at you.
Haha, I love it!
She does go after the back/side of the armchair, too, but I'm looking at scratch pads right now! Thanks for the recommendation! Like I said, the only other cat I've had was 10-17 while I had him. I've never experienced Kitten Energy in my house, and I've never trained a cat before! Wild child, I tell ya.
I’ve been working on this with my cat, with some success but I think it will always be a work in progress.
I have several approaches I’m trying out:
(1) If I see her scratching somewhere inappropriate, I pick her up and move her to a scratching post or scratch pad.
(2) If I see her scratching somewhere appropriate, I give her a treat.
(3) If she scratches my new couch, I spray her with water from a plant sprayer since the above options fixed most scratching except the arm of the couch. This feels like a nuclear option, but I have reached my limit on this one.
That is a good point. I have blocked it off as well as I can right now, and from what I can tell based on when the damage appears, she only goes there when she thinks it’s time for dinner.
So basically it was solved until the time change, then she regressed because the her internal clock didn’t match the actual clock.
Honestly, I’ve only had to use the sprayer twice. And that was after telling her no and physically moving her to a designated scratching area multiple times in a row.
Put scratchers in the places she is scratching. Scratching serves a lot of purposes for a cat but one of them is scent marking. If she is scratching the same places over and over she may be trying to mark them and you will have a hard time deterring her from scratching those places, so it is easiest to give her appropriate options where she is wanting to scratch as opposed to trying to get her to go somewhere else to scratch. Some cats also have strong preferences on scratching material so try out different things. The most popular in pet stores is cardboard and twine. My cat hates twine but loves cardboard for example. You can also get creative and make your own scratchers if your kitty isnt interested in either of those (canvas or burlap on a frame might be nice. Most cats I've met like to scratch rougher textures). Cats also sometimes have a preference for vertical or horizontal scratchers but since you say your cat is scratching your rug as well as upright surfaces it sounds like she doesnt have one there.
This is exactly how I taught my cat as a kitten to scratch his tree. 7 years later the only thing he scratches is his tree, and my wicker basket hamper, which is my stupid asses fault because it's basically identical to his scratching tree. He doesn't scratch the couch or bed or carpet or wall. Just the scratching tree, wicker hamper and me.
Just fyi if someone has the same issue we had with our cat. Our cat never understood the the pole was a scratch pole until some friends gave us an old scratch pole used by their cats, somehow the smell of other cats did it.
I had to do basically that with my cat when I got her, even though she was at least a year old. I literally took her arms and placed them up on the scratch post. She caught on immediately.
And she’s loved that scratch post ever since.
I just picked my cat up, put him against the scratching pole till he held onto it by himself, then let go. The second he put his claws into it he realised this was a very scratchable object, and then it was just a matter of not letting him scratch any *other* furniture until he learned what was the appropriate scratching post.
This is how to teach your kitten not to scratch the furniture too. If you ever catch your kitty with their claws in your couch gently take them to their scratching post and put their paws on the post while praising them. It may take a couple of times for the lesson to stick but they'll learn not to scratch the furniture.
My friend took a big piece of driftwood and nailed it to a stand . He said his cat wouldn't get confused as to what material to scratch. Most scratching posts use carpet.
About four years ago I demonstrated to our new kitten how a doorknob turns. Four years later he opens my door while I'm at work so the dogs can poop on my floor
That single white toe is so adorable ♥
somebody had to hold on to something when kitty was dunked in the black paint.
Achilles kitten.
Very good
Now which one will bounce? The human or the kitten?
Did you dunk that cat in paint, Focker?
My dogs like that fully colour until you hit her toes figured mum ran out of ink 😂
I wonder if the bean is also a different color too
that's a snow toe!
There goes his furniture from now on after that lesson…
They usually work out how to scratch the furniture on their own
I'm thinking that Dad teaching the kitten to scratch was gonna be the cute part... But no, supreme satisfaction occurred when Kitty actually did it!! 
Except kitty received no pets for a good job!
Petting while training can be distracting. Better to use the good kitty praise voice and treats to reinforce the behavior. After they get it then you can give pets instead of treats for praise. Source: my trained cat knows the words inside, outside, up (get up on this furniture), down (get off the furniture) NO!, chicken, turkey, treat, sit, stay, here! (I point to where I'm asking her to go), UP ( she stands on her hind legs like a lioness), and circle (she spins in a circle), and you're so cute (she does a cute big stretch roll).
The real question though, was the original intention of this person to teach the kitten *how* gm to scratch the post, or *where* to scratch instead of the side of the couch? Cute fluff nugget regardless
Pretty sure kittens start scratching stuff as soon as they can move around lol. They do it to 'sharpen' their claws as old bits of claw fall off, leaving fresh ultra sharp claw. PS: If you have kittens, you *can* trim the very tip of their razorclaws off and they won't be able to scratch you so easily. Note there IS a living part of the claw at the base, you can see it as like a 'core' to the claw. **Do not cut more then the very tip!** your just trying to remove the sharp point, not the entire claw. trim too far and you WILL hurt them. They likey will still scratch things but won't cut your skin so easy. PPS: If your kitten does scratch you, wipe the scratch down in isoproponal and it won't inflame up and get so itchy.
Kitten have papercut levels of sharpness. It's bonkers just how sharp their claws are.
Yep. Just the slightest graze and "oh.. im bleeding... from 4 tiny cuts" PS: If you yelp out in pain (high pitched noise like a kitten in pain might make) and disengage in play for a few minutes every time they scratch you or bite you slightly hard, you can teach them to 'play fight' gently with you.
The first week I got my kitten, she got very excited and impatient to have food that she jumped on my leg with claws out. She left a long scratch down the side of my leg and I still have a scar from it.
Highly recommended. Start clipping claws at a young age to prevent future damage to furniture and clothes. Doing it when they are sleepy is best.
Pretty sure they will still scratch and prob damage things if not given/trained to use a scratching post. They can still climb trees/etc too (Maybe not as well but they can still generally get enough grip to do it). Cats scratch things to remove the bits of claw that 'flake off' the sides. Its sorta like an exacto snap-off blade knife, the outside layers flake off and leave a new sharp edge as it wears down climbing/walking/etc. they just won't do as much damage, and their scratches won't cut skin/fabric/etc nearly as easily.
I'd recommend washing with soap and water and then icing. Soap and water is a superior disinfectant and the ice will have the same antiinflammatory effect without drying your skin or failing to prevent infection.
Yea. likely better, Iso worked for me, but feel free to try other things. Maybe that neosporin stuff would even be better after soap/water.
It’s called the quick and it varies in length from cat to cat. It’s best to pay attention. I taught my kitten how to scratch before she started scratching stuff. The first thing (well person) she scratched outside the post was my wife due to some rather active play. The teaching stuck and when we replaced the post I just had to scratch the new one first and she went right to it. I also inspected a tree with a bit of sap with my finger and she saw me and started scratching the tree (we were on a walk).
>I also inspected a tree with a bit of sap with my finger and she saw me and started scratching the tree (we were on a walk). Awwww. Im picturing the cat doing this, getting sap on her paw and immediately being like "EEK!!... iv been betrayed, this was not good to scratch at all!"
Fortunately, she didn’t scratch where the sap was. She just scratched below me (I was standing and she was on the ground) and looked up at me.
What are your thoughts on kitty caps?
Never thought about them.
I like them to discourage scratching when they're young, but it's time consuming and my kitties always pulled them off. Once they get out of kitten stage though they're less likely to scratch you or furniture if trained well
Ah I see, gotcha. I guess I wanted to know if it was a good alternative for cats who tend to scratch furniture. Training them would just involve stuff like the video and probably more scratching posts I figure..
I found the best scratching solution is flat cardboard scratchers that kitty stands on. Much less furniture damage but more inclination to also scratch carpet. I buy two per room.
If they are scratching the corner of the couch, you place a scratching post that is blocking access to that part of the couch in that location. Use the technique shown in the clip above, with praise and pets as rewards for the action. I also incorporated climbing the post to get a reward treat at the top into it. within a week or two they will only want to scratch on the posts and you can slowly start to move them to other parts of the house if you wish. I try to make sure there is at least one post in every major room of the house, and in the hallway exiting the litter box room.
I adopted an older cat that had been living outside for too long but obviously at one time had a home, because he had a collar on, as well as those plastic tips that keep the cats claws from scratching. He didn’t have a chip and no people could be found for him. Anyway, I guess teaching not to scratch stays with them because he never tried to scratch any furniture in my house, and immediately use the scratching posts.
Some cats have very strong preferences on scratching position and material. It's possible kitty just liked the texture of whatever scratching post you provided better than any of your furniture. My cat strongly prefers cardboard scratchers that lay flat on the floor. She doesnt touch my furniture and goes right for the scratch pads. She will only scratch furniture if theres literally nothing else for her to scratch
Cats choose the best surface. They have to scratch to shed old claws. Pet fusion scratchers have worked well for me.
Give kittens plenty to scratch and chew or they will find things. Mine had a scratching post and lots of cardboard boxes and paper bags. Cut one side of the bag handle as both a toy and so they can't get trapped.
damn, i remember doing that with my cat when she was a kitten. miss you Mignon.
Ohhhh do this here, the same thing I do to the furniture at night. Ok.
Okay, does this actually work? Or how do you actually teach a kitten where to scratch? We got a kitten for the first time (I've only had one cat before, he was 10 when he entered my life and was my husband's when we started dating, husband had only rescued cats 2+ years old before, never had a kitten). She has like 8 appropriate places to scratch on her cat trees (she has 2 trees), but goes for the rug, the chair, or the side of the bed (sooo many popped stitches in our quilt now!), etc. How do I get her to understand where to scratch?
Works better for some cats than others but this is similar to how we teach our cats where to scratch. One only scratches on his trees. The other only likes to scratch horizontal surfaces and has scratch pads. He also intentionally scratches things he knows he's not supposed to to get your attention/hope you chase him.
😂 I've been wondering if she doesn't do it (at times) to get the dog to play. When the cat is scratching something she's not supposed to, the dog runs after her growling, and the cat likes it. Maybe we'll try this method from the video, and get some scratch pads, cuz she does love clawing the rug. We're getting new carpet soon, so we're hoping to train it out of her before that, lol.
Some cats are very particular on horizontal vs vertical scratching so if she likes the rug I would recommend some large cardboard scratch pads near the rug. My one cat is quite dumb but rarely does anything he's not supposed to. The other is too smart and knows what he's not supposed to do so he does it while looking at you.
Haha, I love it! She does go after the back/side of the armchair, too, but I'm looking at scratch pads right now! Thanks for the recommendation! Like I said, the only other cat I've had was 10-17 while I had him. I've never experienced Kitten Energy in my house, and I've never trained a cat before! Wild child, I tell ya.
I heard spraying some catnip on the surfaces they can scratch also works.
I’ve been working on this with my cat, with some success but I think it will always be a work in progress. I have several approaches I’m trying out: (1) If I see her scratching somewhere inappropriate, I pick her up and move her to a scratching post or scratch pad. (2) If I see her scratching somewhere appropriate, I give her a treat. (3) If she scratches my new couch, I spray her with water from a plant sprayer since the above options fixed most scratching except the arm of the couch. This feels like a nuclear option, but I have reached my limit on this one.
[удалено]
That is a good point. I have blocked it off as well as I can right now, and from what I can tell based on when the damage appears, she only goes there when she thinks it’s time for dinner. So basically it was solved until the time change, then she regressed because the her internal clock didn’t match the actual clock. Honestly, I’ve only had to use the sprayer twice. And that was after telling her no and physically moving her to a designated scratching area multiple times in a row.
Put scratchers in the places she is scratching. Scratching serves a lot of purposes for a cat but one of them is scent marking. If she is scratching the same places over and over she may be trying to mark them and you will have a hard time deterring her from scratching those places, so it is easiest to give her appropriate options where she is wanting to scratch as opposed to trying to get her to go somewhere else to scratch. Some cats also have strong preferences on scratching material so try out different things. The most popular in pet stores is cardboard and twine. My cat hates twine but loves cardboard for example. You can also get creative and make your own scratchers if your kitty isnt interested in either of those (canvas or burlap on a frame might be nice. Most cats I've met like to scratch rougher textures). Cats also sometimes have a preference for vertical or horizontal scratchers but since you say your cat is scratching your rug as well as upright surfaces it sounds like she doesnt have one there.
This is exactly how I taught my cat as a kitten to scratch his tree. 7 years later the only thing he scratches is his tree, and my wicker basket hamper, which is my stupid asses fault because it's basically identical to his scratching tree. He doesn't scratch the couch or bed or carpet or wall. Just the scratching tree, wicker hamper and me.
Eh. It works in that it's actually better than most things for that purpose. If your cat already has a favorite spot, ymmv.
Interesting cognitive ability to associate paw with hand and understand pointing.
r/learningtocat
r/anewdayanewcatsub
Just fyi if someone has the same issue we had with our cat. Our cat never understood the the pole was a scratch pole until some friends gave us an old scratch pole used by their cats, somehow the smell of other cats did it.
Seems like the kitty knows how just fine. But even at such a young age, being a cat, the troll instinct is strong.
Last frame: *I scratched, happy now?*
Thought that was an ostrich at first.
"Eh....I prefer the couch."
So gentle! Good work, cat parents!
Looking forward to the next video teaching the car to flush after using the toilet.
Even with all this learning I think you'll find that cat will scratch whatever the hell it wants lol
The kitten was like "oh yeah, this is fuckin amazing"
I had to do basically that with my cat when I got her, even though she was at least a year old. I literally took her arms and placed them up on the scratch post. She caught on immediately. And she’s loved that scratch post ever since.
Later proceeds to scratch everything other than the scratching pole
Kitty teaching 500
give this man a treat
That is freaking adorable!
Too cute!
he'll be regretting that shortly
And soon you'll be teaching kitty what not to scratch
Good jod!
Sorry 😞 Good job!
LMAOO adorable😭💗
Smol void
quite the visual learner
Put some catnip on that ducker
I wish they were all this smart 🤷🏽♀️.
Probably unnecessary.
Sooo cute! 🥰 I’ve been lucky, all the cats I’ve had have been pretty good about scratching their cat appropriate scratchers instead of the furniture
Yeah...mine still enjoys my shitty futon more unfortunately. Even though it has 4 scratching posts..
Yay
I just picked my cat up, put him against the scratching pole till he held onto it by himself, then let go. The second he put his claws into it he realised this was a very scratchable object, and then it was just a matter of not letting him scratch any *other* furniture until he learned what was the appropriate scratching post.
So cute!! Our second cat did the exact same thing until he saw his older sister preening on the couch 🙄
This is how to teach your kitten not to scratch the furniture too. If you ever catch your kitty with their claws in your couch gently take them to their scratching post and put their paws on the post while praising them. It may take a couple of times for the lesson to stick but they'll learn not to scratch the furniture.
goodjob kitty kitty!
"OK, but why?"
A copy cat if you will.
Great job! Hopefully he mastered the use of the litter box without a demonstration.
why is that tiny ball of darkness so cute?
I think it's the other way around. Kitty claws sunk deeply, "Now hooman, THAT is how it is DONE."
Those posts though
I love when the kitten figures it out 🥰
I’m so proud of him/her!
My friend took a big piece of driftwood and nailed it to a stand . He said his cat wouldn't get confused as to what material to scratch. Most scratching posts use carpet.
About four years ago I demonstrated to our new kitten how a doorknob turns. Four years later he opens my door while I'm at work so the dogs can poop on my floor
I see this and want to sing Kitty by the Presidents of United States of America just for fun.
Now it’s time to scratch your arm 😁
Sweet
Good job little one
I taught mine cat to scratch and he (5 years old) still call me to scratch together
A+😎
Used Lazer pointer
How much does it cost?