Protecting Your Furniture And Carpets With Cats

RustyOctober 24, 2021October 6, 2020

Those of us who are cat lovers know that our love of felines comes with a little frustration at times. One such time occurs when our kitties employ their claws to acts of destruction on your carpet or furniture.

We have all tried to train our cats to stop scratching the backs of our couches; many of us have experienced this is not a simple matter to correct. While some people resort to yelling or shooting water at their cat’s nose, there is a much more effective way to correct this issue.

If you’ve taken basic psychology, you’ll remember there are two types of reinforcement, positive and negative. Employ both reinforcement tactics to training your cat and you’ll be through the woods before you know it.

Negative Reinforcement � The idea behind negative reinforcement is to take something away to impact behavior. When it comes to your cat scratching in areas you don’t want destroyed, you want to provide motivation for your cat to stop scratching.

One of the most effective ways of providing this motivation is through a product called Sticky Paws (available or your favorite pet supply retailer). To use this product, place the tape on the areas your cat has been scratching.

Positive Reinforcement � Once you use the Sticky Paws, the next step is to provide the place where you want your cat to scratch. This can be as easy providing a scratch post, either large or small. These posts come in two varieties, cardboard and carpet, and either will do the trick.

Beyond just supplying the scratch post, you need to attract your cat to the post. A very easy way to develop this attraction is to spray the post with some Catnip Spray (Whiskercity makes one cats love). This can make for a playful transition from an undesired scratch area to a more appropriate one.

Old habits die hard � More so for us, the human, than for our cats sometimes. If you’ve been caught yelling at your kitty, this can be a difficult habit to break. You may have become accustomed to hollering every time you hear your cat scratching. When you put both the Sticky Paws as well as new scratch post in place, you’ll want to become very intentional about checking where you kitty is scratching before open your internal megaphone.

Keep in mind all three of these areas. If you provide either the negative or positive reinforcement, you will be ineffective. To be successful you really need both. Likewise, if you continue to holler at your cat when they start scratching at your preferred scratch post, you’ll prevent them from forming the habit of scratching at the right spot.…

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Protecting Your Pets From the Summer Heat

RustyOctober 15, 2021October 6, 2020

Summer is here, the time of year for pool parties and backyard barbeques! With the barbeques comes the rise in temperature and the effort to stay cool, especially in the areas of the country that experience extreme heat. While we attempt to keep cool please don’t forget about your pets this summer. They are often overlooked. I guess it is easy to think that we don’t need to take any special precautions with our pets. But we do need to consider that our dogs and cats can be sensitive to the heat just as they are to the extreme cold. Here are a couple of tips to help you keep your pets safe this summer.
This one may seem obvious to most but, do not leave your pets in a car even if it is a warm rather than hot day. The temperature inside of a car is going to rise very quickly and soon will be much higher than the outside temperature. Be safe and leave your pets at home.
Keep your pets indoors in extreme heat especially during the warmest part of the day. It is best to exercise your dog in the morning and evening before the temperature rises. Be aware that shade is very important for your cat or dog. When they are outdoors make sure that they have access to shade at all times. Your pet should also have access to plenty of fresh clean water. This water needs to be kept in the shade rather than directly in the sun. Periodically check the water temperature and change it if it becomes too warm. Your pet won’t drink the water if it is too warm.
If you walk your pet keep in mind that the pads on their paws are very sensitive to heat. Try to avoid walking your pet on the pavement or tar. Whenever possible keep them on the grass or even the dirt which will be much cooler than pavement or tar. If they will be walking on the pavement you will need to check the pads to see if they are look red or irritated.
Lastly most pets are afraid of loud noises including thunder and fireworks. Keep your pets indoors during thunderstorms. These storms can be quite stressful and create a lot of anxiety for your pet. The sound of fireworks also creates a lot of pet anxiety. They have a little less anxiety when they can see what you are doing. So let them see you from a distance to reduce some of their anxiety if you will be lighting fireworks.…

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Protecting Your Furniture And Carpets With Cats

RustyOctober 27, 2020October 6, 2020

Negative Reinforcement ï¿½ The idea behind negative reinforcement is to take something away to impact behavior. When it comes to your cat scratching in areas you don’t want destroyed, you want to provide motivation for your cat to stop scratching.

Positive Reinforcement ï¿½ Once you use the Sticky Paws, the next step is to provide the place where you want your cat to scratch. This can be as easy providing a scratch post, either large or small. These posts come in two varieties, cardboard and carpet, and either will do the trick.

Old habits die hard ï¿½ More so for us, the human, than for our cats sometimes. If you’ve been caught yelling at your kitty, this can be a difficult habit to break. You may have become accustomed to hollering every time you hear your cat scratching. When you put both the Sticky Paws as well as new scratch post in place, you’ll want to become very intentional about checking where you kitty is scratching before open your internal megaphone.