How to Stop Your Cat from Scratching Your Mattress

Cats enjoy scratching and sometimes they enjoy doing so in places where we don't want them to! Keeping a cat from scratching a mattress may be difficult, but keep in mind that scratching is normal behavior for cats. While you can encourage your cat to scratch in an appropriate location, you will not be able to prevent the behavior altogether.

How To Encourage Good Scratching Habits

Since you cannot change this instinctive behavior, you should emphasize encouraging acceptable scratching habits. When it comes to dealing with scratching, the most effective strategy is not to try to stop your cat from scratching, but rather to teach them where and what is acceptable to scratch.

Offering appropriate, appealing scratching surfaces and objects to scratch, such as scratching posts, is the first step.

4 Tips To Curb Destructive Cat Scratching

The following list of tips will aid you in preventing your cat from tearing up your mattress and curb their destructive scratching:

• Provide a variety of textures of appropriate scratching areas for your cat to choose from. Offering different types of scratching posts is ideal here. Some are cardboard, carpet, or sisal. The different textures will allow your cat to choose what they want to feel on their paws.
• Try scratching posts with different angles. Most cats prefer a vertical scratching post. Other cats prefer a slanted or horizontal scratching post.
• Place the scratching post in preferred scratching locations. Usually, this is where they wake up or tend to wander off to.
• Spark your cat’s curiosity by adding catnip to the post.

It’s important to note scratching should never be forced. If you attempt to force your cat to scratch where you want them to, they are more likely to correlate that attempt with fear and that will make the process significantly more difficult.

Once your cat begins to use the scratching post, it's also important not to throw it away once it begins to appear torn. Your cat is more likely to return to that scratching post since it's worn out as they like sinking their paws into the material. The worn scratching post also has scents that are familiar to her.

Of course, you can grab another scratching post if yours is starting to look worn. But, be sure not to get rid of the old one, at least until your cat learns to use the new one.

A Perfect Solution - Cat Scratch Furniture Protectors

Our Furniture Protectors can offer invisible protection for your mattress. There are two sheets per pack and four different sizes to choose from. Installation is simple using the clear upholstery twist pins to firmly lock the protective barrier in place.

Twist the pin to lock it securely into your mattress and counter twist to remove it. There's no damage to your mattress and no sticky residue to clean up later. Plus, the pins are reusable if you choose to move the barrier.

Looking for additional cat training tips and tricks? Head to Free Will Animal Training.

Written by Amber Drake