Thursday, September 25, 2008

Wood scratching post

Like most people, when I first had a clawed cat and it started scratching the couch, my natural inclination was to provide an alternative that also was upholstered--years ago *carpeted* was the standard. In the cases of the great cats of my youth, this never worked. At the time I didn't know why but now I do.

Primarily it was lack of training and secondarily it was ignorance about the fact that cats deposit scent when they claw something and this is highly attractive to them.

Now I also know that a wood scratching post like Natural Scratch is clearly a more appropriate target for cats because it's certain they don't find carpeting or couches in the wild.

Kittens are particularly fun to watch with Natural Scratch. They race up it like is was a small tree. Climbing leads to clawing and a lifelong affection for Natural Scratch.

Older cats too can be trained relatively easily to claw Natural Scratch exclusively. All it takes is a little time, consistency, love, and a training method that works--the one that accompanies Natural Scratch.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cats respond to operant conditioning

It's important to realize that cats are independent animals with minds of their own. They like to do what they like to do and won't give up pleasing habits easily.

They're a lot like humans.

However, they respond to operant conditioning like just about any other creature and this is what the Natural Scratch training system is based on.

First, Natural Scratch presents a stable and soft scratching target that cats like; second, it includes features that help humans interest their cat in the post if he or she doesn't take to it automatically; and third, it arrives with an instruction guide that teaches companions all they need to know about operant conditioning to train their cats.

Truly, it's a fun process and it works very well.