Scent tricks

How do you tell your cat not to scratch certain things (walls, furniture) and use the scratch post or cat house instead? Like many other cats, Baker the Beast hates the scent of citruses and Lysol wipes, lemon or original. Whenever he tries to scratch the couch we place either a wet wipe there or orange/lemon peels. It works! He loses interest. Doesn't mean he will not try it in a couple of months, but the same trick will work again, tested.

Now, the rule is - you cannot simply say no. If there is a no for something, there should be a yes for some kind of substitute. But how to make your cat use a new house or a new scratching post if no immediate interest is shown? First of all, if it's new, there is a good chance it has some unpleasant (for a cat) scent - glue, rubber, new fabric etc. Place it outside and let it air for a day or two. After that you can use a squirt or two of... bet you thought of pheromones. Nope. Never used those, online reviews are mixed, so my family opts for good old catnip. Either a spray or a couple of leaves of the real plant we have in our yard. Works perfectly to make Baker fall in love with his scratching post again, and it also worked well for Ryzyk and Masseeka to help them relax and feel at home. Just one squirt on the new pillow. Not enough to get them high, but enough to make it smell good to them.

Warning: dry catnip, which you may get in addition to some cat toys, had an unexpected effect on my mom - she is allergic to it! Not to the spray, not to the fresh plant. Only the dry thing made her sneeze unstoppably. Makes me curious what they add to it, and if it could be the reason many people think they are allergic to cats.

• 

• 

  Cat mint