How to Prevent Cat From Scratching My Wood Flooring?

How to Prevent Cat From Scratching My Wood Flooring? Do you have a cat at home? The following is a list of tips and tricks on preventing the cat from scratching my wood flooring. Some of these options may work better than others, but if you’re looking for an all-inclusive solution that will allow you to have a cat without worrying about scratches or dents in your beautiful flooring.

1) Put a Rug Underneath The Cat’s Litter Box

Cats scratch surfaces as a form of marking their territory. As such, they tend to use litter boxes as part of this process. A rug underneath the litter box can make it uncomfortable for them to dig into the surface with their claws. Because their claws are sharp and retractable, this works fairly well.

2) Make Sure That There are Not Many Surfaces Near The Litter Box

When the litter box is close to surfaces that cats easily scratch, then, of course, they will choose to use these surfaces as part of their scratching ritual. As such, keeping the litter box more isolated from anything else can stop them.

For example, if you have a couch next to it with legs that are more likely to get scratches, move it or cover it up somehow so that your cat does not use this surface as part of its territory marking process.

3) Put on Socks

If using rugs under the litter box is not an option either because you don’t want something like this getting in the way of your cat’s crawling space or because the rug is not large enough to cover everything, then you can opt for socks instead. This works because cats do not like scratching things that are covered with cloth/fabric, as this makes it uncomfortable for them.

The socks will make your nice flooring off-limits to your cat, but still, allow her access to the litter box.

4) Cover Your Flooring With Tape

Another option is to put tape onto the wood surface to create an uncomfortable area for scratching. Cats don’t like sticky surfaces and so if they scratch on these areas, it tends to be less than comfortable for them. As such, putting some tape down around sensitive areas should cause them to leave it alone for another surface.

5) Use Citrus Scented Cleaners

This works better on surfaces that you can scrub, like tiles or countertops. These cleaners not only clean the surface of stains and dirt but also coat the area with citrus scents that cats don’t like. As such, if your cat tries scratching in this area (or even walking over it), she will be deterred by how it smells and move elsewhere.

6) Give Your Cat Something Else To Scratch On Instead

One thing many people do not realize is that when their cat scratches something, this serves multiple purposes. First off, when they scratch appropriate surfaces (like a scratching post), this is a way for them to stretch and relax their muscles. Secondly, it is a marking of territory, similar to how the cat washes its face after eating.

Therefore, you can give your cat something else to scratch on instead – such as a cardboard box or even one of those rope scratching posts. This should take care of the problem pretty quickly because your cat will not feel like she has to scratch everything in sight anymore.

7) Distract Your Cat From The Area With Something Else

If the area where your cat is scratching isn’t important to you, you can try distracting it with something else instead. For example, if the flooring is in the corner of a room and your cat likes scratching that corner, then try putting her food dish or another object there so that she will be more likely to focus on that instead.

8) Train Your Cat To Use The Scratching Post

One of the best way from “How to Prevent Cat From Scratching My Wood Flooring” is to train your cat not to scratch on floors. You provide it with an opportunity to use a scratching post by putting this in its place instead of the flooring. After all, cats are very smart animals and if you give them a chance to learn that one thing is better than another, they will make this association pretty quickly.

As such, let the cat use the post for a while until it gets used to doing so. Then you can slowly move it over towards wherever you want your cat to stop scratching at – likely the area where she was originally scratching at before her new favorite thing appeared next to her.

9) Remove The Scent Of The Flooring With A Cleaner

If your cat doesn’t like the scent of what you used to cover up the wood floor or if that scent is no longer strong enough to dissuade it, then you can try using other cleaners instead, such as vinegar and water (for wooden floors). These should remove any residual scents left behind by other cleaners and make it less desirable for your cat to scratch there again.

10) Purchase An Ultrasonic Cat Repeller

Many people do not realize that cats don’t actually like loud sounds at all – they are much more sensible than dogs in this regard. Some companies started manufacturing things like ultrasonic cat repellent devices that emit loud sounds that are mostly outside of human hearing range. These can cause your cat to run away, as it doesn’t like loud noises.

11) Make The Scratching Post More Appealing To Your Cat

This works best if you have a few scratching posts for your cat to choose from. Instead of putting the flooring directly in front of the post, but it is just off to one side instead so that your cat will be more likely to use the post over there instead. This should work well because cats don’t care about being in direct line with something – especially when other options are readily available.

Conclusion

How to prevent cat from scratching my wood flooring? Try using a combination of deterrents. You can place double-sided tape on areas that are most susceptible to scratches and use a spray or other scentless repellent near those spots as well. Remember, cats don’t like sticky surfaces, so this may be an effective way to keep them away from certain places in your home, which is good for both parties.