You spent a small fortune on buying the latest dining room furniture for your house and are the proud owner of a cat who loves it equally well. In fact, while you spend your time cleaning up your table, your cat decides to caress it too – with its claws of course. It is a different matter that your cat is actually using it to sharpen its claws, a natural phenomenon you could well do without.

While it is natural for cats to scratch, it often destroys perfectly laid out dining tables and other pieces of furniture that may come in the way. Most people leave it at that – they cannot curb natural instincts of the animal, they say. Though sad, they just watch their favorite dining set going to pieces due to the cat’s actions.

To understand how to take care of this problem, you must understand the problem in detail first.

The cat family are natural hunters by the laws of nature. Claws and teeth are the basic requirements for the cat to hunt, and hence the need to keep them in good shape. Scratching their claws on tree trunks (read your dining tables legs) helps them keep them sharp and removing old tissue. Another reason is the secretion of certain scent from their paws marking their territory (your home, what else?) to ward off strangers. Moreover, it gives them some much needed exercise and straightens out the kinks in their body.

They can be de-clawed to rid you of your problem, but there are more humane methods to help out your cat while avoiding damage to your furniture.

One way is to get a scratching pad or a post. A wide variety of them are available as part of a cat condo. If you do not wish to spend the money, you can easily make one of your own. All you need is a two feet high section of heavy plywood, cut into a size of four by four or two by two, and tie a piece of old carpet on to it. Place it next to the furniture your cat is fond of scratching, gradually moving it away as your cat gets used to it. Let your cat scratch away to its heart’s content – all you need to do is to replace the old carpet for it to get back to its original shape once it is destroyed.

To supplement your efforts, use a pet repellant spray on the furniture to make your cat turn to the scratching post. If you are hesitant to use the spray on your costly furniture, cover the material with tape with the sticky side up, or use aluminum foil instead.

Still facing problems? Your cat still does not stop? Well, it may be time for you to adopt some more drastic measures. De-claw it if it stays indoors. Be aware, however, that it will affect the cats natural gait and its immunity from minor ailments as well. The procedure can be painful and may involve certain risks as well. Those wanting to avoid this may use nail caps as a viable alternative. These are applied as false nails to the cat’s nails.

Some of these measures could definitely help you save your new furniture from the cat’s natural instincts. If you love your cat more than your furniture, however, be prepared to shell some extra cash every few months to allow it to destroy all you bring!