031518 SWB DIGITAL EDITION

14 x March 15 — April 4, 2018 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
Practitioners, which deems the
practice of declawing an ethically
controversial procedure that is not
medically necessary in most instances.
In fact, declawing cats is now
illegal in several U.S. cities.
Find alternatives to declawing
and cat-scratching solutions at
savethecouches.com.
Alternatives to Declawing
There are numerous safe and
painless alternatives to declawing,
including the following ideas from
pet behavior experts at Ceva Animal
Health:
• Routinely trim nails. Regular nail
care is an important part of general
care and hygiene for your cat, but
it can also help prevent scratching
damage by eliminating the sharp, destructive
claw tips. Properly trimmed
nails are less likely to snag or split,
and cats with well-trimmed nails
are less likely to resort to scratching
as part of their own self-grooming
rituals.
• Create scratch-friendly zones.
Keeping cats from scratching areas
you don’t want them to bother
is far more likely if you provide
areas where they can scratch
at will, such as scratching pads
and posts. Pair these scratching
areas with a product such as
Feliscratch by Feliway, which is
clinically proven to prevent destructive
scratching by redirecting
cats to scratch in the right place.
Cats are attracted to the drug-free,
naturally derived product and will
feel compelled to scratch where
it’s applied, leaving that chair or
couch alone.
• Reinforce off-limits areas.
Cats are highly tactile, so applying
textured materials like doublesided
sticky tape or rough, crinkly
aluminum foil to areas you don’t
want scratched can be an effective
deterrent.
• Consult a behaviorist. Not all
cases have easy answers, but an
expert with experience in animal behavior
can provide guidance based
specifically on your cat’s personality
and circumstances to help create a
custom solution.
• Eliminate negative reinforcements.
Avoid punishing your cat for
undesirable behavior. This includes
shouting, spraying with water or
swatting your cat. Punishment can
increase stress and anxiety. It can
make the problem worse and may
even make your cat afraid of you.
DIY Scratching Post
Designating a spot for your cat
to safely scratch is one of the most
effective ways to minimize damage
to your possessions. A homemade
scratching post is a quick and easy
project.
• Cut a foot-long length of 4-by-
4-inch wood and a 1-foot square
piece of plywood. The exact sizes
can vary, but these are good starting
points that you can adjust up or
down, depending on your space.
• Sand away splinters and rough
edges.
• Add a sturdy fabric wrap or
paint to lend aesthetic appeal to the
plywood base.
• Wrap the post tightly with
heavy-gauge rope or carpet scraps
(or both), securing tightly with glue
and reinforcing with a staple gun.
• Securely attach the post to the
base using a long bolt.
• Place the post in an area your
cat enjoys spending time, and consider
adding a pheromone therapy
spray to attract your cat to
the post.
(Family Features)
Source: Ceva Animal Health
Prepare for Your
Puppy’s First
Outdoor Adventure
When there’s a new, adorable
puppy in the house, it can be difficult
to know what to do next.
It’s an exciting world for puppies
with lots to learn and discover. As
they are mastering fundamental skills
like walking on a leash and resisting
the urge to chew up the furniture,
it is also a good time to start building
habits for a healthy, pest-free
Healthy SMILES
Start Here!
Providing alternative care for
treating gum disease and recession.
• Laser Treatment
• Pinhole Surgical Technique
• Dental Implants
• Teeth in a Day
• Sedation Options