The cats that live in our homes have a very different rhythm of life than their ancestors but they still use their nails for many of their daily actions. How important are they to them?
For super-specialized hunters like felines, having their claws “ready” is vital to their survival . All of them (except the cheetah, hunter on the run) are endowed with retractable nails on their front legs to prevent wear on their sharp ends.
Up to three months, kittens still do not have the ability to retract their claws, which hook on curtains … or on our skin. When it is a little older, no matter how playful it is, its tendency to hunting games focused on our hands or our ankles can cause serious scratches.
And it is after three or four months of age when it begins to develop the marking by means of the claws, not so much to sharpen them as to leave olfactory signals, through the secretion of glands at the base of the fingers.
But for house cats, these sharp claws are no longer of great use: the pellets of feed are not going to escape them and the most they hunt is some clueless fly.
• Hunt. Although our cat does not need to hunt because it has its food in the bowl whenever it needs it, the hunting instinct remains very much alive in it. Stray cats use their claws to catch their prey alive and eat them later, the home kittens will divert their hunting instincts to play, so the stuffed mouse you have bought or the cane that is hanging from the door frame will be perfect victims to nail down. When you play with him, do not allow him to mess with you, to avoid it, say “No”, stop playing with him and ignore him. When he plays with you without using his nails, reward him.
• Defend yourself. In nature the feline has to deal with predators or with animals of its kind that will want to attack it, the nails are its allies at this time. At home, again we say, that it is better that you teach him not to use them against you or against your furniture as we have already taught you to do in other articles.
• Climb. They love to climb anywhere and use their nails as an anchor, it is incredible where they can climb thanks to them … In nature they climb with their nails to flee from predators or to get food or a good place to sleep.
• Exercise. Stretching and pulling the nails move the muscles of the upper body. Fingernails also help you walk properly and maintain balance.
• Communicate. With their nails they can make us understand many things: that they are tired of being caught, that they will attack if they are pulled out … Using them in scratching posts can help you relax and mark your territory.
The use of the claws can become a serious problem in some cases. Not only of an aesthetic / economic nature, from when they destroy upholstery or curtains, but in the case of very nervous or aggressive animals, with a tendency to throw claws, especially when there are children at home who approach the cat without the slightest caution. We must teach him to calm that anxiety.
