Tips to help prevent your cat from scratching in your home.

Provide scratching posts

Scratching is a normal and healthy behaviour in cats. They will usually scratch to stretch after waking up so it is best to place to scratch near where your cat sleeps.

Your cat may have a preference, you might have to try a

couple different types made of rope, cardboard, rough fabric, carpet, or wood to figure out what they like best.

Use positive reinforcement to train your cat to use the scratching post. Put the scratcher in front of the undesired item that they like to scratch (for example a spot on the carpet). Reward your cat when they use the scratching post instead by giving them a treat and using positive tone of voice and words, if the cat scratches else where. they should be gently picked up and taken to the scratcher, then rewarded.

Tip: Try spraying the scratching posts with Feliway to entice your cat to scratch there.

Regular nail trimming

When trimmed properly this decreases the cat's need to remove the shedding nail.

Start young: Trimming nails when they are kittens will help them become comfortable with it early on.

Tip: If the cat doesn't like nail trims be sure to work slowly, offer breaks and make it a consistent routine.

Temporary Nail Caps

Applying nail covers / caps like soft paws can help protect yourself or your furniture from scratches.

How they work: The cats nails tips are trimmed, the nail caps are filled with adhesive and slid onto the claw.

As the nail grows out the caps will fall off and need to be re-applied every 4 - 6 weeks.

Nail caps come in a variety of sizes and colours.

Ask your vet for more info or help with nail caps

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Erindale Animal Hospital in the News

Follow the link to watch the CTV News Report

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/she-was-coughing-and-choking-and-hacking-warning-for-dog-owners-about-harmful-weed-1.6530384?fbclid=IwAR0HTZ8fxBQTMhNIYkxWAzKts6OXyPiJX5YYolIeT65cl2rE9c4V358c0gc_aem_AYItVnX1yJy1t1xCLdZKaVcJskiU5tNEXPxvjT2ghFt2dDVIKlpyUwOGwH4wRBClNY8

Carla Shynkaruk

Multi-Skilled Journalist CTV News Saskatoon

Updated Aug. 23, 2023 10:59 a.m. PDT

Published Aug. 22, 2023 5:43 p.m. PDT

There’s a natural hazard lurking in the weeds in Saskatoon this time of year that dog owners should be aware of because it could mean costly vet bills or even losing your pet.

Foxtails have been seen more over the past five years and pet owners should be on the lookout.

Sophie is a Shih Tzu Pomeranian, and in her 10 years, her owner Hannah Carswell has never had to deal with a foxtail encounter- until this month.

“Sophie was on the deck of my condo, and she started skittering around and I didn’t know what was wrong with her. She was coughing, and choking and hacking,” Carswell told CTV News.

It was nighttime and her vet wasn’t open, so she waited until the morning. That’s when the vet confirmed it was foxtail, a potentially deadly weed according to Veterinarian Miranda Wallace at the Erindale Animal Hospital.

“It is a bigger deal than people would suspect,” Wallace says.

The grassy weed is topped with a sharp needle which can get stuck in a pet’s coat, paws, or worse if ingested.

“Sometimes it can migrate to places, that can cause issues. Granulomas or abscesses in lungs and chest and migrate into sinuses,” according to Wallace.

Nicole German experienced foxtails with her previous dog and faced $5000 in vet bills.

“She ate them, so we went through two really serious bouts removing hundreds of foxtails under anaesthesia. Removing them from her throat, mouth, esophagus, we almost lost her,” German told CTV News.

Her new dog is only nine months old and hasn’t had a run-in with foxtails, mostly because the family is diligent and watches for them, according to German. She’s also taken to Facebook to warn other dog owners, so they don’t have to endure what she did.

At the Erindale clinic they’re prepared for numerous cases in the summer with foxtail case numbers on the rise over the past five years.

“We’ve had a few cases come in already. We actually have a case coming in today for foxtails.”

Wallace wants pet owners to watch their dogs and closely monitor what they are eating.

“If you notice that your dog is sniffing around in the grass and then starts pawing at their face, sneezing or coughing that could be an indication that they have a foxtail,” she said.

Tent signs have been put up in various locations around the city, in parks and green spaces.

The signs provide little consolation for Carswell and Sophie.

“It was a really scary. I’m paranoid. I will not take her to the dog parks. The small dog park has them.”

The City of Saskatoon said in an email it is currently managing problem foxtail areas.

“(In) 2021, the City began its educational efforts on foxtail, including information on prevention and control techniques for foxtail barley (foxtail) for developers and landowners.”

For more information and to download a copy of the guide, visit saskatoon.ca/weedcontrol.

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