Have you ever been woken up to the sound of your cat scratching at a mirror? Perhaps you’ve noticed the odd demeanor that your feline friend puts on when they get a peek at the sight of their own reflection.
Sometimes our pets can try to scratch at screens or mirrors when we’d prefer them to leave it alone. They will even act as if their reflection in a mirror or an image on a television screen is another cat or a physical object in the real world.
Yikes! This may become dangerous for your cat as screens and mirrors are often placed in elevated places or hung up so that they might fall if they get disturbed.
You will want to ensure that any mirrors that your pet comes into contact with are secure so that they cannot be knocked over by a rambunctious kitty!
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Why Does My Cat Scratch The Mirror?
Cats are highly instinctual creatures! Your fuzzy friend’s ancestors have developed habits which have been passed down from generation to generation to protect her from risks which the species has faced in their environment.
This generational memory among cats has had a big influence in keeping their species largely the same for many thousands of years! One important trait of these amazing creatures is curiosity!
Curiosity has provided felines with an innate ability to inspect their environment and make strategic movements based on what they learn. How do cats inspect their environment?
Your feline pet has a number of methods for getting information about things that might be important for their safety including sniffing, licking, biting, or listening.
According to Veterinarian Megan McCorkel one of the best ways for your cat to learn about its surroundings is to scratch or lightly paw at at objects!
When your friend is pawing away at their own reflection or at an image of a bird on a screen they are attempting to understand their environment. Cats act this way to figure out whether there is danger or opportunity!
The ancestors of domestic cats have hunted small insects and rodents as well as scavenging to feed themselves for many thousands of years. Given this history it only makes sense that they would find it worth while to check out something that looks like it could be tasty or potentially pose a threat.
Why is My Cat Scared of the Mirror
Your cat may not recognize their own reflection in a mirror! Cats can see their reflection and react to it in a curious way although they may not understand that it is a reflection of themselves.
Felines often have a skittish nature and react quickly to situations which could pose a risk of harm to them. These fuzzy critters are highly intelligent in their ability to feel out a situation and make quick decisions on whether to ditch or stick around based on their instincts.
More than likely when your cat seems to be afraid of the mirror they are looking out for themselves and trying to play it safe just in case!
Intelligent as felines are they do have their limitations. If it is harder to understand something that they see than it would be get away they may just choose to put some distance between themselves and whatever the unexplained phenomenon is!
Why Does My Cat Scratch the Mirror at Night?
Is your cat scratching the mirror at night and waking you up or damaging the surface of the glass?
You may want to inspect the cats environment to make sure there is nothing you can change that might redirect the behavior.
For instance your cat may get bored during the night hours when the humans are in bed and is looking for some entertainment whether that be through attention as a result of waking you or just the minor entertainment of the way the mirror looks in the dark.
Why Does My Cat Scratch the TV Screen?
Although your pet almost surely receives their meals at regular intervals from a can or a bag of kibble, they still retain the instincts that enabled them to hunt and eat their meals for many generations.
This means that the way cats like to play has a lot to do with exercising those instincts and physical reflexes.
Cats love to chase, bite, paw, and wrestle small quickly moving objects and can sometimes mistake parts of an image on the screen for a bug or a little mouse that they’d love to chase.
This instinct will often make your cat paw at the screen in an attempt to play with what it sees displayed!
Another good reason why a pet might scratch at a TV screen is to illicit a reaction on the part of their caretaker! Your cat can use all kinds of ways to get her point across!
Cat’s are very attuned to people’s moods and they will notice an exaggerated response from their humans when they get in the way of the television screen!
If your pet is trying to get your attention they will notice that you are distracted by the screen.
Your kitty relies on you! They may very well put themselves in between you and what you are watching to get your attention and express whatever it is that they need.
Why Does My Cat Scratch the Window
Is your cat scratching the window? It probably wants to get at whatever is on the other side! Cats can see through windows and will often go to great lengths to get a look out of one if they can.
You have probably noticed that your pet has quite an affinity for staring at whatever it is able to see outside. They can hours with their eyes darting around, riveted by a bird feeder or bugs in flight around a porch light or around a flower garden during the day.
Cats don’t always realize that they are staring through glass or perhaps they just don’t care and their instinct drives them to take the chance to catch a bug to play with.
This can make it look as if the kitty is purposefully scratching at the window when they are actually focused on what they can see on the other side of it instead.
Why Does My Cat Scratch the Mirror? 4 Tips Change Your Pet’s Behavior
A few ideas for ways that you can help your feline friend avoid her scratching habit are giving your cat some new toys, turning something appropriate for cats to watch on a screen they can’t damage, letting your cat try toys with some catnip in them, or working to help your cat maintain a healthy exercise regime.
1. Cats love to be entertained and can get into trouble when they are bored. You should make sure that your cat has plenty of entertainment available to them, this will help to keep them from getting tempted by the what they see on the TV.
2. Play with your cat at least an hour a day using her favorite toys. Get your kitty moving and speeding up their heart rate. Few things are better for treating boredom and anxiety in your cat than getting enough exercise!
3. If you can’t get your cat to stop clawing at the screen you can try to deter the behavior by giving the naughty kitty a very light spritz from a water bottle to encourage them to move on and leave it alone!
4. If a cat is bored it may exhibit excessive scratching behavior and especially at a surface that she knows receives attention from her caretakers. Excessive scratching could be a symptom of high anxiety in your cat and could require anti anxiety medication to treat.
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