Providing cats with safe hiding places and plenty of opportunities to play can help to reduce their stress, and save frustrated owners’ furniture from being scratched, new research suggests. Scientists say they have pinpointed strategies that could save cushions, carpets, and sofas from pet cats. While scratching is a normal feline behaviour, it could be managed by adapting play sessions and offering scratch posts in the right spots, according to the study. Researchers looked at what factors can influence undesirable scratching, and found that the presence of children at home, personality trai…