Anti scratch-furniture spray?

[phesina]

Here's a question I got from a friend:

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I wondered if you or any of the feline refuge cat experts knew of an effective spray to keep kitties away from furniture- I just bought a living room load -full (finally after 4 years of having none...) and I think I need to be pro-active judging from the look of a few older pieces here....
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I told her about Bitter Apple and also Sticky Paws(?) and such. I also told her to be sure and have good places they can scratch on, such as pads and cat trees and condos. However, inasmuch as I've never had any furniture I felt needed to be kept cat-proof , I wonder if any of you have any tactics you have found to be effective.

Please pass along whatever tips you might have, and I will pass them on to her.

Thanks so much!

Pat

[Moesha]

I know of some that have used aluminum foil and put it on corners of couches and wrapped table legs. Not a really attractive option, but it's an option.

[phesina]

Thanks, Moe. I'll pass that along to her. Seems to me worth a try. Even if it doesn't look great, you'd find out pretty soon if it works and then maybe save yourself a lot of time and money searching for other possibilities.

[Medusa]

The only tactic that has worked for me is when I see one scratching where they shouldn't, I immediately remove them to the scratching post and gently rake their paws downward a few times and repeat this until they get the point. I have almost all leather furniture now and was scared of puncture marks but they all learned their lesson quickly, w/the exception of Creamsicle. I catch her occasionally and she knows she's wrong, too, because she looks around while she does it and if she sees me coming towards her, she runs, the little brat. She hasn't done that in a long time, though, so even she knows what to do and what not to do.

One thing, though: the problem w/cat condos that are covered in carpet is that the kitties don't understand why they're allowed to sharpen their claws on that carpet but not on the carpet that they walk on. It's good to get some sisal scratching posts. Most cats really like it. I used to have scratching posts on every floor and my RB Peeka would come downstairs to use the sisal one.

[Freedom]

Couple of ideas to pass along:

1. have plenty of scratching posts. Tall ones preferred, lol.

2. Periodically, rub catnip on the posts, lets kitty know that is HER place.

3. At the same time you do the catnip thing, make a spray bottle of white vinegar and water, equal parts. Spray that on the furniture. Dilute enough that humans don't smell it, sharp enough that the cat does.

4. Go to a craft store, buy some double sided sticky tape and put that down the sides of the furniture. Be sure to do BOTH sides at corners. Cats don't like having their nails "sticky."

I've done all of these at one time or another. Sometimes, they even worked for me!

[phesina]

Thank you, Mary and Sandie. I'm adding these to the list of suggestions I'm passing along to my friend.

[Freedom]

Argh, I forgot the most obvious: clip nails weekly. I got a pair of these from Pet Edge, and am happy with them. The cats, however, are NOT.

http://www.petedge.com/product/Maste...sors/44495.uts

[moosmom]

Great advice!!

[phesina]

Thanks again, Sandie!

[Occams Phazer]

First time user, long time cat lover.
I must admit I feel odd talking about my cats online...but desperation is the mother of invention, or father possibly...besides the point.

NYC, upper west side...2 people trying to make their home more presentable, mature and nice...of course essential items for this are a couch and a rug of some sort, maybe a few other niceties. We have 2 cats. Their bad ass...best cats ever. So we brave Macy's on black Friday to get a couch...I swear we had some lose talk about absolutely not getting a leather sofa...smarter to get some kind of micro-fiber....but of course we get an awesome brown leather double recliner sofa...Italian. I swear a voice(small voice) was saying the whole time...do not do this....nooo, i said...it will be ok, well figure it out. My first sofa..sweet.
On our way out we see an awesome rug 70% off. 100% Indian wool, looks like the sun just washed over it, i mean awesome beautiful. Even at 70% it was alot of money.
Got the rug yesterday. Oh the cats f***ing love it...rolling on it, mesmerized...and all of my ALARM bells go off..
Start looking online for anti-scratch spray, not finding much that's looks promising or reliable. Found Pet Talk via post...totally random...sofa comes in 3 days...were screwed ! Thats my conclusion ! We are going to eat that $$$. We would never in a billion years rip there claws out. We dont even cut there claws...they need them. Weve scratching post everywhere , a deck, the cosmic catnip scratching cardboard box...but cats being cats...they just do their thing...hunting, playing, crazy cat journeys and adventures, their worse than 2 kids. Throw in a laser light dot and the fact that were busy and cant always be here...i don't know about you, but when the cats away the mice will play...sometimes they cant wait for us to leave...they get that damn look in their eye...cat nip doesn't work to get them to stay away from stuff...yeah they eat it and scratch it on the post, but now their looped and feeling fine so there's a 50/50 chance that they'll either just plop down and lick themselves silly till they pass out OR they'll play the crazy chase game...
Long story short...already saw a thread or two that I had to snip out of the rug. Fearing the inevitable. Seeking divine intervention. Nice leather sofa comes next week. Cats are Cats. They have sharp claws. We've seen them kill a pigeon. Our sofa when its comes will look like adventure mountain to them. The awesome rug we love only helps them go faster...I've done the math...Time under tension under load. If the the normal life span of a couch and a rug were, say ten years, then we have sentenced ours to an early death!

OccamsPhazer

[Medusa]

Welcome to Pet Talk! You've definitely come to the right place for help, comfort and advice.

LOL, I feel your fear and apprehension. I have 6 cats (8 at one time but 2 have gone to the Rainbow Bridge) and leather furniture. None of my cats are declawed but I do trim their nails. (I'm glad that you wouldn't declaw your kitties; it's barbaric.) You mentioned that you've seen your cats kill pigeons so I assume they're indoor/outdoor cats. That makes it a little more difficult to train them but it can be done. If you see them scratching your furniture or rug, immediately say "NO!" in a loud, stern voice but don't shout, then remove them to the scratching post and gently rake their claws down the post so that they get the message. If you sprinkle their catnip right on the scratching post, that'll help, too. Also, if you trim their claws, they're less likely to catch them on your beautiful new Indian wool rug. Keeping their claws trimmed won't hinder their ability to protect themselves, although I will say that if you can see your way clear to keep them indoors, that's the best thing for them. It's a dangerous world out there for kitty kats. (Off my soap box now.) Squirt bottles also help; I haven't had to use mine often but I keep a squirt gun handy just in case. As soon as they see me reach for it, the bad behavior, whatever it is, stops.

Good luck and keep us updated on your success. We love pix of furkids and would enjoy the opportunity to say "Aaaaaaaw".

[Freedom]

Welcome!
and . . . what Mary said, lol.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

there's always a chance that the cats will leave the leather couch alone, since the material is a little more resistant to puncture than fabric. Have they clawed up furniture before? I have 2 cats and 2 leather recliners and thus far the only time they come in contact with eath other is for an impromptu nap. I do trim their claws but they're still sharp enough for them to poke holes in the bottom of my shirts when they jump up and beg. Granted mine love their scratching posts and thus far havent clawed on anything else. you may consider putting a scratching post at each corner of the new couch since that's the area they're likely to go for. I have heard that double sided tape deters clawing, but that's probably not good for your leather, and it sure isn't pretty either.

How old are your cats? Like Medusa said, welcome and yes we do love pictures of our members' pets!

[Occams Phazer]

Started using an Anti-scratch by Four Paws. So far the cats do not like it and have not had a massive rip em up session on rug. Whew! Some promise there. The couch comes tomorrow. We hope the same will apply there as well. The stuff smells god awful but fades to my nose quickly, but not to theirs. Thats the point I guess.
Thanks for the support. I will keep you posted. Working on pics....

OccamsPhazer

[Sundance]

We had a large leather sectional before we had cats. The first cat we adopted clawed his way along the bottom of it the first night he was with us and made a lot of little holes before we could stop him We bought several different scratchers which helped a lot. Over the years, we adopted more cats and had no trouble with them scratching the leather on purpose, but we found that as they jumped up onto the back of the sectional to look out the window, their back feet left small scratches and holes on the seat. We also noticed that if someone slid off the sofa or backtracked quickly because they jumped up onto another cat, they left large scratches on the seat.

We bought two new sofas to replace the sectional three years ago, and although most salespeople recommended microfiber or leather for homes with cats, we went with a very textured cloth. Ten cats and no damage so far, although once in awhile I have to say "Hey!" in a stern voice to stop our newest (a kitten) from scratching at the back of it. I then take her to a scratcher and show her what it's for We have various types of scratchers in every room and keep them scented/filled with catnip. I think the smartest thing we did was to buy extra matching fabric and have some throws made. They are long enough to drape over the back and tuck under the cushions in the front. When we have company, I take them off, but they go right back on again after they leave. I toss them in the dryer once a week to remove any cat hair. They have saved the sofa several times when one of the cats hacks up a hairball (or worse) because they stop most of the moisture from going through to the cushions and they're washable.

When we bought the furniture, we also bought an Oriental rug. When we first got it, I tried using sticky tape all the way around it, but we kept walking on it and pulling it off The tape was hair-covered within days anyway. Now I use Feliway spray on it about once a week, but if I forget, I occasionally find a little stack of pulled threads. I just trim them even with the rest of the carpet if they aren't pulled all the way out. Three years, and the carpet looks fine. Yeah, I know, it should last 30 years or more, right?