Just when you think you chose the right sofa...

[jennielynn1970]

... the cats seemed to not like sitting on the leather, and I was happy to not have anyone peeing on it. Ecstatic, actually! Then, Finae jumps up next to me on the arm and starts to claw the crap out of it!!!! When I looked, the sofa and the loveseat BOTH have claw pulls in the leather. I want to absolutely scream at her! These are ONLY A WEEK OLD!!! Why do they have to feel the need to RUIN everything?! Geez!!!

Any suggestions on how to get them to stop scratching on leather?!

[DrKym]

Only tip I have and it worked for me, hope it works for you as it won't damage the leather is vaseline where you see them clawing. My guys HATED the vaseline, and they quit after a few months of trying to out bid me for the right to claw!

We had our sofa,7 years and left it with my daughter when we moved here.Still in really decent shape too.

[critter crazy]

Ummm.....sorry, they are cats thats what they do, thats why i have crappy furniture! well the kids are part of the reason too!

[jennielynn1970]

I was thinking about getting that double sided sticky tape that they sell at the pet store. Hope they don't like sticking to stuff.

[critter crazy]

I was thinking about getting that double sided sticky tape that they sell at the pet store. Hope they don't like sticking to stuff.

ha ha ha ha ha!! I can just imagine coming home and finding a cat stuck to the sofa!!

[jennielynn1970]

It just ticks me off cause I was so psyched to find something they didn't like to be on and pee on. They've ruined everything.... that's not what most normal cats do. It's just frustrating when you put out money that you don't have to try to make your home nicer (and to have something for guests to sit on w/out smelling like cat pee), and they try to ruin it in under a week. They are so lucky i don't believe in declawing. Maybe I'll have to break out the SoftPaws again. olp;.? (sorry, that was Honeybun asking why i didn't have him before his previous owner declawed him )

[Catty1]

Have you thought of contacting this Nancy Efrusy to see why your cats are doing this?

Just a thought.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that this happened. I put covers over my couch and recliner and it's worked out very well. I hope that you'll find something that will work for you. Good luck.

[jenluckenbach]

Are their nails short? I find if you keep them clipped they tend to scratch less.
The double sided tape DOES work fairly well. It would be worth a try.

[Medusa]

I know exactly how you feel. My little deaf cat Creamsicle has virtually ruined a chair that I bought when I bought this house two years ago. She's the only one who scratches on the furniture and try as I might, I can't break her of it. And this chair matches the cushions on the sofa, so it's especially annoying. (She also has brain damage, so it's rather difficult to teach her.) I considered leather myself but I'd really go ballistic if she tore that up, too. Thank goodness the peeing isn't a problem any more, at least not that much, since I started the two pissers on Clomicalm. Once I got the dosage right, it doesn't drug them up, just calms them. The vaseline sounds like it might be a good idea, except that, obviously, you won't be able to sit in that chair for a while. But it might save your upholstery. I'd give it a whirl.

Blessings,
Mary

[jennielynn1970]

Well, I cut her claws last night, and hopefully that will help. Normally she only ever used the scratchers that I bought, and never used the furniture! Sophie is my destructive girl when it came to that, but lately it's just been the corners of the walls. I'll have to check her claws and Boris' too, maybe get some more scratching boxes and then the Sticky Paws tape stuff. I don't think the vaseline would be for me. I'd have cats slipping here and there, and it would track around the house and collect more dirt and hair.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Since cats don't like citrus, you might also want to try spraying some citrus spray on the furiniture and this might make them stay away. Good luck.

[Medusa]

Ew, right, I didn't even think about the mess that vaseline would make. Good point.

Blessings,
Mary

[Freedom]

I have had success with the double sided sticky tape.

A suggestion in a recent issue of Cat Fancy was:
spray the funirtue with white vinegar and water, equal parts. You won't smell it; they will. At the same time, rub catnip on THEIR furniture (the scratching posts etc) so they know where to go instead. Or make a spray with the catnip by steeping it in boiling water for 2 minutes, and use that spray on theirs (just don't mix up your spray bottles.)

[DrKym]

Let me rephrase this....yoou only put the Vaseline on the area they are clawing.......for us it was the corners of the couch and where the armrest would meet the baxk in that nook. It wipes off with a paper towel. Which I would do every other day or so. If they started clawing again back to a dollop of Vaseline in that spot.

It took us really watching them, as the leather sofas we had were very enticing to them, and after afew months of having all "good spots " all icky to their paws, they gave up.