Cats, claws and new furniture

[Christiansmommy]

Hello all. I just bought a beuatiful new set of furniture...sofa, loveseat and chair. I knew my Guinness boy would be tempted to use it as a scratching post and we have only had it since yesterday, and he has already started. I guess the old sofa didn't interest him. Anyway...any good tips on how to break that habit?

They have a scratching post in the basement. I guess I should bring it up and maybe put it near the sides of the furniture where he is doing this...and then i can always lay a throw blanket over the area too, when i am not in the room. Aside from catching him in the act and scooting him away from it...what other suggestions do you have?

Would laying foil on it deter him from doing it, and over time he wouldn't do it, after the foil was removed. It is bascially in spots where he reaches up from the floor...like the arms of the chairs...

Dandy doesn't do this, so at least I only have one cat to break of this habit...

Thanks for any help...I love my new furniture and I want it to stay nice...

[JenBKR]

Foil worked for my parents, trying to keep their cat off of the counters...my cats just played with it. The scratching post upstairs would be a good idea to try too.

[grybai]

Scratching posts near the furniture might help the problem, especially if sprinkled with catnip- at least that works for my cats and I would try that first. Double sided sticky tape is supposed to help, but you might not want to use it on the material of your sofa. And there's always soft paws...

[sasvermont]

What I have done, is buy several posts. You don't need the finest, just plain ones. They run anywhere between $15-$50 but PetCo has some cheap ones.

I have one in nearly every room that has potential scratching items....i.e. living room, bedroom, computer room and porch.... actually have two on the porch. I move them around as the weather changes.

What I have done is when introducing the cats to the post, I too, scratch on the post. They will usually follow you buy scratching it themsevlves. Whenever they start on a piece of furniture, I usually yell and then either direct them to the post or go over to the post myself, and start scratching.... I know, the white coats are probably waiting outside my door as I type this.

The other thing is to keep their nails trimmed. That helps.

As far as keeping them away from new furniture...well, that's impossible, but making the POST MORE fun, is possible.

[jenluckenbach]

1st - keep the claws trimmed SHORT!

2nd - never hide the scratching posts. Cats scratch where they want to scent mark and they want to do that where their people are, to show that this is THEIR territory.

Have numerous posts and experiment with materials. They needent all be expensive, but they should be tall (if meant to stand vertically) and sturdy. Low ones that lay on the ground are also good. Some are cardboard, some are sisal. Even a $1 carpet sample can make a good appropriate place to scratch.

3rd - if you need a little EXRTA help, cover the favorite parts of the furniture with double sided sticky tape (they make wide strips of this that can be found at a pet store. And aluminum foil is also a good deterant.

4th - be consistant. If he goes for a no-no spot, take him to a scratching post and show him. If you are a bit too far away, a squirt of water should deter. Do it always, whenever is necessary.

if all else fails, consider soft paws nail caps.

[catnapper]

Photobucket is having "issues" right now, but I wanted to show you Harry's nails. He's my devil around here. I keep his nails short. The more you clip, the shorter you can go.

He kileld my couch, and now I am really on top of him and his nails. Since I've been clipping reguarly, no more damage to the sofa - not that he could have done much more!

Attached is how short you might want to try to go. It really makes a HUGE difference. He can go through the mothions, but not snag the fabric.

[JenBKR]

Wow that's short! I didn't even realize you could go that short...I'm too afraid I guess. I heard if you clip into the pink it bleeds and it's really hard to stop the bleeding. Is that true? Belle is very good and sits when I clip her nails, but Katie goes nots and bites and scratches. It's a real trip!

[janelle]

Try not to clip they if they will bleed. Then they will not let you clip again. LOL

My big Simon has never used the furniture very much only the scratch post and box. My little 6 pound Chianti loves to scratch the furniture. She is my demolition derby. I put soft claws on her. Nothing else will help and she even tries to scratch with them on. My hubby has taped one chair on the sides. It looks like Jeb Clampets chair but it does the job of keeping her away. She does try to eat the tape though. LOL

I put throws on some funiture but she has gone under the throw and scratched. So far she has only shreded the cheap furniture and we have it in the basement.

[catmandu]

THAT IS ONE REASON,THAT I WILL NOT BUY EXPENSIVE FURNITURE,FOR THE FOUND CAT HOTEL,AS SCRAPPY 2,IS TURNING OUT,TO BE A CHAIR SCRATCHER EXTROIDINAIRE,,AND JUST LOVES,TO DIG HER NAILS,INTO EVERYTHING,EXCEPT,OF COURSE,THE SCRATCHING POST.




AND SHE,IS SLOWLY GETTING BIGGER,CAN YOU TELL?

[jenluckenbach]

no, no...don't clip them until they bleed, clip them OFTEN. With each clip the blood vessel (quick) will receed. If clipped again after only 4 days or so, you can actually go closer than you did last time. And then again if you like.

[QueenScoopalot]

I hope the scratching post is 4 feet tall or better. A cat often uses furniture (or as we prefer) a scratching post to stretch out their muscles, more so than sharpening claws. If the post is too short, or not stable, the cat will not be inclined to use it. As others have said, cats differ on what they like to scratch. Some love the cardboard toss aways, while others like sisal, or carpet. And claw clipping is always a good idea.

[orangemm]

We have a wonderful post that we've had for at least 15 years. It's 3 sided with the three boards meeting at the top. They're on a slant and wrapped with sisal very tightly. All of my cats have used this consistently since they can lean into it and scratch away.

My husband replaced the first sisal wrap a few years ago and it's good as new. Wish I could remember where I got it. Maybe at a cat show..........?

Hard to describe, but it's kind of like a pyramid.

[Christiansmommy]

Thanks for all of the ideas. I ended up bringing their scratching post to the room where the new furniture is...and it has worked like a charm. The furniture hasn't been touched since the post was placed next to the chair he and his claws had been enjoying When i am not home, I put a throw over that chair too. He wasn't really messing with the sofa or loveseat, but i knew the chair would be tempting, b/c it kinda sticks out on an angle when you enter the room, and it was an obvious target Anyway...here is hoping he continues to be a good boy and use the post only

Robyn

[Christiansmommy]

BTW, catnapper...those claws are soooo short...i am envious ...hope i can get theirs that short...we'll see I know it will take some time to get them there...anyway...

[christa]

Originally posted by jenluckenbach
1st - keep the claws trimmed SHORT!

This was going to be my advice. We never trimmed Josie's claws and our couch was just a big scratching post to her. As soon as we got Brodie, I started trimming his and he NEVER scratches anything except his post & scratching pads. So at almost 2 years old, I started trimming Josie's nails and she hardly scratches the couch anymore.

TRIM TRIM TRIM!!! And keep 'em trimmed cause they get sharp quick!