Cindy,

I'm glad you weren't offended. Another suggestion I can make is to take an empty soda can and put a couple of pennies in it. Everytime he does something your mom doesn't like, shake the can loud. Cats hate loud noises. Or you can use a squirt bottle, as I suggested before.

A cat tree MAY not be a bad idea. Put it in front of a window with alot of activity. This just might divert his attention.

Also, his "messing" could be from being declawed, regardless of how long ago it was.

Here is a link that might help explain it better than I can.

http://www.oaklandspca.org/cats/catbehavior.html