Anti scratch-furniture spray?

**phesina** · 10-04-2009, 04:36 PM

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

**Freedom** · 10-05-2009, 04:03 PM

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** · 10-05-2009, 05:47 PM

Great advice!!

**phesina** · 10-06-2009, 05:07 AM

Thanks again, Sandie!

**Occams Phazer** · 12-03-2009, 10:32 AM

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** · 12-04-2009, 05:50 AM

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** · 12-04-2009, 08:20 AM

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

**aTailOf2Kitties** · 12-04-2009, 08:22 AM

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!