Help my kitten is ruining my furniture!?

Question

I bought a scratching post but he"d rather use my couch any way to get him to stop , I also squirt him when i catch him, that only works for the moment.

Too everyone who suggested spanking my cat your way wrong you never hit any animal thats abuse duh, Thanks too everyone eles

Answer 1

You can put two-sided tape on the couch. Cats hate having anything sticky on their paws. At the same time, rub catnip onto the scratching post to make it more "desirable" to the cat. I've use this with my own cats and works great.

Answer 2

I don't know how old your kitten is but kittens by nature are very playful and naughty. They're not conscious that they're being naughty. They just get carried away, just like human kids, and before you know it, there is damage somewhere. I would like to offer to you my training method which does not involve declawing, swatting, spraying or yelling. I usually start off by confining the kitten to one room, for example the bathroom. I put his potty, sratching post or scratching pad, a cushion, food and water and a toy in the bathroom. I show him which is the scratching post by rubbing his paws on it. I show him the potty and put him in it. I go in periodically and play with him, stroke him and cuddle him. If after a few hours he has demonstrated that he knows what's what and using everything appropriately, I expand his living space and put him in the kitchen. In the kitchen he learns not to get up on the counter, the gas range or the table. If he does, I put him down with a stern 'No'. If he reaches for something and starts scratching, I take his paws and with a rolled up paper tap it lightly saying 'No, no, no!' I never use my hands because I do not want him associating my hand with punishment. Since a kittens nails are very sharp, I also clip just the sharp tips with an ordinary nail clipper. Clipping nails can be done every 10 days or so) Once the kitten has demonstrated good behavior in the kitchen, then I let him into other rooms. (usually a day or two) I would get several scratch pads and put them in various places around the house, especially if you have a big house.
In your case, since the cat has been scratching your furniture, I would make those rooms off limits for the time being. Let him play in the kitchen.
Cats do respond to positive reinforcement and love.

Answer 3

As long as you own your cat, he is going to scratch and sharpen his claws on *something.* Cats have scent glands on their toe and pad area, so when they scratch they're also marking territory. Your cat isn't going to learn by hollering or spanking. It's in their nature. If front paw declawing isn't an issue for you, you can have it performed at a rather young age and decently priced. However, if that's something you're not comfortable with, you'll have to continue to provide alternative scratching areas in the house, keep a water bottle close by, and try some in-home cat repellent products.

Place a scratching post near his favorite piece of furniture and encourage the use of the post. Cover the area of scratched furniture with something like a paper bag, cardboard, or something that will hold the scent of cat repellent. Encourage the kitten's behavior on the scratching post and as he uses it continuously, move the post away from the furniture -- SLOWLY. Slowly like an inch a day after continuous use. If you move it to quickly he may return to his old habits.

Remember to praise the good behavior more than you discourage (yell, swat) bad behavior. Cats are smarter than you think. Just because they can't be trained like dogs, they are very intelligent, even at a young age. Just take a deep breath, buy the items you need, and give it some time. It'll happen for you sooner rather than later. When you're frustrated it seems like it'll take forever. You'll be glad you did it the right way. So will your kitten!

Answer 4

Spray bottles are overused in my opinion as you always have to be there to use them and the cat will do his whatever when you are not around. So it is not successful in "training" a cat.

You can get a package of double-sided sticky tape at a pet store for about $10. You put those on the couch where the kitten is scratching. They are not terribly unsightly and usually can be removed after a few months. You also need to make a regular habit of trimming kitten's nails. That's easy to do as the cat's nails are just like ours, the pink is the quick and you don't trim close to that. Just take off those spikey ends that are white. If you have any problems with doing this the vet office will show you how.

Kittens and cats like the posts that have the sisal rope on them. There are also inexpensive cat scratchers that lie on the floor, these are made of cardboard and run around $10. Some cats are "down-scratchers", some "up-scratchers". Sometimes they like both.

It is very important to catch the kitten scratching on a post or the floor scratcher. Praise the kitten LAVISHLY, saying "Aren't you the most precious kitten in the world, "You are just so beautiful and I love your with all my heart", etc. Believe me they recognise this praise and will use the appropriate place to scratch in order to get the attention and praise.

Answer 5

you just need to be a little patient and teach the kitten to use the scartch post. rub catnip on it, it will help. also, cats are supposed to hate citrus smell, so a good way to keep your kitten off the couch would be to spary the couch with some kind of a cleaner of air freshener that smells very citrucy...

no matter what anybody tells you, do NOT declaw the cat. here are some links that can show you why not, and offer more helpful hints for training your cat to stay off the furniture

Answer 6

How about putting some aluminum foil over the parts he is scratching? They usually shy away from aluminum foil, you'd only need to leave it on til the cat makes the association in its mind. Good luck!

Answer 7

Kittens sure are sweet aren't they, but they are also naughty. Keep in mind that kittens are like little kids that need to be taught. I have a sure fire method that will take time, but it will work.
Step one, every time you see your kitten scratching on the furniture, get up from where you are, holler a firm no while swatting his little behind. He won't like it, and honestly, neither will you, it's like disciplining your child, harder on the parent. Anyway, you need to keep this up each and every time you see him doing this behavior. Eventually, when you get up to swat him, he will run before you can get to him. This is a good sign, you are getting closer to step two.
Step two, you should be able to holler no at him from just about anywhere, sometimes you will have to still back it up by starting to get up, but he will run when he sees you are going to get up to swat him. You have now gotten the message across to him that his is being naughty and eventually he will grow up and stop.
Now when you are first starting this, you can also add in there, that once you have swatted him, go and get him and talk to him. You need to tell him and show him that his scratching post is for scratching. Cats understand what you are telling them and he will eventually figure out he can scratch his little heart out on the right objects. Good luck, I love kittens.

Answer 8

whenever you catch him scratching the furniture squirt him a couple of time like your doing, spack him and yell no and whenever he scratches the post say good boy and treat him

Answer 9

Get another kitten. Honestly. I'm not trying to be a smart-@ss. They will take their energy out on each other instead of your furniture.

Answer 10

Well you could put some catnip on the scratch post. My cat did that and my parents said that either I get her declawed or give her away. I know it is so horrible but I had to play 80 for each paw to get her declawed. She healed great and now she still tries to scratch stuff but she cant. I dont mean get your kitty declawed but she is still a kitten and in time he will learn. :)