What is the best way to stop a cat from picking the furniture, besides declawing them which I refused to do.?

Answer 1

Glad you ask! Double sided tape, cats hate the feel. Here are some tips for getting Kitty to prefer the post. Remember that an important part of scratching is the cat's desire to mark a territory don't hide it in a back corner. After a time you can move the post away to the periphery of the room. Initially, put the post where your cat goes to scratch. You may need more than one post to cover her favorite spots. Security is a major factor in making the post appealing to your cat. If it topples or shakes, she won't use it. It should either be secured to the floor or have a base wide enough and heavy enough to keep it stable. Encourage Kitty to use her post with clever enticements. Feed her and play with her by the post. Rub dried catnip into it. Make all the asssociations with the post pleasurable. Reward her with a favorite treat when she uses it. Have her chase a string around the post or attach toys to it, which will result in her digging her claws into it. Eventually she will learn to love it and regard it as her own. It's also a good idea to put a post where Kitty sleeps. Cats like to scratch when they awaken. If space permits, a scratching post in every room of the house is a cat's delight. The most important place is the area of the house in which you and Kitty spend the most time. If at first Kitty is reluctant to give up her old scratching areas, there are means you can use to discourage her. Covering the area with aluminum foil or double-sided tape is a great deterrent. Remember too that Kitty has marked her favorite spots with her scent as well as her claws. You may need to remove her scent from the areas you want to distract her away from. Cats have an aversion to citrus odors. Use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make her former scratching sites less agreeable to her. The point is to establish an aversion to the spot you don't want her to scratch.

I have four cats and none of them claw the furniture. Cats can be trained.

Answer 2

We have no carpet in our home and three cats so if we didn't do something our furniture would be garbage. What is most effective are those disposable cat scratchers that you can buy at just about any store that sells pet food and accessories. They come with cat nip in them and when the cat nip is used up, you can just add more until you have to throw the whole thing away. Also, you can't put it away from where everyone and everything is, the cats want to be near everyone. I put mine in the dining room under the buffet we have. It needs to be cleaned out because the stuff shreds but its a lot less expensive than buying new furniture all the time.

Answer 3

There are OTC (over the counter) sprays that deter cats from spraying, and they might just work to keep the cat from clawing the furniture, too.

You can use a spray bottle of water or a "jingle can" (a soda can with a few pennies or pebbles inside and the hole taped over) to interrupt the behavior. The jingle can is tossed near, but not directly AT the animal so as to interrupt but not terrify it. The idea is for the animal to associate its actions with something mildly unpleasant and thus extinquish the behavior.

Also, does the cat have a scratching post of its own? If not, you might consider getting one, especially the catnip scented kind. Every time that the cat goes for the furniture, pick it up (yeah, riiiiight. . .I know ;-) ) and take it over to its own scratching post.

Answer 4

Hi there,

Am glad you don't think the idea of declawing is a good idea, the amserican humane society acytually thinks its cruel to do so, so way to go you!

Ok back to your question, i would suggest you go to your local pet store and pick up a scratching post they are relatively cheap, you cat should be entertained with his new toy and will hopefully leave your furniture alone, failing that i suggest a bottle of bitter apple spray i knew it worked for dogs my a cat owning friend of mine assures me cats hate it too.

The last solution is the one i use to stop my pet chewing and clawing at my furniture is to take a spray bottle fill it with water and add the juice of 2 lemons, when i catch them doing things i don't want i spray them, now they only need see the bottle and they think twice about it!!!

Oh and shouldn't you have listed your question under cats not dogs?

Answer 5

There are these things called safe claws or something. They are little plastic claws that you super glue over their front claws so they can't scratch your furniture. Also cutting their nails often and getting them lots of scratching posts can help. Ours likes the posts with rope wraped around them instead of the carpet kind. But those super glue plastic nails actually work pretty well if your cat will let you put them on.

And I'm glad you won't declaw your cat that shows you care. :)

Answer 6

Get a squirt gun and squirt the cat every time it goes to claw the furniture. Make sure it doesn't know where the water is coming from. Soon it will associate the water with the urge to claw and stop.

Failing in that, there are commercial remedies that repel cats from furniture.

I had good luck with a scratching post that I hid a little catnip in so it would attract our cats. They both loved it and the furniture was saved...

Answer 7

You can get these nail caps for your cat called "Soft Paws" They sell them at Petsmart for about $15- $20 (these are clear). They also have colored ones which usually run cheaper ($10) You get about 40 soft paws and so they should last you awhile. Glue them on and that way even if you cat scratches the furniture it won't make a difference. Also get a scratching post for your cat and physically pick your cat up, take it to the post, and rub his paws on it - so he knows that's where he can scratch. Do the same thing if you catch him scratching your furniture (take him to the scratching post). Good luck!

Answer 8

Buy a squirt bottle and spray them with water when they scratch the couch, also they sell double sided sticky strips to put on the places they scratch as well. Buy a large cat tree and catnip spray and encourage your cat to scratch this and not the couch. Another option is Soft paws, they are vinyl caps you put on your cats claws so that they cannot scratch things.. http://www.softpaws.com/

I have 4 cats and personally I have not had a problem since I bought them a cat tree... it costs alot but it is worth it and that way your cat has its own furniture it can destroy if it wants too... and squirt the cat with water if they try to do it on your furniture... works for me anyway and I have NO claw marks on any of my furniture... Go here to see cat trees
http://www.cozycatfurniture.com/cat_trees.html

Answer 9

There's a few different things you can do to detour your cat from scratching the furniture.

First, invest in a quality scratching post for him/her. Either make one or buy a prefabricated one. You can spray it with catnip spray to catch the cat's interest.

Secondly, keep a spray bottle of plain water close to you when you're in the room where the cat is scratching the furniture. If you catch him/her scratching, give the cat a quick spray with the water and firmly say "NO."

Answer 10

Got to the store and buy a plastic bottle with a spray nozzle (like the Windex bottles), make sure it is a new empty bottle. Whenever my cat used to scratch the sofa or the carpet, I simply sprayed him in the face a couple of times with water. After a few times, he learned that scratching certain things came with a nice spray of water, which he did not enjoy too much. Give it a shot, it might work.