How do I stop my cat from sharpening her claws on the corner of my matress?

Answer 1

Squirt her with water from a spray bottle or squirt gun whenever you catch her doing it. Another method is a blow from an airhorn (just make sure she doesn't see you doing this, or she will associate the unpleasant noise with YOU....and it's not a good idea if you live in an apartment, lol). My male tried several different surfaces in my home (including the corner of my box spring)....thankfully, he's pretty sensitive. All I ever had to do was clap my hands loudly once and let out a resounding "NO!"....he'd run away....and never scratch on that particular surface again.

You could also try putting double sided sticky tape on the corners of your mattress. She'll hate the way it feels on her paws. And it will help protect your mattress (and deter her) when you're not around to do it yourself.

Also make sure she has plenty of other surfaces that are acceptable to scratch on. Scratching posts are great, but both of my cats love (and I think prefer) the cardboard scratching boards.

The basic rule is to punish unwanted scratching and praise acceptable scratching. Cats catch on pretty quick, just be persistant.

And no, you don't HAVE to declaw (the people saying that are lazy, cruel morons). Please don't, it's amputation and very inhumane.

And NO, it is NOT a "fact" that all cats hate aluminum foil. I wouldn't recommend this....some cats like to eat it. It sounds silly, but I'm dead serious. I was warned against that method....and then a friend of mine told me about a cat he had that ate it. In his words, the cat was "shittin' tinfoil for a week". Sticky tape is a much better (and safer) solution.

And it's also NOT true that cats don't sharpen their claws. They DO....and scratching on things ALSO helps them remove the nail husks. Clipping her nails is advised, but it won't single handedly eliminate the scratching.

And good luck!

Answer 2

I've had cats do that to the edge of boxes and edge of furniture, and the cat I have now does it to the looped rug (so I have to trim the loops so she doesn't get stuck in them and hurt her paws). Seems this is a normal function for cats to do since they do mix bread on anything that's soft as well. My cat digs into the rug before and after using the sandbox. I've had over time six cats, only two cats had the nails removed from their front claws. Having the claws removed, from what I hear may be illegal in some states, or some states are trying to move toward that, however to move into some apartment complexes your pet just have their nails removed from their front claws. I heard it's not just simply a removal of the nails but is some kind of distortion of the paws when that procedure is done, and, the cost of having this done has gone up.

You can teach your cat to use a scratching post, or supply her with boxes to scratch on (and put some kind of deterrent pet spray on the corners of your bed (although that would mean you'd be smelling that during the night). Why not just save money for your plans to buy yourself a new mattress when this one has bit the dust. If you trim your cat's nails it won't be so bad and will take a little longer for the cat to ruin the mattress. On couches a close weave material deters them from scratching there.

Good luck since cats have their own mind and they train their owners, "we" don't really train them.

Answer 3

Well, firstly you need to make sure that your cat has somewhere she's allowed to sharpen her claws - a cat tree, or scratching post, or something. You can get sprays from any pet store that will make this approved scratching-post more enticing to her.

Then you have to deal with the mattress problem. Tip - cats hate aluminium foil, so (when you're not using the mattress, obviously) cover the corner in foil. You can re-use the same piece every day. That should put the cat right off scratching.

The extreme answer is the water-pistol. If the cat scratches somewhere she's not allowed to scratch, squirt her once with water from a water gun. (Just water; some people advocate using vinegar but that's just cruel.) This will teach her that bad things happen when she scratches certain places. The advantage of the water pistol is that she won't associate the punishment with you, so she won't become scared of you. That's the danger in just shouting "No!".

Answer 4

Get a little spray bottle, fill it with water and keep it close to your bed. Next time that your cat tries to sharpen her claws on the mattress. Spray it with the water. It should help and keep it away.

Answer 5

Soft Paws are awesome!!! I used them on my boy for about a year and I havent had to put them on since. Here is the link for them:
http://www.softpaws.com/ ... They are a humane alternative to declawing. It used to be just a standard...but studies show that cats are sustaining additional issues later on in life due to declawing. Declawing is an inhumane thing to do to a cat. In Europe and Britain it is illegal to have done.If you already own declawed cat you are not allowed to bring it into the country. When a cat is declawd the actually remove the whole last knuckle...could you imagine walking on little nubs for toes? The nail caps come with instructions and your vet should be more than happy to show you how to use them and put them on. You need to give your cat a surface he is allowed to scratch on though...mine love corrugated cardboard...you can find them at any pet supply shop..even Petsmart carries Soft Paws.

Answer 6

Like the others have said, get her a scratching post. Cats need to sharpen their paws/claws.(talons). Next, get a spray bottle of water. When the cat is misbehaving, on furniture, or whatever, mist a little water at her/him. They will learn real quick like not to do that again.
Oh, one of my cats (sealpoint) licks my toes, he, he,he

Answer 7

i don't know. i clip my cats claws but that doesn't do anything becuz they want to sharpen them, my cats have a scratching post but they still sharpen their claws on the corner of my matress... so i don't kno what to do either.

Answer 8

Buy or make a scratching post, then encourage Dink'ums to use it ...
Everytime the cat uses the matress, throw a slipper at him . He will soon quit

Answer 9

I want to suggest this wonderful thing called Soft Paws. Your trim your cats nails and put these little tips on and they coat the nails, making them slick. I bought them at PetSmart and are wonderful, they do eventually come off, one here or there, but for $20.00 you get four full applications. They are wonderful! No more snags in my couches! Good luck!

Answer 10

Put double stick tape on the spot where she claws the matress. She will not like the feel of the sticky tape. Also make sure she has something of her own to sctatch on.