at wits end with kitten?

Question

I have a male kitten who is 6months old. He has not been declawed yet but i think I'm going to loose my mind with him. I have asked on here before about what to do with them scratching the couch and table. I got a post for him to use and actually tied it to the one spot he goes the most. Well yesterday I actually watched him move it out of the way to scratch the table. I dont know what to do. I have tried it all. When he he goes after the couch I move him to the post and show him how to do it and he knows where it is and how to use it. HELP.

Answer 1

I think it's time to declaw. Some cats just don't learn. I have tried these things called Sticky Paws from Petsmart. They seem to be working on the couch. It's double sided sticky tape that you can place anywhere they scratch and when they feel the tape on their paws, they don't like it so they stop. If you haven't tried that then try it. I tried the spray and that didn't work at all. The tape didn't work for my 3 month old kitten because he was to young to really understand that it doesn't feel nice but it may work on yours.

Answer 2

After reading everyone's responses I would have to agree with most. The water bottle surprise attack is a great answer. Having some catnip to spray onto something else, also a great idea. I have 2 cats, one I got as a kitten and did not declaw, the other I rescued at 4 years old and he was declawed already. My female who has claws used to claw my furniture all the time. I bought her a scratching post made of rope, so that when she claws it to death, there's rope hanging off to keep her attention (think I got it at PetSmart). I also did the spray bottle of water, and the spray catnip onto the scratching post. In combination, everything worked.

BUT, my cat will still wrap herself around the corner of the couch and claw with both front and back claws in the mornings sometimes. She knows that once I get out of bed, it's only a matter of time before she's fed. She also knows that if she claws the couch, I'm going to jump out of bed to yell at her. It's like she lays there waiting for me and takes off the second I get up in tell her no.

Cats are stubborn, prissy things that will do what they want. Good luck and I hope you can resolve this without declawing!

EDIT:
I would also like to mentionthat as far as declawing goes, to each his own. But, my male that came to me declawed limps sometimes. My vet told me there was nothing wrong, it's just a side effect of being declawed. Sometimes their feet will hurt them, my vet described it as being similar to an arthritis feeling. This is a result of declawing that some cats go through and others don't.

Answer 3

first go to pet smart and buy a away spray.it has a smell cat's dislike .then the scratching post should never be close to his fav spot.get a special nail cutter for cats claw's.and cut them straight,not to short that could bleed.teach him slowly ,talk to him.it takes time,he is just a baby.imagine him as a toodler.or in the terrible 2's.our kitten is 6 month and dont scratch at all.maybe you try a water spray bottle.most cat's hate water.when he do wrong ,first tell him ''no' a few times and if he dont listen use the water spray.make sure he dont see you using it.dont wet him all the way.just scare him a lil with the water.after a while he will understand what you want.its all most like you trying to ''potty train '' a small child.if you have questions you could im Me .

Answer 4

Hi there! If you don't want to do the declawing, they have new rubber tips that you can put on claws now (I would recommend having the vet do this though at your next vet visit). You can get them at petsmart. Or you can get just the front claws declawed which is what I did with my cat and it has helped tremendously. She still thinks she has claws but she doesn't ruin anything when she kneads things. =) A lot of vets now really don't like to declaw the front AND back claws anyway and will only do the front ones. So I recommend either getting the plastic claw clovers at petsmart or declawing just the front claws. Good luck!

Answer 5

You are probably going to need to do both positive and negative reinforcement to break his behavior. Not all cats like carpeted scratching posts. However, my cats go nuts with the Cosmic Catnip cardboard scratchers (I don't know why, but they love them, use them all the time). You could also get some catnip spray/dried catnip and sprinkle it on the post to tempt him to use it. He may not respond to catnip yet, though, they sometimes don't until they are older.

Now for the negative reinforcement: get a good spray bottle and fill it with water. If water alone won't work use a couple of drops of lemon juice in the water (cats tend to hate the citrus). Set it to stream setting and EVERY time he starts to scratch and you are there, spritz him! He will eventually get the message. Or he will just become more devious, depending on your cat. Good luck!

Answer 6

hiya, i found the best thing for me, is i get one of those spray bottles and fill it with water and anytime you see the cat scratching where it shouldn't just give the cat a little spray it will soon learn not to do it. i had 9 cats at one time as i help out with animal rescue and i do rehoming and thats the trick i used and none of my cats scratched the furniture for long. also keep the nails trimmed and try rubbing a bit of cat nip on the scratching post good luck with it from jackie xxx

Answer 7

De-clawing is very cruel and unnecessary. Particularly if you intend to let your cat go outdoors, as he will not only find it harder to cover up his mess, which is important to them when it comes to hiding their whereabouts from other cats, but also if he is chased by a dog, fox or even a larger cat, he will be unable to climb a tree or fence to escape.

But even for indoor cats, this is not a fair way to treat the problem. The spray suggestion is a good one, and if you need extra help, your vet will probably be able to give you advice, and these days many vets can put you in contact with a good pet behavior therapist...sounds a bit daft, but it's preferable to de-clawing and if you train him well and follow through with the techniques you are taught, then it will work...Honest!

Answer 8

Cats like to scratch stuff. They especially like to scratch stuff they shouldn't. Declawing your kitten is like taking off the tip of your fingers. To each their own, but I think your kitty would be much happier with his claws. You can try getting a spray bottle and spraying your kitty when he does something bad, but ultimately you got your kitten and you shouldn't punish him for being a cat. My wife and I tried to discipline our kitties, but we finally gave up and accepted that the fact that nice furniture and cats don't mix. It makes life a lot easier.

Answer 9

Well if you don't want to get him declawed, try using a water bottle. When he starts to scratch, sternly shout "No!" and spritz him with the water. Since he is young hearing that "No!" will sink in quickly along with that fear of getting water on him. I know many people are against declawing - but if you don't want your things torn up, I recommend it. All of my cats were declawed and turned out just fine :o)

Answer 10

Oh my god.
Thats easy.
There is a spray that you use for animals.
You could spray it on the couch so they wont go there.
Its funny because when I had a cat my dad sprayed some on the couch and when the cat was going to go over to the couch he jumped in the air and started running.
But uh...
I dont remember what the spray is called.
But just ask someone do they know what the spray is called