We have tried cutting their nails and buying a scratching post and that doesnt help. My mom says she'll get rid of them if it continues. Any suggestions?
2007-01-02 16:04:53 · 27 answers · asked by scottishsoftballlvr 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
Get a scratch post that has some catnip in it. That works very well for my cats. You can check out these websites I looked up for you too. They'll give you more ideas of how to keep your cats from ripping up your moms couches. Good Luck
2007-01-02 16:09:43 · answer #1 · answered by J RO 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As well as the nail clips that people have mentioned, there is also a double sided tape that pet stores sell that you can stick on the area that the cats are scratching. It won't hurt the cats, but they don't like the stickiness of the tape and will stay away from that area. Also try buying a scratching post that is the same material as the couch they are scratching and stick it in an opposite area of the room - if you stick it near the area that the couch is in, it will encourage scratching the couch instead. If you catch the cats scratching, spray them with water.
2007-01-02 16:55:05 · answer #2 · answered by Fat Lip 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I don't know what they are called but after you cut the cat's nails, there are places that sell these rubber caps for the cat's claws so even if the cat scratches stuff, it wont do anything because the caps are there to protect the furniture. The caps fit tightly enough so the cat can still retract his/her nails with no problem. Below are some helpful websites where you can purchase them. Your local petstore may have them too. They come in a variety of colors including clear.
http://www.furlongspetsupply.com/soft_claws.htm
http://www.safepetproducts.com/pilot.asp?pg=softpaws_info
2007-01-02 16:42:06 · answer #3 · answered by chamelean75 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First, do NOT declaw them! Like someone said earlier, it's cruel..like cutting off part of your finger. Second, spraying them might work, but it can be risky because you might spray them in the eye if you use a squirt gun or a spray bottle set on "stream". Also, your mom probably doesn't want her leather couches getting wet so you can't use a spray bottle set on "spray." I trained my six cats using two methods. I put a product called "sticky paws" on everything I didn't want them to scratch. Basically, it's double sided tape. See the link below. Also, I used a can filled with coins. I shook it every time they even thought about scratching something they shouldn't. The noise scared them and they associatedthe noise with the scratching of the sofa. It worked on five of the cats. The only one it didn't work on was my deaf cat. ;)
2007-01-02 16:25:22 · answer #4 · answered by NachoBidness 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Keep the scratching posts and lace them with catnip. Encourage them to scratch on the posts and use a water spray bottle to squirt them when they even look like they want the couch (or anything else they may want to use as a scratch post). Cats learn fast and they will learn the difference between the post and the furniture, but you have to be consistent in the squirting and the encouraging...when you spray them away from the couch, put them near the post and YOU scratch the post to encourage them to follow your lead. When they scratch the post, love them up well...only takes a few days...AND DO NOT USE LEMON WATER AS SUGGESTED ABOVE--CAN BLIND THE CATS...
2007-01-02 16:16:07 · answer #5 · answered by beetlejuice49423 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We have leather sofas, armchair and ottomans. I trained my cats not to scratch them by first covering the leather furniture with decorative blankets and throw pillows to make them less appealing as scratching material. After a couple of months, we could leave the leather furniture ncovered and the cats don't scratch them... thay got used to the idea that these items are not scratchable. Oh, they do have other items that they scracth on - a wooden post, a circular toy with a ball and carboard center, and an old area rug.
2007-01-02 19:53:23 · answer #6 · answered by Phoebhart 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are many ways to keep your cats from clawing the furniture. Some of these ways would require you to be almost obsessive in relation to your observation in the cats' behavior, others not so much attention needs to be paid.
1st. whenever a cat comes near the furniture and looks like it will begin scratching do something/ anything to interrupt it, when you have its attention push it away from the couch and situate yourself between the couch and the cat. Do not stroke the cat or praise it, if it rubs on you push it away. If you provide it with positive reinforcement for bad behavior it will never stop.
2nd. retry the scratching post, it may help to rap leather like the leather from the furniture. The cats are only scratching the furniture to shorten there claws, cats have different tastes, their likes and dislikes vary... your cats like leather.
3rd. if you catch one in the act, scare the hell out of it with loud noise, like a plastic bag or newspaper. i'm not saying for you to hit the cat
... guess that is all i got, maybe if i knew the cats' sexes or how many there were in all, i could help you more
2007-01-02 16:23:13 · answer #7 · answered by Cobra's Strike 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dear, bless you for loving cat babies! We have six of our own and we love them more than life itself. We had a similar problem years ago when our biggest boy, the Bad Beeb was scratching the walls. I was working nights and he would scratch during the day when I was trying to sleep. We simply bought some citrus spray (the one with the pure citrus oils) and put some citronella oil into the citrus spray. We sprayed the walls where our naughty son was scratching. Cats detest citrus and cannot stand citronella. The Bad Beeb sneezed the first time he tried to go NEAR the sprayed walls and fled, running down the hall squeaking like a baby mouse. So much for his daytime scratching when Mom was trying to sleep. Now he knows better!
So try spraying your mom's leather couches lightly with the citrus/citronella mix. I'll bet your babies don't go NEAR those couches as long as they "stink" to them! Good luck, dear.
2007-01-02 16:19:27 · answer #8 · answered by bjorktwin 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
DO NOT DECLAW THEM-it is the equivilant of cutting off the finger at the first knuckle. Giving them away would be more humane.
But I myself clip my cats claws tips so they are blunt and can't tear into things!
Try shaking a can with coins at them to scare them.
And make sure they have plenty of places they CAN scratch. Scrating posts. Or cheaper, get some secions of 2x4 for them to scratch.
2007-01-02 16:15:53 · answer #9 · answered by sofun 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Put some clear plastic packaging/box tape on the places where the cats like to scratch. They hate the way plastic feels on their claws and should stop. I've tried this and it works. You can also buy similar, commercially made furniture protectors at pet stores.
2007-01-02 16:21:31 · answer #10 · answered by Nelly Wetmore 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋