How do you stop cats from scratching furniture?

Question

We are about to buy a new suite to replace the one the cats have completely destroyed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

We tried the following with our persian: we got a small water pistol and every time he went to scratch the sofa we gave him a small squirt. as he didnt associate the squirt with us- he didnt know where it was coming from- he just associated it with the behaviour of scratching the sofa and stopped within about a week. It was only a little bit of water so please don't think that we hurt him doing this! Another thing we had tried was putting strips of clear sticky backed plastic on the seams or areas where they tended to scratch and again this put them off.

Answer 2

When we got our kittens we had just bought a new sofa so there was no way I was going to let then scratch it up..I read an article and this is what it told me to do(it worked!!)..if your cat goes to scratch something it shouldn't pick it up and say "no" loudly then take it to its scratching post and scratch its paws on it and give it a praise and talk gentle to the cat...do this every single time and in a week or so the cat will go to its scratching post instead..actually I find a scratching board (the rectangular flat type)better as cats like to stretch out when they scratch...10 months on and our 2 kittens have never scratched our sofas..its worth a try
good luck

Answer 3

every time I catch my cat scratching on the furniture I get out my Spray bottle of water. He hasn't stopped but he has slowed down a bit. P.S. Some people will tell you to declaw your cat. That's a bad Idea i believe because the claws is the only defense the cat has. If it were ever to get outside.

Answer 4

I bought a cardboard cat scratching box. It has catnip leaves in it and comes with replaceable catnip leaves for when you run out. It attracts the cats and they seem to just KNOW what to do. The best part is. It's a nice handy able shape so when they're finished, it just slides underneath the sofa with out having to have an ugly cat scratching post around your house for eeyone to see!

Answer 5

Well the best answer could be a scratching post but another thing you may do is have a lot of catnip put it on top of the scratching post she will be amused also too tired to even scratch furniture that is what i did!

Answer 6

if declawing is not an option (which is a painful procedure especially in an older cat) then petco and petsmart carry these plastic fake nails that are dulled so the animals cannot cause damage to furniture or carpet. They are fairly inexpensive and if you buy them you can take your cat to the vet and have the techs apply them for you so you dont have to bother with it. Itll be worth a shot

Answer 7

Get them a scratching post, and buy a product called Feliway, spray it on the furniture, and they'll stop imediatly, also calms them down

Answer 8

buy a scratching post or build one (if you do build one put cloth on it. try catching them scratching the furniture and if you do scold them buy telling them no in a raised voice and hitting them gently but enough to sting them on the nose because to a cat or dog the nose is a sensitive place, that way theyll learn to not do it on the furniture. (when you do scold them, show them the scratching post so they know where theyre supposed to scratch there nails.)

Answer 9

simple

build a scratching post with the same design as the furniture that should help

Answer 10

If you catch the cat attaking the furniture, spray it with water. Cats hate water so it will jump back, and hopefully stop clawing it. Also, when doing this, say 'no' sternly.