will ammonia or moth balls keep my cat from scratching my couch?

Answer 1

Well, they sure would keep her from scratching it. Those products would kill her. I have a better solution, use a citrus spray. Any pet store should have some.

Answer 2

Ammonia is a natural by-product of cat urine so using it would probably encourage it to pee on your cat, not to mention chemicals are extremely dangerous as are moth balls. The best solution is to keep its nails trimmed and provide an alternative to the couch like a scratching post. If your cat responds well to catnip you can put it on the object you give them to scratch as an encouragement. In the meantime each time your cat scratches the couch pick it up and take it to the approved scratching area until he/she gets the idea. You can also use a squirt bottle to discourage it from scratching your couch. Just a squirt or two near your cat should be enough to send it running!

Answer 3

Not certain about that... but moth balls are highly toxic to cats. A better plan to get some of those plastic cover sheets from a pet store designed specificaly to discourage a cat from using the couch as a scratching post. The cat only need to realize that there are better options for scratching, so if you apply a plastic cover and at the same time provide an appropriate scratching post in the material the cat favors (carpet, cardboard or rope), then I think you'd have solved your problem. Once the cat is scratching the post regularly, yucan remove the plastic guards from your couch.

I have 2 male cats who have their full compliment of claws and they have never scratched my leather sofa.

Answer 4

Moth balls can kill a cat and ammonia can damage it's nasal passages. I would never think of doing either. I tried lots of sprays, put scratching posts near it, nothing worked. Finally, I just completely covered the couch with sheets to protect it, looks bad when people come to visit, but it protects the couch and the cat can scratch.

Answer 5

A scratching post is best. Moth balls stink.

Answer 6

ammonia is the worst thing to use. Using ammonia based products will encourage your cat to now urinate on couch rather than scratching it!

Answer 7

Probably - but it will be really sick or dead! Try a squirt gun until the cat learns this not acceptable - and offer a scratching post or scratching toys to help it with a natural behavior.

Answer 8

i'd have to agree that those wouldnt work. and i would use the bitter apple spray stuff. its mostly the same as citrus. just spray that on the couch and when you see your cat scratching spray it with it too. or you could get a spray bottle with water and spray your cat with that. i used to have a problem with my cat scratching my front window ( it was an outside cat) and i use to just whip open the kitchen window and spray her with the hose from the sink and after a couple times she stopped. =)

Answer 9

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