how do i stop my cat from shredding the furniture?

Answer 1

- Provide your cat with a variety of scratching posts—cardboard, carpeting, wood, upholstery, etc. Some cats prefer horizontal posts and others prefer vertical posts, while still others favor slanted posts. Some cats like pile carpeting, while others will only scratch on sisal. Some prefer a longitudinal grain for raking, while others like a latitudinal grain for picking. Once you ascertain your cat’s personal preferences, provide additional posts in various locations. All cats should have a sturdy post that won’t shift or collapse when used. Cats also like a post that is tall enough so they can stretch fully—presumably why they like drapes so much!

- Encourage the cat to investigate the posts by scenting them with catnip or hanging toys at the tops of the posts. Take care to place posts in areas where the cat will be inclined to climb on them.

- Discourage inappropriate scratching by removing or covering desirable objects in your home. Turn speakers to the wall. Use plastic, double-sided sticky tape, sandpaper or vinyl carpet runner (turned upside-down to expose the knobby feet) on furniture or on the floor where the cat would stand to scratch. Place scratching posts adjacent to these objects.

- Clip the cat’s nails regularly.

- Consider using plastic caps (Soft PawsTM) for the cat’s nails. These caps attach to the nails with an adhesive so that if the cat scratches, no damage is done. The caps are temporary, lasting about 4 to 6 weeks.

- If, and only if, you catch your cat in the act of scratching an inappropriate object, you may try startling the cat by clapping your hands or squirting her with water. Do this sparingly because the cat may associate you with this startling event and come to fear you.

Answer 2

There are loads off ways out there to stop cats shredding furniture. But unfortunatly most of them dont work here are some which worked with my cats. Every time we see them on there shout at them and after a while they will get the idea that you dont want them on there. Or you can buy sticiky pads which are transparant and stick to your furniture and the bottom of your stairs. also if they are the age of kittens to 5 years of age they are going through a rough time which im not going to talk about(see vet if want more info.) so there body is changing...... so they will go mad like;
.going outside to play more
.bringing mice and birds in frequently
.ocationly missing breakfast/supper
.or just shred things to pieces

When the cats get to about 6 they start having proplems like if they didnt exercise very well in younger years they would slowly get fat and they might get atheritus although it is sad, just remember they dont have enough stamina to rip your furniture to pieces anymore.
Hope this helped

Answer 3

Yes it is annoying isnt it my cat does this too. But if you can have a small water pistol handy and squirt her when she scratches the furniture, she will soon get the message and it is not cruel just gives the cat a bit of a start!

Answer 4

Shred the cat

Answer 5

Buy your cat a scratching post and every time your cat starts scratching the furniture place it near the post and it will eventually get the message.

Answer 6

Get a scratching post this relieves their urge to scratch up furniture,if its an indoor cat you can clip its nails very carefully
because if you clip wrong you can cut the nerve and will bleed,just after the pink line on the claw,If outdoor I don't
recommend it (defense)from anything.

Answer 7

http://www.catscratching.com/
Try this link for info. on scratching.

Do you have a scratching post or kitty condo? Having one is a must! Or even some carpet tacked on a wall.

Keep the claws trimmed. If you don't know how, ask someone with a cat, or ask Yahoo! Answers.

Also look under cats under categories (Yahoo! Answers) and click Discover (resolved questions). There are lots of others who asked this question, and you may get some good ideas from their answers.

Answer 8

You need to groom your cat more frequently to remove the loose fur. My vet recommended a steel-toothed dog comb to get out more of the loose fur. I also got a tool called the "Furminator" at the pet store and it is a small-toothed rake that you use to pull through the cat's coat to get rid of the loose fur. I was surprised how much it got out and how much my cat enjoyed it. He just stretched out and purred his little heart out. Of course, I gave him a treat afterwards and told him he'd been "Furminated". Now every time he sees the tool he wants to be combed. Other things you can do if you don't want to use this tool is to wet your hands and then pet your cat. A lot of loose fur will stick to your hands. I also use sticky "lint rollers" to get the leftover fur off the furniture after I vacuum. On my couch it seemed easier to just put a sheet or blanket on the couch and pull it off when I had guests. There are also sprays you can get that advertise they help stop shedding, but in my experience, grooming is the best.

Answer 9

Make her a scratching post because cats they always want sharpen their claws so if you coulod take an iron or wooden rod and cover it with strong fabric like material, but it may take a while for it to get used to it, so the sooner you start the better.

Answer 10

Sorry - this is one thing I cant help either. My cats have a scratching post that hold firm against the ceiling - its like a damn palace with 10 levels - they love to play on it and do scratch it but I can't get them to stop scratch the back of our lounge. we have tried squirting them with water. we even switched couches around so their usual scratching corner was in perfect condition - i hoped that if it was intact they would maybe forget about scratchin it or wouldnt want to. but they have now wrecked two couches.