How do I stop my cats from scratching my furniture?

Answer 1

An aternative to declawing a cat would be to trim the cat's claws and then purchase from PetSmart or a Pet store is nail caps that you glue on to the cat's claws. They are called Soft Claws. They last for three months. I also use a spray bottle full of water when my cat starts to scratch at the furniture.

Answer 2

There are several things you can do that don't require you getting your cat declawed. Make sure that you have a good scratching post in the room, if you have an older cat (6 months plus) rub it with catnip. If the cat is not used to the scratching post try placing toys/treats on there. The cat will come to associate using the post with good things. Whenever the cat scratches the furniture spray them once with a water bottle and tell them no. While you are training them on the scratching post you may want to put double-sided tape on the areas they are scratching, cats hate the feel of it. If you have tried all of this and had no luck I recommend looking into soft paws. I've never tried them but you should be able to pick them up at any pet store. They clip right over the cats claws so they won't be able to scratch your furniture.

Answer 3

There are several ways to achieve this - firstly, you should cover the areas they like to scratch either with aluminum foil or with double-sided sticky tape (this is only temporary, so don't worry about the way it looks). Cats don't like the feeling of those on their paws, so they won't scratch there.

Then, make sure the cats have several surfaces they are allowed to scratch - a cat tree, scratching board, turbo scratcher... try to get both vertical and horizontal things, and things with different type of covering (sisal is usually very popular, as is cardboard). Put those NEAR the spots your cats scratch (again, you can move them later, so don't worry if they look stupid there.) Put some catnip on them to make them smell attractive.

When you cats scratch something they shouldn't, clap your hands (or shake a can of pennies.) When you see them scratch where they are supposed to, praise them give them treats, make a big fuss. You cats will get the hang of it pretty quickly, and then you can move the scratchers and remove the tape/foil.

Here's a great article about the topic:
http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/badscratching.htm

Please do NOT get the cat declawed - it's cruel. It's actually not just removing the claw, but amputation of the first bit of the toe - it'd be like cutting of a human's fingers at the first joint. It's terribly painful for the cats, anesthesia and painkillers notwithstanding, and it often leads to problems later in life, such as biting (because the cat feels defenseless and can't use claws for defense) or litter-box avoidance (because the litter hurts the tips of the paws).

Answer 4

Declawing is so barbaric and unnecessary.

Simply make sure they have scratching posts, put some "sticky paws" on your furniture. Or two sided sticky tape. Cats hate the feel of the sticky tape on their paws.
Or you can put some citronella around where they are scratching.
Tell them firmly "NO" and spray them with water - not the face, but the side or rump.
Make a really loud noise (dropping a saucepan for eg) when you see them go to scratch - just dont let them see you are doing it.
You can also trim your cats' nails. You just nip the tip off the claws.

Answer 5

I have a cat that does the same thing! I was looking through a magazine the other day and I saw these things that were like tape. They were strips that you stuck on your furniture. But, they weren't sticky on the part the cat would scratch. I thought that was pretty cool but why buy those when you could just put tape, wide transparent tape on the furniture the cats scratches. That's what I plan to do. You can buy tape like that at any store that sells tools and stuff like that. I totally just blanked on the name of those tool stores!!!! Aha, hardware stores!

Answer 6

buy sprays like 'keep off' of ' training aid' at your pet store. you spray your furniture with this liquid and it gives a smell to the piece that is not great for the cat, so he keeps off. You don't smell it, maybe a bit. You just have to keep on spraying that stuff regularly.

other methods are the spraybottle with water and spray the cat when you catch him scratching the furniture.

I also had one furniture piece that was just for the cats. If they scratched it, that was okay... as long as they did not do it with other pieces.
It worked for me!

Good luck!

Answer 7

1. Don't declaw them, that's an awful amputation and you don't need to do it, plus it may cause worse problems (they may stop using the litterbox or start biting).
2. You can use www.softpaws.com
they sell claw caps which are easy to use and effective, and cheap.
3. You can teach them where to scratch and where not to. When ypu see them scratch somewhere that is not allowed to scratch, pick them up, say No, and put them on their scratching mat or post. You must give them the alternative. Reward them when they scratch the scratching mat. If you do that many times, they'll learn. Also, trimming the end of their nails will help.

Answer 8

A Cat Can Be Trained To Use A Scraching Post, I've Senn It Done. Just Keep In Mind It Will Take Time And Patience.

Answer 9

Decalw Your Cats.

Answer 10

Get them declawed in the front.
Maybe a nice scratching post would distract them.
Or put on a furniture cover.