Okay, I'm stumped. How do you guys keep your cat from clawing your upholstery?

[nolabear]

I've never had one as bad as Bunny for clawing the upholstered chairs. We trim her nails, put double sticky tape on the spots...but really, who can live like that permanently...give her great stuff to claw, use the squirt bottle when we catch her, and it's just ridiculous.

The stuff we have is getting a bit ragged looking, but it's pretty old. How can I ever buy new stuff? I love Bunny and wouldn't dream of choosing furniture over her, but...damn.

Any new thoughts?

[emilyg]

1. Feel for you. When I

leave the house I put plastic over couch. This gets old.

[provis99]

2. only one thing ever worked for my cat.

It was a little scratch pad, made out of jute glued onto a plastic backing. I just rubbed catnip over it, the cat ran to the catnip, and discovered he liked scratching there.
Don't buy the cheap cardboard surface ones, which last about 30 seconds. You might find this at a big discount store rather than having to shell out big bucks at a specialty pet store.

You might find it works for you, if you haven't tried it.

[grasswire]

3. I put clear packing tape over the corner of the couch where cat started...

...scratching. It worked. Of course then the border collie ruined the back of it. I cover it with a pretty quilt.

Kitty DID do a little bit of damage to a gorgeous mid-century chair that we prize quite a bit. Solution, sigh...cover the chair at all times.

[GoCubsGo]

11. An alternative to packing tape.

Double-stick carpet tape. It looks like packing tape, but is sticky on both sides. You can get it at your local big box home improvement store. They sell strips of it at pet stores as anti-scratch remedies. However, it's EXPENSIVE. Ten bucks for a few feet worth of tape, as opposed to a roll of the carpet tape for around five bucks. And, unlike the stuff at the pet store, the carpet tape isn't pre-cut, so you can customize the length you need.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. You don't.

I got really lucky with my current cat. She doesn't touch the furniture. Know what she DOES love? The cardboard "flat" at the bottom of the 24-bottle shrink-wrapped packages of Arrowhead water. Only problem is that they are now packaging it without the cardboard, so I have to improvise. She has a scratching post she used to use a lot, but when she discovered the joy of cardboard, that's her victim of choice these days.

My last two cats (who both died of age-related complications back in 2001)...one never touched the furniture, the other completely destroyed a the arm rests...left AND right...on a sofa AND a love seat. I tried every trick in the book. If I caught him doing it and clapped my hands in a loud manner he'd stop, but I couldn't very well clap my hands remotely while I was at work all day.

He was the sweetest, most loving, craziest cat I've ever had...my current cat is sweet but she's an aloof little shit who never...N-E-V-E-R gets on me or close to me, always at LEAST a foot away until she wants to be brushed.

[HopeHoops]

5. SuperSoaker. It doesn't take long for them to recognize the sound of it being pumped.

Eventually you don't even need to put water in it. Just give it a few pumps and the cat scrambles. During the training phase, you can hit the fuckers from 20' away - scratching furniture, up on the counter, clawing drapes, pretty much anything they know they shouldn't be doing.

[Patiod]

7. Hahahahahahaha Great image!!!!

We made the mistake of feeding our new cat wet food when we had our breakfast, which resulted in her attempting to move breakfast earlier from 7:30 to 7:00 to 6:00 to 5:00 to 4:00. She would start running back and forth over our heads at 4:00 am.

We tried the squirt gun, and it was funny, but it only resulted in wet, angry cat running back and forth over our heads.

After we were away on a long vacation, we stopped giving the cat breakfast, and moved one of the feedings to bedtime. It took FOUR years for her to stop haunting us for it. FOUR YEARS. Persistent little thing. Now she starts pestering us at about 9:00 pm while we're watching TV, but that's a lot easier to deal with than 4:00 AM.

She is sitting on my lap as I type, and doesn't LOOK like something I used to enjoy shooting with a squirt gun...

[HopeHoops]

13. I still like pumping the SuperSoaker when they're acting up. I love the looks on their faces.

I got DAMN good at nailing them from across the room. Laser beam-like shots.

[meow2u3]

6. Guess where my cats like to scratch

I have unfinished wood molding by the door to my living quarters--and that ended up being the cats' preferred scratching place. That is, unless I decide to "treat" the area with citrus cleaner; then they stay away from there and claw at the bed. :mad:

[rug]

8. Surround the with cat food.

After they pass out from eating, pick them up and put them outside.

[snagglepuss]

9. I found something that worked for my Moms cat. My sis had bought

a 14 inch scratching pole when Misha was a little kitten; however, he soon outgrew it so I got a floor mat that had a sisal backing and wrapped it around the post and used string to secure it. I place a corner of the base under a heavy chest so it wouldn't move and Misha loves it. At 20 or so inches it is high enough to make it appealing. He also at times will use a cardboard scratching box that has catnip sprinkled on it.

[GoCubsGo]

10. You need to clean the area where she scratches first.

Cats have scent glands in their paws. When they scratch they are not only sharpening their claws, they're also marking their territory. Cleaning removes the scent, so that they are less likely to visit that spot again. Then, find something else the cat really likes to scratch and encourage her to use that. You might think what you're putting out is great, but obviously, she doesn't. Mine loves scratching jute/sissal. I went to TJMaxx and bought one of those woven sissal door mats (see below). I didn't even need to spray it with catnip to get her to go after it. I also wrapped an old cardboard core from a roll of carpeting with jute rope, and she uses that, as well. Cats like to stretch out when they scratch, and most of the scratching posts that are for sale are way too short to allow that.

If that fails, look into Soft Paws nail caps.

[emilyg]

17. I'll try.

[libodem]

12. sometimes using clear tape

Over the area changes the surface so they are not as attracted to it.

[marzipanni]

14. Like GoCubsGo's and Snagglepuss' cats, my cat loved a mat

I bought a sisal "crocheted" looking door mat from an inexpensive import store (used to be 'Cost Plus', now it goes by 'Cost Plus World Market')




I had it on the wall-to-wall carpet in front of the sliding-glass door to the patio of a little duplex I was renting. Much more than its feet-wiping use, the mat became a pleasure for my cat and dog.
Cat "plucked" it, and both cat and dog rubbed the sides of their faces on it. The only other thing the cat used for grooming his claws was a fence post.

I'll bet if you put a mat like this below where Bunny scratches a chair she would prefer its texture. To insure success at first sprinkle some catnip on it, as others have suggested.
If she doesn't like it you still have a nice doormat! ;)

[Lucinda]

15. Squirt bottles

Best cat training tools evah.

[Lil Missy]

16. Have the claws removed.

:hide:

[applegrove]

18. Give up like I have. Accept that you have a $1000 giant cat toy in your livingroom! LOL!

[Kali]

19. laundry, clean and dirty, 2 inch layer of dust, just not giving a shit anymore

those are the only things I have found that work:P

[marzipanni]

20. LOL!

:thumbsup: !

[Kali]

21. also piles of junk mail and newspapers, boxes of old paperwork

SIGH

[marzipanni]

22. Oh, woman...

I can so relate. I did put my pile of non-envelope junk mail in the recycling box. When the big shredder truck comes to my bank, I'd like to throw in a box or four of old bank statements, paid bills, etc..

And to my great relief I discovered, at one grocery store I go to, a couple of collection boxes for GAIA which not only wants useable clothing and shoes, but also torn/worn out stuff which can be recycled into mechanics' rags, car trunk lining felt, etc.
When you get to be my age and clothes I wore 20-30 years ago are back in style, I can justify still having some of those clothes, but not the "intend to repair clothes my son wore ten years ago so I can give them to the SPCA thrift shop or Goodwill instead of throw it in the landfill" pile. ;)