My cat is messing up the furniture. I have a scratching post but he dose not like it. So what can I do?
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at
6:16 pm
I also have an older cat but all she dose is lay around. The cat that is messing up the furniture is young and is an inside cat. I don’t want to get my cat declawed.
Filed under: Cat Scratching Post
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I would have to say that even though you do not want to declaw your cat it’s the best bet for you. Just declaw the front claws not the back. Do you really want to spray stuff on your furniture?
Don’t listen to the people yellin’ ‘declaw him’. That is cruel.
The petstores have nail caps that supposively help. Other than that, you can try to train this cat not to do it, with a spray bottle of water. Squirt him, when he scratches on the furniture. Sooner or later, he’ll direct his scratching needs elsewhere.
god some people are just plain awful!! if you don’t want him declawed try some sprays made for such things – you can get them at PetsMart or search online. also get a good waterbottle. everytime he goes near, descreetly give him a good squirt. they hate that and will soon associate it with scratching the couch. my parents have done that with their two cats and it works great. good luck!
Do not declaw your cat, that’s inhumane, What I have found works with my two indoor cats, is I have placed scratch poles in front of the area of furniture they are ruining and they can’t get to that one specific spot,so they have settled for the poles….
Look on the internet i think the web site is called softclaws.com they make things that go over your cat claws that will not let them scratch your furniture and your cat can retract it’s claws with out them coming off and it doesnt hurt your cat but check them out i seen the add on T.V. and thought "What a neat ideal " and you dont have to get your cat declawed. Hope that helps you goodluck.
Please, please, please don’t listen to people that say declaw your cat. I use a water bottle and spray my cats if they get into things they shouldn’t. I also agree with the bitter apple products. There’s more suggestions from the link I’ve provided. Please DO NOT DECLAW HER!
Please do not declaw the cat; this should be the last option.
We also had the same problem, but we distracted the cat whenever it started to scratch the sofa, with a piece of rope or inviting some bird to the window by offering food or with the smell of ‘cat nip’.
Afterwards we would bring her to the log and lead her to scratching by scratching the log ourselves. Now the cat has passed that stage and is conditioned to scratch the log.
The trouble was worth it for the pet is precious to us.
Well you can spray him with a water bottle when he does it, or make a loud noise to scare him off the furniture but this is only temporary. A cat will always find the need to scratch something. The only other solution is to declaw his front paws. Many people will say to buy the nail caps that are made out of rubber or plastic that you glue on the cats nails but they end up chewing them off anyways and go right back to scratching the furniture and walls. I would find a vet who will declaw him for you and explain to you the procedure and after care.
Thats a no brainer GET RID OF ALL FURNITURE SO HE HAS ONLY THE POST TO SCRATCH. LOL
Petco sells claw boots you glue on their claws it might help.
Put some cat nip upunder the cat post…
They have sprays that you can buy. They are unscented and won’t harm your furniture, but it keeps them from clawing. Also, anytime you see your cat clawing or even thinking about it, grab a squirt bottle and put it on stream and give him/her a squirt of water n the face… works every time
Get a log with a rough bark, it´s a little bit messy but cats like it better than other scratch poles. If the cat has accepted the log replace it by a log without bark and then with a "normal" cat scratch stand. Catnip on the log and spraying with water where she is not supposed to scratch can be a big help.
beat his ass
declaw him!
just lock him in the restroom
put the cat outside where it belongs
There is a bitter apple spray that you can get. Spray it on anything that you don’t want messed up. cat’s hate that stuff.
have his claws taken out….just the front ones.
take him/her to a training school. they have that for dogs, but also cats. take out the claws too. that always helps. you can go to a pet store and see what they have. you can also ask a vet! there are many things to resolve this, i’m just not an expert. good luck! have a great day! : )
use a water bottle when he does bad things and take him and put his claws on the post.
He’ll llearn
my cat was hard headed also once upon a time
chop off it’s paws
Try spreading some catnip over the scratching posts, usually works.
Pretend that scratching post is a valued treasure.
Dispose of him properly.
Put mustard all over the furniture, they hate it!!! I find dijon works best!
There are specially formulated sprays for such a fiendish feline. You can also try a time-out cage. If he’s being naughty, time-out! Typical behavior for a young (bored) cat with lots of energy. Has he got plenty of toys?
Regarding removing the claws….this can cause problems as he ages, because clawing keeps their shoulder muscles toned. As the cat ages, they lose shoulder muscle because they can’t exercise them.. My sister had a cat given to her and this was diagnosed by a vet.
Nail caps. They are caps you put on their claws with glue once every 4-6 weeks so they can ‘scratch’ but not cause damage.
You could also try getting a catnip spray to spray on the scratching post. And a repellent spray to spray on your furniture.
RUB CATNIP ON THE SCATCHING POST. OR MAY BE IF ITS AN INSIDE CAT HAVE IT DECLAWED??
well for starters, when you are home, have a spay bottle handy, and when it starts scratching, squirt away. My husbands cat used to do that, and after just a few days, it cured her. To this day, if you even have a spray bottle in your hand, she heads for higher ground. When you are not home, keep the younger cat in a room where there really isn’t anything it can hurt with it’s scratching post. I always have a post close to the feed bowl also, nothing is better after filling the belly that scratching a bit. If this younger cat has not been spayed/neutered yet, I suggest you get that done, as what they could be doing is getting old enough to start feeling territorial, and scratching is how they draw their dividing line.
There is a spray you can buy at your local pet store to keep the cat off the furniture that it scratches on… it worked for me… don’t remember the name though – sorry. (or try bitter apple,diluted Tabasco sauce, lemon juice, or vinegar… etc)
I have a cat that likes to do the same thing. I tried SoftPaws which are a great idea, but it seems like they’d come off all of the time. Also tried the spray and that didn’t work. One thing I swear by is using the Glad(??) Press ‘n Seal paper on the corner of my couch where he wants to scratch. It’s a lot less expensive than the sticky paper you can get at the pet stores. When company comes over, just take it off. Good luck.