What do you do to keep a cat away from nice furniture? (scratching it)

[Quixote1818]

I am getting a roommate with a cat and I told this person if the cat destroys any furniture it would need to be paid for. Is their anything at Pet Mart that you can spray on furniture to get them to stay away from it? Thanks

[chelsea0011]

1. Yes there is but you need to check to make sure it won't stain it

I use to use a spray bottle filled with water. A couple of shots and cats get the idea. And make sure you having a scratching post.

[Not_Giving_Up]

2. Get a squirt bottle

Fill it with water. When kitty goes to claw, you squirt, kitty runs off. They eventually get the picture that they're not supposed to do that. I have three cats, all with claws, and no furniture damage.

[Quixote1818]

3. What if the cat does it to my leather chair? That would only take one

scratch. And what if it does it while I am gone?

[Not_Giving_Up]

4. Leather?

Uh oh. Kitties love to spray/pee on leather. That could be a problem. Not that they all do it, but it's fairly common. Is the kitty fixed? If so, less likely to spray.

When we first got our cats, they were confined to a room where they couldn't really destroy anything, with a litterbox, food, and water when we weren't home.

[Quixote1818]

6. The cat is already grown up. Does that make a difference?

The person said the cat stays away from furniture.

[Not_Giving_Up]

37. Yes, that does make a difference

How old is the cat?

[BlueJazz]

5. You're a better person than I am.

I would never, ever get a room-mate with a Cat. You're asking for trouble and ruined Furniture.

[LiberallyInclined]

7. it's called "de-clawing"...

and it work wonders.
:bounce:

if cats didn't want to be de-clawed, they should have become the dominant species on the planet.

[KittyWampus]

10. "De-Clawing" Is LITERALLY Cutting Off Parts Of Cat's Paws. It's Inhumane

and totally unnecassary. It also alters a cat's behavior. They often become more aggressive cause they can't defend themselves and also may stop using the litter box cause their paws bother them.

[LiberallyInclined]

12. i've had lots of de-clawed cats...

and never had a problem with them being too aggressive, or failing to use a litter box.

like i said- if they had become the dominant species, it wouldn't be an issue...but they didn't.

too bad for them.

[mark414]

18. dude that shit is so cruel

[RebelOne]

24. Yes, I agree. That is ultra-cruel.

And I am not a cat-lover, but in my opinion, that is torture for the cat. I believe they just banned declawing somewhere in California. I think it is in the Los Angeles area.

[soothsayer]

42. I hope they ban it everywhere! It's cruel and disgusting and

barbaric.

[LiberallyInclined]

47. i have the same opinion...

but about boxing.

[LiberallyInclined]

35. my cats do just fine, thank-you.

they're A LOT happier than they would be living outside as strays, but with their claws.

[d_b]

39. Hahaha

I needed that.

[KyndCulture]

20. Declawing is awful. What if the cat got out by accident? it's defenseless.

I hate getting into this conversation. But I have strong feelings about declawing cats.

[LiberallyInclined]

36. i only declaw the front...

the back claws are the ones that cats actually use for real fighting.
and my cats do go outside, into our fenced in backyard.

they have a much better and happier life living in our home without claws, than they would have living on the street as strays with their claws.
i've had this conversation many times, and my opinion will always remain the same- i'm pro-choice when it comes to de-clawing pets, and every cat that i ever own will have to face the procedure.
and i intend to own A LOT more cats in my lifetime.

[Thor_MN]

41. Focus on the point....

IT'S NOT HIS CAT!!!!!

He shouldn't have to train it, it's not his responsibility. If the water pistol/spray bottle people want to volunteer your time to go over to his house and guard his furniture, step on up. It's the only way your opinion counts.

He can't get it declawed, only the pet's owner could. I have two cats in my house, neither is mine. One has the front claws out the other doesn't. Of the two, the declawed cat is the better behaved and puts much less wear and tear on the house. And routinely puts the other one in his place.

Since I don't ever plan on having a cat of my own, my opinion on declawing doesn't really matter. All I can offer is my observations that pets destruction of property is directly related to the the way that the owner treats them. Claws/No claws... Cats can do worse things

Remember that it is not better to look good than to smell good.

[Rhiannon12866]

49. Declawing is truly cruel and very painful

Imagine having the top joint of each of your fingers cut off!!!;(

There is a very safe and non-surgical alternative to declawing. Little claw-shaped caps are places over each of the kitty's claws so they can't come out and scratch. You can get them at places like PetsMart. And if you can't apply them, your vet can do it for you. They last for a long time and don't hurt the cat.
:think:

[DELUSIONAL]

8. Nail caps for cats

http://www.the-cats-meow.ca/declaw7.html

Soft Paw --

http://www.softpaws.org/


nail caps for cats



http://www.safepetproducts.com/pilot.asp?pg=softpaws_info&engine=adwords!2241&keyword=%28soft+paw%29&match_type=

[KittyWampus]

11. Thanks, I Was Going To Post This.

[sugarmags]

51. I tried these...

and they work. You have to keep watch of them on your kitty though. The nail grows out and the caps "should" fall off. One of the nail caps didn't fall off and the cap started to grow into my kitty's pad. So watch it. My kitty used to use our couch as a scratching pad, and then we bought leather (I know... leather isn't good etc..) furniture and I was afraid that she'd scratch it, but didn't, with the caps on.

Good luck!

[amazona]

9. it won't work

When -- not if -- the cat destroys any furniture, the roommate will promise to pay but won't. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Quixote1818]

13. I am writing it into the contract. Isn't that binding?

[amazona]

33. a contract is as binding as your willingness to sue

For the amount of money involved unless you are comfortable with your small claims court system AND your ability to collect -- they don't get the money for you -- then I would say the contract is better than nothing but no promise of anything.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[BlueJazz]

15. I hear you...amazona.

A friend of mine had the experience of the "Oh..don't worry...I'll pay for it"
The Guy who moved in let his dog destroy the house than moved out.

I had to bite my tongue from not telling my friend..I told you so.

[happynewyear]

14. you can buy a cat scratcher w/catnip

I have two of these "treadmills" as I call them (they are made out of cardboard). I sprinkle the catnip they give you with it on them. My two cats just love these. I bought them at KMART for about $8 each. My cats claw these only now. I bought more catnip to use and I rub some on the cats when they claw these. Problem is solved! :D

:kick:

[lady lib]

16. We trained our adult cats to stop clawing our couches by

purchasing a carpet covered scratching post at Pet Smart (for like $25 I think), and giving them one or two kitty treats everytime they used it (we also strongly told them "No" when they tried to scratch the couches). We now call it the kitty vending machine. They give it a little scratch and then look over at us for the reward.

[KyndCulture]

22. Very good idea... rewards for scratching the post not the couch.

[lady lib]

29. Thank you.

It was my husband's idea.

[mark414]

17. here's some info from the WI humane society

http://www.wihumane.org/expert/catindex.html

[KyndCulture]

19. NO declawing, how'd you like your fingernails ripped out?

Squirt bottle with warm water in it.... I trained all my cats this way. It works... soon they will see the bottle come out and not even need the squirt.

[barb162]

21. I find cat trees help immensely and as they also scratching posts

the cats love them. I find water sprayed at them just scares the shit out of them and they can't figure why you just sprayed them (tried to hurt them). Negative+ punishment doesn't work as well as positive reinforcement, like getting a cat tree that they will enjoy and scratch to their heart's content. Put the cat tree next to the couch a few days and then move the tree somewhere else.

[KyndCulture]

23. Also, keep your cats nails trimmed close.

If you stay ontop of keeping their nails from getting too sharp, they will get bored with the scratch-sharpen-trim scenerio and quit doing it.
We trim our babies nails at lease once a week ususally twice.

[cags]

25. I know I know, It really works too.

Put clear tape on the corners or anywhere the cat tries to scratch it. Make sure you have an alternative place for them to scratch, they need that. They won't scratch the tape and after awhile you can take the tape off after they've gotten used to scratching where you want them too

[Shredr]

26. A water squirt bottle and

a couple of scratching posts. My cats love their posts and never touch my furniture.

[Neoma]

27. I try to scare the hell out of my cat.

works so far.

[leftofthedial]

28. drown the cat

works every time

[alarimer]

30. I found something called "Sticky Paws"

It is a transparent sheet (of plastic I guess) that sticks to the parts of the furniture the cat scratches. Supposedly it is removable. It is NOT to be used on leather (says so on the package). I haven't used it yet but I bought it to protect my new mattress and box spring. My cat seems to like the corners best.

[applegrove]

31. Get a water pistol. Train your cat. Pretty soon all you have to say is:

FREEZE and point the gun. The cat will freeze and then take of.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

32. I wacky-parsed that as "mice furniture"...

[WhirlyGirl]

34. The ready-made cat-scratching posts are good...

... but my cat was happy with a big piece of rolled up carpeting near his basket under the basement stairs. When he got annoyed with me, he'd go down there and rip the heck out of it.

I also got him to stay off certain pieces of furniture by lobbing the TV Guide a few times so that it landed near him with a great "riffling" sound; after that, all I had to do was rattle the book and he'd scatter!

[Thor_MN]

38. I'm betting on the roommate being the bigger problem

I'm currently having the stress of a roommate who thinks that everything I do is wrong, that I'm being awful, that I have no respect. Of course, it's hypocritical crap, becasue every little thing that I've been called out on has been done to me, but of course there's a reason why it's different in her case.
The latest is a war of no words - who ever has to speak apparrently loses... The bright side is that she got a letter from a home mortgage company the other day, but I'm thinking that what she's going to find out is that what she pays me in rent won't cover utilities...

Two cats and a dog that would never, ever jump up on anything. Wouldn't beleive me that her dog clawed the window sills in the living room until I showed her the scratches on the woodwork I had just sanded the week before.

If you've read this far, you are asking "WHY?" She is a friend, former co-worker, going back to school to finish her degree and I felt she could use a break. I can tolerate a lot, but what is giving me grief is the attitude and the rationalizations. Truth be told, I like her pets. And I like her, when she isn't blaming me for not respecting her. Not quite sure how not telling me that she was having people stay over for the weekend is showing me any respect, but I guess I'm just a dumb guy who is to blame for everthing.

My advice, if you don't absolutely need to, don't get a roommate.

[deadparrot]

40. We have that exact same problem with our kitty...

We have the spray. Ours is called "No Scratch For Cats" from Pet Organics. We also got her a cardboard scratchy-thing with catnip to keep her off the furniture, and she's been enjoying that immensely (won't let anyone near it).

[leftchick]

43. A very TALL cat scratching post

and a monthly claw snip with toenail clippers. I have four cats and not one uses my furniture. The key is the cat post has to be tall, they need that stretch as they scratch.

[sniffa]

44. kiLL the cat

or set it free.

[immoderate]

45. Taxidermy

--IMM

[Beware the Beast Man]

46. Sticky Paws.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441778491&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025622&bmUID=1108392474964

[Love Bug]

48. Lots of good advice here

Here's mine:

1. Do whatever you can to protect your furniture -- sprays, tape, covers, etc.

2. Be sure to include in your written rent agreement with her what will happen if there is any cat damage and get a SECURITY DEPOSIT from her to back it up. Let her know that you have every intention of seeing her in small claims court if she lets her cat trash your house.

3. Take closeup photos of your furniture and any other places the cat might potentially scratch so you can prove their condition prior to the cat if necessary.

4. Let your roommate know it is HER RESPONSIBILITY to do whatever is necessary to train/restrain her cat -- whether it is using a squirt bottle, Soft Claws, scratching posts, etc. That includes what happens when you are both at work -- perhaps she can confine the cat to her room during the day so her stuff would bear the brunt of any damage.

If after all this you still decide to rent to her, remember, a cat will do what a cat will do -- don't blame it for the owner's lack of a sense of responsiblity.

[displacedtexan]

50. ALUMINUM FOIL

Works every time!

drape some over the edges of the furniture or put pieces on the seat cushions while you're out.

My cat learned very quickly!