Inappropriate clawing

[Laurie_9025]

My cat keep jumping up on wooden surfaces (normal for cats obviously) but he is leaving terrible marks and even clawing the wood at times. Everything we buy new he is ruining. He has scratch posts near where he claws and enough toys to play with. He is a house cat but have tried him outside and he doesn't like it. He has all of the attention in the world. We I have tried feliway sprays all sorts but he still continues to cause mischief, also when he has done something naughty without me knowing and I enter the room he is in he slyly runs away knowing he has been naughty. If there any ideas why he is doing this and how I can stop it?? I no he is a cat and they do these things but I can't buy anything new with it being damaged within hours of having it. My very last resort would be to rehome him as it is causing everyday stress as it is everyday he has done something naughty. He is a lovely gentle cat just has naughty claws on furniture! Please help

[Crewella]

Cats don't really have a concept of 'naughty' - he's likely to be running away because he senses your annoyance, but he probably doesn't really understand why as it's after the actual event. To stop cats doing something, you need to catch them right at the moment of action with a 'no' and then reward them for stopping with praise. You could also try putting something like double-sided sticky tape on things you don't want him to scratch, as cats tend to hate the feeling of it. If he's an indoor cat you could also try getting his claws clipped now and again (a vet nurse will do it for you) as cats tend to scratch to keep their claws in good shape, and if he doesn't go out then they don't get much wear.