Clawing kitties

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OreoCookieMom
New Cat Chatter
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:35 pm
No. of cats in household: 2
Location: South Florida

Clawing kitties

Post by OreoCookieMom »

Hello everyone! So glad I found this site, because your help MIGHT allow me to get new furniture!! My cats have totally destroyed my rather large couch over the last few years by using it as a scratching post. (and yes, they have other options to choose from!) My dear son would like to buy me some new living room furniture as a gift, but that can't happen unless I find a product/source from your suggestions to help. I have read about different kinds of deterrents on the market, but they don't usually get great reviews. I am desperate (but would NEVER DECLAW!!!!!), I'd rather have no furniture at all! But this couch has got to go, and I don't want to pass up this ultra generous off from my son. Has ANYTHING out there actually worked for anyone? Answers and suggestions would be SO greatly appreciated! I'll be anxiously awaiting a reply. Many thanks and God Bless ...PS, .Oreo is approximately 7 yrs. old, and when we got him 4 years ago, the owner THOUGHT he was around 3. Cookie is 3 years old.
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Ruth B
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Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: Clawing kitties

Post by Ruth B »

While I can't offer any guarantees, cats will be cats, I can offer a few things for you to think about.
Cats need to scratch to maintain their claws and to mark their territory so they will find something to claw at, be it carpets (my stair's carpet is patched and needs replacing, its the price of having cats, so i can't claim I've too successful my self at redirecting them), sofas, posts or boards.
When a cat claws something they put a lot of work into it and adult cats are large and strong, most scratching posts just don't feel that stable to them, a carpet or a sofa doesn't feel like it is going to fall over when they put their weight into clawing at it, so you need to provide something that feels as secure.
Some cats have a preference for the surface they like to scratch at, some like carpet, some like fabric, some like cardboard, you need to find something that yours like. I don't think I have had a cat that preferred the sisal wrapped options to either carpet, textured wallpaper or cardboard.
The two options i have found work best for mine are either the cardboard lounger style scatchers, or a carpet wrapped board that was screwed to a wall. These are just examples from Amazon, you might find similar things cheaper or better else where, its just to show what works with mine.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LIKEA-Scratchi ... giftsuk-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gorpets-Willow ... ies&sr=1-8
Put several scratchers around, close to your new furniture and put double sided tape over the new sofa, on the arms and corners where they are most likely to scratch. The idea is that the tape will feel tacky when they they try and scratch there, and they wont' like it, right next to it you have the perfect scratching surface where they can have a good session to maintain their claws without getting told off. A big cat tree right by the sofa might work, as long as it is big enough that your cats can stretch to full height and not feel like they are going to pull it over, you might even find they are happy sat on there looking down at you on your new sofa.
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