How to keep a cat from scratching good furniture and box springs?

Try rubbing catnip on the scratching post!

We put quilted pillow cases on our bench to stop the scratching there. We also put a scratching post directly in front of the spindles they were scratching. We tried covering a chair with a thick blanket and they just play under it. So, we sacrificed a chair.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=666 ***** http://lifehacker.com/5281000/keep-your-cats-from-destroying-your-furniture ***** http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/cat-scratching

Can't the cats nails be trimmed by the vet?

.Had a cat doing the same thing to the furniture. Set out a 4x4 piece of ROUGH unplanned cedar, approximately 3 feet long. Just leaned it against the wall. No idea why it worked but the cat took to it right away and left the furniture alone ever after.

I do a lot of renovation and I've always had lumber kicking around. The cat never bothered with anything but the rough cedar. I think cedar has some element in it that is attractive to animals in general. I also suspect the roughness of the wood played a part, not just the type f wood. When you think of it, all the scratching a cat does tends to make the furniture look like rough wood. BTW, that cedar post was scratched about 3/4 of the way through...the cat REALLY liked it. If you don't know where to look for rough lumber, check out local lumber mills (not box stores) or places that sell cedar fence posts.

WE bought at Walmart a Rough cardboard scratch pad- For around $3.00. Then put on top a wee/smidgen of cat-nip. This cat had to be shown how to scratch it- I took her paws and scratched the pad.. She actually took right too it and rolled on it too as it was the catnip she liked. Now I notice the cardboard is shredded on one side- she herself turned it over and is working on the other side. When it is all used up, for sure I will try now some rough wood-adding little catnip on it too each day. Just a wee-pinch is all is necessary.

There's a product called Sticky Paws. Basically large double-faced sticky tape. It leaves no residue on wood or fabric and has been successful with my cats.

There is a product called "Soft Claws" it is a pack of claw sheaths that go over the front claws of a cat. For 3 of the 4 of my cats it works. They fall off naturally in a couple months. There is 40 in a pkg. I am going to try the cedar as well.

Sticky Paws tape is great, but I have also just used clear packing tape from the dollar store. My cat did not like the feel of the shiny tape, You can buy cedar scent in a spray bottle. Make sure it is not imitation, but real. Look for it in the closet or storage section of Home Depot or on Amazon .com. You can also find spray cat nip, which I use on the cardboard scratch pads I use. I also use it to lightly spray some favorite toys. Claw covers can also be bought on Amazon or Petco. If you are in a larger metropolitan area, there ARE cat groomers that may have the covers, and/or will come to your house to trim your cats claws. NEVER, EVER contemplate declawing your cat. It is like amputating the first joint of each of your fingers. Most vets consider it mutilation. A big p.s. leather sofas are claw magnets for both cats and dogs. Don't waste your money or sanity. If you DO have a dog or cat that ignores the leather, you have a very, very special animal! Apparently, no amount of tanning or dying, will do away with the animal scent in leather. We can't smell it, but THEY can!

I have several cats, some go in and out. When any of them start sharpening their claws inside i dab a bit of Vicks Vapor Rub on & it deters them!!

Sticky Paws worked with my cats. Also make sure you have scratch posts or the cardboard scratch boxes they can scratch on.

You can get the cardboard scratching posts at Petco, Costco, Sams, Petsmart and Amazon. Also, please play with your cat more. They build up energy that needs to be released. Watch this video by Jackson Galaxy. He's kind of excentric, but wow! does he know cats. http://jacksongalaxy.com/blog/2010/10/01/cats-and-claws-living-happily-ever-after Good luck!

I found Sticky Paws on amazon.com. Works well! Good luck!

Cats need their own spot to sharpen their nails, THE bEST thing you can get is a cat tower WITH ROPE they will never touch your furniture again, they love the rope., I have had these for many years and have made smaller units., I bought the carboard ones cat never touches those, the rope has always worked having cats for over 30 years, plus the towers give the cats their own space and cars like to be up high, clawing at it is also claiming it as theirs.

I haven't seen them at the Dollar Store. I did at Walmart. Also pet stores carry them. We have Pets Smart here in Florida. If you have them or any other they would carry the strips. They really do work great. The cardboard box I am referring to is a rectangular box about two inches high with compressed cardboard. It also comes in different shapes. It can be a little expensive but you can use both sides of the board and it will last a very long time. When you think of the expense consider the cost of your furniture. To me I will buy the cardboard box anytime to keep the cats off the furniture.

Drs. Foster Smith carry the extra tall posts (40", I believe), which allows cats to stretch as they're clawing. Sometimes my cats want to do just that and will seek out the posts -- I have a post on each floor. The posts from Foster-Smith alumina re well made and last a long time. Additionally, cats do not like aluminum foil, so if there's any way you can use it (i.e. kitchen counters), give it a try.

Aluminum foil taped to couch. They don't like the noise and stay off.

Heavy duty aluminum foil.

Aluminum foil. They don't like the crinkle noise.

I had that problem, I made a scratching post with a 4x4, flat base, and carpet. I put the glue on the post, sprinkled catnip then covered with carpet. The cat always went back to the post and not my upholstery. May, or may not work for you, but is relatively cheap and easy to do.

Any double sided tape works. Just have an eye. My kitty decided to rub against it. Had a devil of a time removing the tape from her fur. The one good thing....she never used her claws on my furniture after that.

I removed it very carefully after having to catch her first. She went a tad crazy having something foreign stuck to her. It took almost 10 minutes of carefully prying the tape from her. I have 3 kitties. Thankfully, she is the easiest of my 3 to deal with. lol I also have a homemade scratching post that my other two love and have had to refurbish about every 5 years. lol Since I made that post and used the tape at the same time, it seems to have worked.

I'm with Mrs. P. I also have two cats, one is declawed the other is not. I have a carpeted box for the one cat to scratch, pull, whatever she wants. 90% of the time she leaves the furniture alone , she's happy with her own special box. :)

We did use a squirt gun for a short time and that worked like a charm too. Good luck.

Try sisal. All cats love it for some reason. I bought my sisal twine at the Dollar Tree and wrapped it around a thick (3 inch) round piece of dowel. Before I did that I attached the dowel to an 8" X 8" square piece of wood. I only nailed it at first to see if the girls would use it. Then I wrapped the sisal around the dowel making sure that it was nice and tight and that there were no spaces between

the sisal wrapping. Use a match and lit the ends to stop the unravelling. Touched the end to a hard flat piece of wood right after I blew out the little fire, to flatten the twine. I rubbed a bit of cat nip on the sisal to get them started. The rest is history. They loved it. lol

What kind of food are they getting? Mine get grain free. It stops two of mine from shaking the bed all night long.

I use Actrium which I get from Walmart. It is grain free. Buying the biggest bag saves quite a lot.

I just Googled and typed "cat pulling fur" and got this response which goes with my theory that your cats have an allergy of sorts.

"Itching in cats is caused by one of the following: parasites (such as fleas), allergies (such as to food or pollens in the environment) or behavior (usually stress related or boredom). ... My cat doesn't groom herself but instead pulls out clumps of hair. I can see tiny white specks in her fur.Mar 23, 2015

How to Stop a Cat from Pulling Its Hair Out: 10 Steps

www.wikihow.com/Stop-a-Cat-from-Pulling-Its-Hair-Out "

My two youngest seem to spend 85% of their time grooming or scratching. I use Purina's Yesterdays New for litter (Walmart) and changed their food to grain free (Actrium). Make sure that you do not get a cat food that has meal as the main replacement. Check the different brands. I have tried about 6 different ones. Yes, they seem expensive.. However, for my three cats, I use one 3.2 kg bag a month (about 8 lbs.)

I'd ask the professionals about a non toxic spray. We have one cat that loves to scratch her carpeted box, but now and then catch her scratching the side of the living room chair. We use one word commands and sometimes clap loudly to stop her. Best of luck.

I pay Canadian prices so they won't help you much. Yesterday's News is recycled paper. I use a 12KG (about 25 lbs) for my 3 cats for about 3 weeks. It is a matter of removing the poop daily and changing the whole thing once a week. I have no smell except if I give them a special treat and then there may be a smell for the moment. Much like humans. lol I get the really big bag of Actrium. Both are from Walmart. I get it delivered. The big bag of Actrium is mega cheaper than the smaller bags and the same applies to the litter. I prefer the recycled stuff to the clay. The difference is that I had to change the litter 3 times a week and it always had a smell of cat urine. I do not get that with the recycled.

Just type in Yesterday's News and Actrium in the search.

Sure

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I used double stick tape and that seemed to work, I will being using the aluminum though when I get new furniture. I refuse to have any more furniture ruined. My cat claims anything that comes into the house. I just finished a baby quilt and before I knew she was on it, all stretched out.

No I do not. Send me a message via my email and I will get it.

Spray amonia on a small piece of cloth and put on place being scratched.

The two best pieces of advice are the aluminum foil and the double sided sticky tape. Cats hate both! If you don't have a scratching post or two for them get them! Sprinkle catnip around them and rub it into the material. They would rather go for that then your furniture. Scratching is a natural instinct for cats. It keeps their nails in top shape by pulling off the old nail. It helps them stretch their bodies so make sure you get a scratching post that is tall as your cat can reach when he is standing straight up. Another trick that might work is getting bitter lemon spray at the pet store and spray it on the furniture make sure you test it first. Or leave citrius rinds in a dish at the base of the furniture. I have five cats and none of them scratch my furniture or rugs as they have a cat post in each room.

Nice to meet a fellow cat lady as I married the "Cat Whisperer". Every where we go cats follow us. So cute!

I would try a little catnip on the scratching post, and perhaps also get a flat scratching box (rectangular scratcher from Walmart I think) and rub a little cat nip on that. That redirects the cats attention and should help. Also a cat treat for good behavior when using the scratchers may help.

And playtime with kitties is always important. Like the gentleman from the show "My cat from hell", says you have to redirect their attention and playing with them will do that.

In all the years I have had cats, I have never had any scratch any furniture by using the above listed ideas. That being said I dont use catnip often - just once in a awhile.

Also, you mentioned a baby blanket? Is there a new baby in the house? If the scratching behavior has occurred since then it could also be due to lack of attention, jealously, etc. Its a cat, so hard to tell

I live with two cats. Yes, you read right I live with them. They keep me around to clean the cat box and put the food down. my girl cat is older and very possessive of me. My boy cat is younger and more mellow. They fight a lot over me and various favorite spots. I have scratch posts all over the apartment and I have a stack of boxes by the window which they prefer. When I catch them scratching anything that is not theirs, I say 'no' and look at them. If they stop, I praise them, if they don't I use the water spray bottle which I have adjusted to the longest range possible and when they see that they walk away with a whip of their tails. I love them and they know it. I was never a cat person until one day a kitten was stuck on the roof and very frightened. He baptized me and lived 18 years. Since him, I have had several. I train them just like I used to do my dogs and it sorta works. ;-) Except for the leash part at that point they become floor mops. LOL