Cats and furniture

So we are getting a new sofa and love seat delivered Saturday. We have 3 cats 2 of which are not declawed. They are partially responsible for destroying our old furniture. So I'm trying to find a way to keep them from doing this to the new stuff. Tried spraying the old set with stay away type spray which stunk and didn't seem to do any good. My wife is pretty set against de-clawing since they are older cats. I'm thinking about using some tape to cove the corners to deter them. I am researching the net on this but haven't found much on the subject so I thought I would turn to my TW members for some advice. This club is usually pretty good about getting answers outside of the truck talk so thought I'd give it a shot. The furniture is micro-fiber, which is the best for having cats as everybody tells me. Didn't do very good on the last set. Petsmart does sell some tape made for this, but want to get opinions if it works or if there is something better out there? Thanks in advance.

 

Do you have one of these in your home?

The cost is a little high but after over a year of use it is still going strong. The perch is up high enough that the cat can really extend himself when using the post.

http://www.wayfair.com/Molly-and-Friends-Sisal-Scratching-Post-with-Cat-Bed-SCR-B-X-MAF1006.html

 

Make the cats live outside. As an added bonus, they will crap in your neighbor's yard and you won't have to clean a litterbox.

Sorry, I'm a dog person.....and a smart ass.

 

our cats live outside most of the time (except at night) and they get sprayed with water any time they scratch something or jump on the counter. At about 6 months old they were pretty much trained to not touch that stuff lol.

 

you need to give them a place to scratch. like mentioned above, cat towers are perfect.

you can also get this:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11465513
(this tape worked for my cat)

this will prevent your new furniture from getting scratched while you train your cats to use the cat tower.

 

We have several cat scratchers and one I made to cove the corner of the old sofa. They like the furniture better.

And I love animals, but I too am more of a dog person. But my wife already had these cats when we got together and they are not going anywhere and not an option to go outside.

 

Definetely a scratch post and put it nearby, or a bed or cardboard box for the cats to scratch at. Get a squirt gun as well and try to train them to stay away. I swear to God we have our cat trained to stay off the leather couches. I have also heard that aluminum foil wrap around the scratch prone areas helps in training. They also make glue on nail caps for cats, that doesn't sound like much fun to install

 

yeah if they're old I wouldn't let them out either. You have to let them out as kittens so they learn how to stay away from danger and come home at night.

 

That is what we looked at today. Wanted to use this week to research before I bought it though. Just wanting to make sure there wasn't a better option out there.

 

Yeah we have looked at the nail caps, looks like a pita to me. If I remember correctly you have to do them about once a month? And to top that one of the cats had 6 toes on his front feet. It's some rare breed apparently. It was a stray that my wife and step-daughter picked up as a tiny kitten out after a hurricane had passed through and they couldn't turn their back on.

 

I really haven't tried any products other than a squirt gun and some diligence. Well, now that I think of it i did use some packing tape doubled back on itself to make some double sided tape to put on places/items I didn't want him, like the kitchen counter and my sofa corners. I think the only universal truth about cats is that they do not like the feeling of tape on their paws.

I adopted my cat when he was about 1.5 years old and was able to train him not to scratch the furniture and stay out of places I didn't want him in about three weeks. Don't get me wrong, it was a hectic three weeks; I had to stop what I was doing more times than I'd like to remember, and I think he thought his name was "No" for quite some time, but now I don't have to worry about him doing dumb things.

I think a lot of it is establishing boundaries/expectations, and making sure they know who is in charge (well, at least while I'm home, I'm pretty sure he does whatever the Hell he wants when I'm not there ).

 

Oooh, six toes, that makes it a polydactyl cat. It is rare, but it's also a genetic deformity if you ever need to put it in it's place j/k. I believe Ernest Hemingway had a soft spot for these felines as well.

 

This could work at least for while you are at home. If you're not around to spray them, I am sure they will do as they please.

Maybe restrict them to one room while you are gone?

 

That's the thing, they do it at night while we're asleep. And as far as closing them into one room, one, they will destroy the carpet trying to dig through to get out. I've seen this as one got shut in the closet one day. I was lucky enough to be able to stretch the carpet and it is barely noticeable. And two, they can't stand a door being closed, if they get closed out they will sit and meow and drive you crazy. I can't win...........

 

A lot of cats, mine included, love cardboard cat scratchers. They're about 7 or 8 bucks at pretty much any pet store or discount retailer like Target or Wal-Mart. Might be worth a shot before you invest into a big cat tower.

Declawing should be a last resort especially if your cat goes outside as it's one of its primary defense mechanisms. Cats that are declawed are prone to joint problems (as they can't properly stretch,) are more likely to have litterbox issues and are more prone to bite. I've been a volunteer at an animal rescue agency for 20 months now. Declawed cats make up probably less than 5% of the cats we take in but easily make up 50% of the cats that have bit me.

 

X2 on the water bottle method. Worked on our cat as well for other things we did not want him to do. Be sure to squirt once he has bolted as well. The best I could do was three hits before our cat was out of range.

 

My cat started screwing up my leather furniture...not always from scratching it but just from walking on it... so I got these nail caps for her. It can be tricky getting them on especially if the cat isn't docile like mine. They last about 4 weeks and then you can replace them

http://www.softclaws.com/index.php?pet=cat

Plus if you have wood floors you can here the cat walking all over the house... its safer and cheaper then declawing

she was a little apprehensive at first but then after a few hours she accepted it... plus you can f*ck with them without get all scratched up. After awhile, the cat did learn that her scratching didn't work and she started biting a little bit more though

 

Being older, it may be difficult to introduce this, but I use a nail grinder to keep the nails blunt. Both of my kitties are "kneaders" and one prefers bare skin (on my stomach no less), so it's best to keep their nails down. Have a look at the different options available--most are basically a modified Dremel. They just have a shield that helps prevent anything but the claw from getting ground. The advantage to grinders is they prevent splitting of the nail (painful and can introduce other problems if serious enough), and I find I don't have to do it as often.

I can't say my hooligans like it too much but they only stay mad for about 5 seconds.