Posted on 12/01/2015 8:04:21 AM PST by Vigilanteman
Freepers are such good sources of information (with an ocassional goofball mixed in) that I thought I'd reach out to get a little additional advice.
Recently, my daughter got a major job promotion which includes a transfer to Japan. One problem with the transfer is that they couldn't take their cat whom my son-in-law, she and our two young grandsons adore.
So we offered to take her for the duration of the assignment, probably about one year. She is a wonderful cat, sweet with the boys (doesn't bite or scratch when they get rough with her, just walks away and hides for awhile) and getting accustomed to us. After pouting and hiding for most of the first day with us, she has picked my Mrs. as her favorite person and sleeps at her feet.
We believe she is a Chartreaux cross as the description at the link fits her nearly perfectly, but she is not a purebred as our daughter adopted her from one of those pet store rescue programs, which is not a logical place for a purebred Chartreaux. She is spayed but not declawed; they advise against it for an adult cat as it cause arthritis later in life.
She is clean, litter box trained and very low maintaninence except for wanting to play laser tag and get petted which we all enjoy even if her timing isn't always best.
Only complaint is that we can't seem to get her interested in her scratching pad. She prefers the carpet or, worse yet, one of our reclining chairs. She does stop when we yell at her but, of course, often goes off to pout for awhile. Other than two active little boys who play rough with her at times, we have tried to duplicate her environment at home as nearly as possible, right down to the cat tower, scratching pad and design of the litter box.
Trim her claws. We do that with our cats and they never scratch in the house. Our older cat never goes out anymore either.
Shouting at a cat when they do something is a reward. It’s giving them attention. If the cat is doing something wrong, try distracting it with something else. Toss a toy across the room, etc. That, combined with spraying water as mentioned above should help.
We bought some 5/8” thick foam rubber interlocking floor mats (2ftx2ft pieces) from Toys-R-Us for my grandson. It instantly became the favorite scratching media for our 3 cats. We put one square out for scratching (it’s turned dark gray side up) and they scratch it preferentially over everything else in the house, and my grandson uses the rest (bright color up) for playing on.
Korean restaurants pay good money for cats.
Just give up.
I did a long time ago. It’s really the only way to own cats and still maintain sanity.
Rubbing some catnip on the post might help. Putting double-sided tape on the furniture will definitely help.
They actually sell stuff for this purpose.
Most cats don’t like citrus or menthol and mine absolutely HATE WD-40.
Basically, put deterrents where you don’t want her and encouragement where you want her.
I would really suggest that you consider not worrying about the carpet. It’s too much area to protect and they’re designed to take abuse anyway.
And do not yell at her or swat her. Cats never learn to connect their behavior with discipline. They only learn to fear and hate the humans disciplining them.
If you cannot stop her from scratching after trying all of that, you’re going to have to get her ‘capped’. You’ll have to take her to the groomers once a month and have them glue caps over her claws. It doesn’t hurt the animal and solves the problem completely. (That’s also a great time to get her a deep brushing to cut back on shedding.) After a few visits, she’ll understand what’s happening and not freak out about it.
First, make sure there is a large scratching post. Some cats won’t use it unless they can stand on their hind legs and stretch vertically.
Secondly, use some double backed broad sticky tape temporarily on the surfaces the cat is scratching. You can take this off later.
Third, have some cat treats available. When you hear the cat using the scratching post, be effusive in praise and give the cats some treats.
Last, keep a spray bottle with some water. If you see or hear the cat scratching the furniture, say “NO!” in a severe voice and spray some water at the cat. You don’t even have to hit it after the first time...they hear the bottle squirt (sometimes even hear you grabbing it, or see it in your hand) and they run.
Sprinkle catnip on the scratching post.
NO cat can resist catnip.
If you want a house that smells like cat piss get a cat. Tell her it’s her problem otherwise.
Scratch pad is very important. I would spend the money and buy a tower of some kind. Cats like it and will generally use it, but the pads are touch and go.
Some cats like them and some don’t, but almost all will use a tower.
Not to worry, you’ll be trained before long.
Canvas bag, cinderblock, river - problem solved.
As someone here already mentioned the squirt gun idea is very effective. The best part of using the squirt gun is that they don’t typically associate being squirted with the person doing the squirting. When training my cats to not scratch the couch, after squirting them they would usually run to me for protection from the evil squirt gun that just happened to be be in my hand.
Cats find dog poop and bear scat very offensive. Skunk oil is also very effective.
Regards,
Someone needs to invent a scratching post that dispenses cat treats.
One of my cats used to want to sharpen claws on the end of the couch. I purchased a cheap scratching post at Walmart and placed it right in front of the spot she was working on. It worked like a charm and she transferred to the scratching post. I just left it there for a few months and then moved it a few feet away and she followed it. Had not more problems. I think they prefer the post to the pad because it duplicates scratching on the trunk of a tree.
“Get a dog...put catnip on the dog. enjoy the show”
Really want to have some fun? When you get the dog, after putting catnip on the dog, put peanut butter on the cat. Make sure you videotape it and get it on YouTube.
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