Posted on 12/01/2015 8:04:21 AM PST by Vigilanteman
Determine if she is a sky or cave cat and then get her either perching carpet covered climbing things or hut like cat cave.
Don’t worry about your furniture. You can get it upholstered when your daughter takes the cat back. Unless a couple hundred bucks is worth crippling and maiming a cat. Declawing should be illegal. It is the equivalent of removing a dogs larynx so he doesn’t bark. No sane person would do so.
Squirt the scratches on the boys with 70% alcohol. Cats are carriers of bacteria which yields easily to alcohol. The boys will learn and avoid scratches if it really bothers them.
First catnip where you want her to be.
Second, get a phermone diffuser for the room the chairs are in. Feliway or Comfort Zone. You might have some sticker shock, but they are 90% effective.
Third, double sided pet tape on where she is scratching.
Cats don’t take well to direct correction (yelling, water bottles, etc.). They are creatures of comfort and gently making the scratching item less desirable workks. You can also try foil over the scratching area as well.
How smart is that!!!! Great idea! Did you still have to trim the nails or did this tip work?
Now that's a brilliant idea! I may steal that one.
LOL! not really... I ain't got much, as I always have a dog around to 'git that cat'... Once the dog knows what the cat ain't 'sposed to do, he will enthusiastically enforce your wishes, even when you are not present. The downside is that the dog enjoys going on tootsie-roll hunts in the litter box - so keep some breath mints handy, and take him to the car wash and spend about 4 bucks before you let him lick your face...
LOL! sommore... no really - without a dog to keep them in line, catnip where you want scratching, capsaicin, or sour apple, where you don't...
or you could just nail dead birds and fish to the scratching post - but most women won't stand for that for very long. I think they're jealous.
I’ve got a block of wood on my lounge-room floor, my six year old female loves it, uses it several times each day. They NEED something on which to maintain their claws, yes, she does sometimes try to scratch the furniture, but a spoken rebuff is enough to make her stop.
A piece of timber about 4 inches by 4 inches and 18 inches long should do the trick for you. A little rough, not planed smooth...
Do not declaw the cat... cats need their claws.
Suck on a peppermint and lightly breathe in the cats direction.
Excellent advice...that works for naughty dogs also. Comes the time they only need to see the bottle and off they run. Then comes the time they associate the act of scratching itself with the coming shower, and stop altogether.
I had a dog that would insist on jumping onto the outdoor table. A few squirts and he stopped.
It’s usually easy to trim a cat’s claws with a human style nail trimmer if you can see well enough at close distances to aim it short of nipping the vein. This in turn will encourage the cat to scratch, in order to regain the points on its claws. Test various products to see if you can find one the cat prefers. Oh, and remember the gainful attitude towards cats is that, while dogs have masters, cats have staff. You can train a cat but you have to put much more effort into pleasing it first.
Declawing is traumatic (like us getting amputated down a finger joint). But the claws can be trimmed or there are little caps to slip over each claw. Your vet can help. Another option is to pick one room, the cat room, filled with furniture of little value. And visit the cat. Use the cat’s room for your napping, reading, watching TV. This way you can still love the cat and protect your better furniture. I am a part time animal sitter so I get to see a lot of what works and what does not work.
Did you add perfume to the squirt gun with which you squirted the SIL and brother? My ex-brother-in-law would not have taken being squirted, not for a minute!
Well thank yew fer askin cause I need to know too. LOL
Darn cat has somewhere on the order of 3 different scratching posts but wants to shred good furniture. Won’t play with toys, either. Leaves papers & books looking like we have a teething puppy.
Our girl is ~5 y.o. so maybe too late to change her patterns. She’s never had a sense of humor, the least playful cat I’ve ever met. (3 y.o. when we took her in.) She seeks attention (for instance, by deliberately biting shower curtains when we’ve in the BR or book corners while we’re reading) even tho she anticipates a negative reaction.
[Did you still have to trim the nails or did this tip work?]
No. I knew I had to something because her claws kept getting caught in the carpet and because she was once feral and there are some things, even though domesticated, you just can’t do.
[I may steal that one.]
You’re welcome to it.
I have a cat tree that has heavy duty ruff rope tied around the limb. My cats have enjoyed scratching at that a lot. I have to get some more and recircle it and secure it as they have scratched the rope clean off from the tree limb.
I got a spray bottle not long ago for naughty cats. Each cat has a different personality; some take a few more squirts to get the message, some less. Now I just have to show it, and for the blind two, shake it so they hear what it is.
I love it. Saves fuss, muss and howling.
:-)
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