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I want to get a new living room set but have been holding off because my cats claw everything. We have a scratching post but they are more interested in tearing up the couches. I live in rural Nevada where we have lots of coyotes so declawing them is unfair if they get out and so does not seem to be an option for us. Does anyone have any remedies that work to keep cats from clawing furniture?

Stephanie

When I saw the title of this post my first thought was to get a scratching post but seeing as you have that already well...there goes that idea :D Cats really like furniture instead of scratching posts, that much I have observed.

Declawing is cruel and inhumane without worrying about coyotes. I have 7 cats and none of them have ruined furniture. You say you have A scratching post. I have 2 large cat trees that go vertical plus some cardboard box scratchers, and a couple medium cat trees. Try getting some larger pieces and put them in different places around the house. There is also something called soft paws which are plastic coverings to put over the nails. You can try large double back sticky tape on the furniture spots where they scratch. Also, if you have't already, ask your vet for suggestions. Be sure to keep their nails trimmed regularly.

Hope some of these ideas might work.

The black sticky tape is a great idea! The furniture comes tomorrow afternoon so I will definitely be going and getting some more stuff for them to scratch! Thanks for the ideas!

Stephanie

You're welcome Stephanie. Please keep us posted.

I lay plastic sofa cover on sofa chairs so that they find difficult to climb over and eventually after few days give up.

I have used this natural remedy as a cat deterrent and so far it seems to be working.

Put the following ingredients in a spray bottle:

1 quart water
10 drops lemon oil, or the zest of one lemon
20 drops eucalyptus oil

I've always had good luck providing my cats with other outlets on which to scratch. And I found out that it may not be the prettiest or fanciest scratch post that each cat will 'take' to - one cat preferred boxes another an old wooden stand > it may take time to find what your cat finds perfect to use as 'his/her own scratcher (I've got tons of 'didn't work buys)

but since it likes your couch I'd try making something out of similar material and stuffing and make it clear to your cat from day one that the new furniture is OFF Limits. Good Luck

Spray deterrents have never worked for our cats, but I've found giving them cat-approved alternatives works well. Be sure to have a mixture of vertical and horizontal surfaces they can scratch. Even the best vertical cat tree in the world can't compare to the top of a nice sofa when the cat wants a change of pace!

Our cats were ruining our brand new furniture....this is what I did..and it stopped. First, I purchased a type of wide two sided clear tape and put that on the edges of the sofa. They didn't like the feel. I liked that it was barely noticeable. Then I thought for sure I would need an alternative for scratching. I pulled out a "scratcher" that had never attracted them before and put a generous amount of catnip on it to attract them to it. They loved it. It is an S shape design and they love to roll in the curved part and scratch at the other part. I just add catnip every few weeks and they have never gone back to the sofa.

Another thing we found that we buy from time to time, and they absolutely love ripping it to shreds, is a thick cardboard thingy. It is about 14 inches long and a couple of inches thick. The inside has cardboard cells that are exposed. They like to dig their claws in there and go to town. It is completely destroyed in a couple of weeks. They are inexpensive and I'm telling you they love attacking it and will spend hours with it. The only down side is that it looks messy after a while, but it has saved our furniture.

I wouldn't declaw.

Sides of sofas can be handled by putting a cat scratching pad or mat over it. You could also put a scratching tree of box against the couch.

The tape as a deterrent is good. Make sure to have the alternative scratch surface near the couch so they can transition to it.

Put catnip on the scratcher.

A

Spray deterrents have never worked for our cats, but I've found giving them cat-approved alternatives works well. Be sure to have a mixture of vertical and horizontal surfaces they can scratch. Even the best vertical cat tree in the world can't compare to the top of a nice sofa when the cat wants a change of pace!

agree with making sure you have plenty of cat scratching posts available. I have also found a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball is good at deterring cats, citrus is also supposed to be good, but I haven't used that myself

We grew up with cats in our house. One thing that worked for us was pinning aluminum foil on the places where the cats liked to scratch. Another suggestion is spraying them with a squirt bottle when they scratch, BUT they cannot know you are doing it. If they see you doing it, they just think the crazy lady is spraying me with water, if they don't know where it is coming from, they will stop. Good luck!

I've heard cats don't like citrusy smells. Maybe mix some orange or lemon essential oil with water in a spray bottle and spritz on the areas you're trying to protect.

"I just read on vinegartips.com (http://vinegartips.com/) that you can stop your cat from scratching furniture by spraying it with white vinegar. Within two minutes of reading this, I sprayed our entire sofa. I would recommend that you spot test the interaction of the vinegar with the material of your furniture, but I was at my wit's end. My cat Lucy has been ripping it to ribbons for years so I am anxious to see if the smell deters her.

On CatsScratching.com (http://catsscratching.com/), Veterinarian Christianne Schelling offers a plethora of tips for dealing with wayward cats. She suggests covering the spots your cat scratches with aluminum foil or double sided tape. Spraying scratched spots with pet odor removers may also work. (Yay! Another use for Nature's Miracle (http://www.oliviacleansgreen.com/2012/08/how-to-clean-up-pet-stains-naturally.html)!) She also says shooting a cat with water while she's scratching might change her behavior, but that hasn't worked with Lucy. "

Rest of the story at Olivia Lane, Health Coach: Can You Stop a Cat from Scratching the Sofa with Vinegar? (http://www.oliviacleansgreen.com/2012/10/can-you-stop-cat-from-scratching-sofa.html#.U8qqVI0g8b5)

My mom had success using foil in the areas they like to scratch!! Also those little claw covers seem much more human than de-clawing.. Good luck!!