how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

as in the heading..this is obviously aimed at cat owners/lovers so I am looking for thier advice....
following on from my thread about getting rid of my old suite and getting a new one I got up this morning to find that 1 of the cats has scratched it already:mad: ..its not too bad but its got me wondering what I can do to stop it from happening again...??
now no doubt I will get the stick the cats in a bag, get rid of the cats, take their claws out, get rid of the suite answers but I would like some help on this...is there some kind of protector you can buy for your suite..?
and we do have scratch posts before anyone asks that..

thanks in advance:cool:

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Easy solution.

Kill your cats. They are filthy little animals and a total waste of space.

No further problems with your settee.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Blow their bloody paws off..................:D



Sorry............:o

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

buy a scratch post :D

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Not all cats will use a scratch post, we have 3 cats and only 1 will use it. We have found the other 2 like to scratch carpets so we got a few carpet samples and they like those especially if they are turned over to the hessian backings. You could have them de clawed but you wouldn't be able to let them out as they would not be able to defend themselves.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

When I bought a new leather settee, I also bought some lemon oil......I mixed this with some leather cleaner and gave the whole of the settee a rub down with the mixture.....the cats stayed away as they hate the smell of anything citrus.....so if your new furniture is leather, you might want to try that. If it is a cloth covered sofa then you could try mixing some lemon oil in a spray bottle and give the fabric a very light misting.....try this on an inconspicuous area as a precautionary measure first....but essential oils of the citrus group don't usually stain.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

dont want to kill them...so thats out of the question...I dont have a gun so i cant blow their paws off...and like I mentioned in my post I already have scratch posts...
but I am glad I wasn't let down by non serious replies...maybe someone will come up with a helpful answer that doesnt involve killing said moggies...

edit : - where did you get your lemon oil from ? as it is a leather suite...and thank you for the reply !

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Holland and Barrett...it isn't the cheapest place, but the bottle is about ten mls and you only need a few drops....but it is worth repeating the process each time you clean the sofa....failing that why not try some lemon scented furniture polish.....it may work just as well.
PS......the lemon oil does smell lovely.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

I'm glad you aren't considering killing your cats as Tealeaf suggested. I love my cats and would never ever harm them...in fact they are far nicer than some people I have met. (NO....I've never met Tealeaf...so I'm not referring to him)

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

thanks for that..and I am sure your not supposed to use furniture polish on leather suites??...anyway I shall give holland & barrats a visit...
thank you very much..

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

There are some specialist polishes for leather suites...i just thought that maybe one would be scented with lemon...it does seem a popular scent for cleaning products.
My sister in law insured her leather suite for pet damage when she bought it....it was a good job too because the dog took a great chunk out of the back while she was out at work one day...the insurance company paid for the sofa to be replaced....YES, the damage was awesome. I think the dog thought it was a huge leather dog chew :)

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Yes Willow you can....and you can use it neat on wood.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

another option is to put double sided sellotape on the edges as they hate their paws getting sticky. A few weeks should be enough to dissuade them

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

If you look in the pet shop you can buy a cat repelant.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

yeah its called a dog :D

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

I'm not sure if the cat repellent that they sell in the pet shops is suitable for application to leather furniture.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

The double sided sticky tape thing didn't work with my ginger tom Toby. He's the only one of my five who does it, he seems to alternate it with the scratching post!!!

We've tried allsorts to make him stop, but the only thing that really seems to deter him is a water spray bottle coz god forbid he should ever get wet!!!! Only problem is that he rubs his brain cells together and waits till we go out!!!

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

AH but you might refer to him if you had.:D to stop em scratching= Shave em Bald.:D

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

each time your cat scratches teh furniture stick your index finger up its rectum , this will either teach the cat it is doing wrong and dare not scratch anything or it will develope a love for your finger keeping it away from the furniture


its a win win situation and will help you also if you suffer from teh habit of picking your nose or biting your nails :D

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

We have a scatching post. But they still scratch the sofa!!! I dont think anything you can do will help. Its just what Cats do!!!!!!!! :p

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

i usually find a sack , a piece of rope, a large housebrick and a canal help situation's like this!

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Noooooooo! Don't even think it :(

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

or you could try the tickle me elmo trick! i'm sure that would work.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

:rofl38: ..........................
that's ok i'm going there anyway! lol.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Well, I had two persians who were inveterate furniture shredders, a Main Coon cat who wasn't averse to clawing the furniture...and a selection of moggies of indeterminate parentage(though I have to say that the moggies were not particularly furniture destructive)...lemon oil, rubbed into the leather, cured them.
PS...you may need to repeat applications when the smell wears off.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

A friend suggested using double-sided tape to fix balloons to the sofa. When the cat goes to scratch, bang! And a quick retreat to the other end of the house.

Also I keep a can with a few coins in it handy. When Barnaby starts to scratch the furniture, I shake it vigorously, which he hates. Took a while, but he seems to have given up on the sofa.

Also, rubbed catnip on his scratching post. He now (finally!) seems to prefer scratching the post. Of course, he's a bit loopy after, but it beats paying for a new sofa.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Hope it works for you. Barnaby loves catnip, but even then it took a while for him to start using the scratching post regularly.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Glasgow Guy, I'm glad you received alot of good information on this subject. I have 3 cats and usually enjoy them (they stay outside mostly).

I also must admit, the whole family (we are snowed (:p 6 inches:p) in over here) enjoyed some of the more tasteless but quite imaginative of our more "creative" Accywebbers.

Brian, Cindy, Annie, Joshua, and Ryan

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Orange skin rubbed into where they are doing the damage may work:
cats don's like the smell of it: I tried it when I had a cat and it did seem to work: or maybe that was me shouting everytime the cat went near the chair...

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Now, how do we keep Rindy from scratching?????:p

Brian

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

i refer you to my first post on this subject
as it should supply an ample solution to this one lyy!







(only kidding rindy):D

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

kick em up the ass!!:p ...................joking!!!:(

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

I put cardboard on the floor, and catnip on the scrtatching post ... works for my cat ... now if only I could stop my Rotti from farting!!! Those who suggest things like hammering in a cork are welcome to demonstrate how this is done.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Eric, I'm not sure if this is an urban legend or whether it is true....but here goes.
On one of the Vet program 'phone ins' a woman asked if there was anything she could do to cure her dogs very smelly wind.
The Vet asked what kind of food she was feeding her dog....and it turned out to be one of the most expensive of the tinned dog foods.
'Aah' said the vet....'the food is too rich for your pet......try giving him 'Chappie' (one of the cheapest and most disgusting looking tinned dog foods going)'
The woman thanked him and said she would certainly give it a try.

A few weeks later the same woman again rang the program to say that the advice had been wonderful, but she had another question for the vet.
The question was - How could she get her husband to eat it and was it safe for human consumption. ;)

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

Jake eats only dry food, and flatulence is common to the breed. I just warn people that the dog's dangerous end is the one without teeth. Love him dearly but he is a real room-clearer.

I know a similar joke, but it is too disgusting for this forum.

By the way, are you related to the Pilkingtons who used to live on Grange St. (I think). Tom was his name. He knew my grandad well, had an allotment behind our house on Rishton Road, by Ringstonhalgh farm. He kept ferrets and usually a wire-haired fox terrier. I knew his son Alan.

From the Great White North

Eric

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

I'm not sure Eric......I have only been a Pilkington for some 40 years. I'm sure we must be related somewhere along the way....even if it was only by their cat running through our yard :)....I'll have to ask hubby.

Re: how do you stop your cats from scratching....
 

I have found that leather furniture is least likely to be attacked. A few pinprick marks where an attempt has been made to claw, but the attempt has been abandoned when other surfaces are easier to dig into.
Scratching posts haven't worked. I wipe down all my leather and wood with Golden Oil Wood Polish & Conditioner. My cat just claws at carpets which doesnt damage them unless you have loop pile.