Keeping the cats from scratching the furniture?

[lustergirl]

Hey Disney peeps. Need some advice? I want to buy new furniture for my living room but also have two cats. The little princess has tore up the ends of my current love seat. I have heard of someone using duct tape on the ends but that wouldn't be too pretty Also have heard that every time she does this to spray with her a water bottle, that wont work because we aren't home all the time.

Any suggestions? Husband suggested getting them both declawed. Does this hurt the cat?

 

[smitch425]

Hey Disney peeps. Need some advice? I want to buy new furniture for my living room but also have two cats. The little princess has tore up the ends of my current love seat. I have heard of someone using duct tape on the ends but that wouldn't be too pretty Also have heard that every time she does this to spray with her a water bottle, that wont work because we aren't home all the time.

Any suggestions? Husband suggested getting them both declawed. Does this hurt the cat?

The only reason I can think of to not declaw them would be if they go outside a lot. They would need their claws to defend themselves, but if they are just indoor cats, get them declawed. Enjoy your new furniture!

 

[wallawallakids]

Hey Disney peeps. Need some advice? I want to buy new furniture for my living room but also have two cats. The little princess has tore up the ends of my current love seat. I have heard of someone using duct tape on the ends but that wouldn't be too pretty Also have heard that every time she does this to spray with her a water bottle, that wont work because we aren't home all the time.

Any suggestions? Husband suggested getting them both declawed. Does this hurt the cat?

Personally, I wouldn't declaw them. It is natural for cats to scratch and if he/she ever got out of the house by mistake they would have no way to fend for themselves without claws. I have seen Dr.'s do the procedure, but never have I heard them recommend it. Of course, it would be your choice, this is just my opinion on it.

As far as stopping them from scratching, water helps but they hate it. I pick ours up every time and move him to his scratching post. He is getting better. He's not great, but much better. He really only tries about once a week now, which is not bad at all from where we started! So he is learning.

Cats need their claws short, so trimming them helps as well. I trim our cats using a nail clipper for small dogs. It works and my vet recommends us keeping up with that. It is the best way for indoor cats to have their nails dealt with and it prevents them from harming the furniture by scratching. They do scratch less when they are short. One tip…wrap them in a towel so you can work on one paw at a time without getting scratched yourself. They hate it at first, but they will get used to it. My oldest DD now does Clark's nails by herself and she has gotten very good at it. She has learned how and where to cut them and how to calm him down.

Lastly, they do sell this double sided sticky tape that you can put on your furniture where they scratch and it is supposed to stop them. I have seen it in pet stores although I have never tried it.

Good luck. We have been very successful in training our cat/cats to not scratch so I believe you will be too!

 

[lustergirl]

Thanks. I will check my local pet stores to see if they carry any tape like PP mentioned. They are house cats. I think we would have a hard time trimming the fat cat's nail though. Disaster waiting to happen The little cat, the princess, she lets us play with her paws no so she wouldn't be any trouble. She is really the one to concentrate on so maybe we will try that.

 

[gwynne]

Have a vet or vet tech teach you how to trim their claws. You have to be careful with this, but once you know how it's easy.
Get a really stable scratching post. There is a learning curve in getting them to use the post, rather than the carpet or furniture.

 

[tvguy]

Declawing is now illegal here, so that wouldn't be an option here.
We have had 5 cats over the last 30+ years, 4 declawed, the most recent, not. She passed away in October.
Pets mean damage to your house. I have never seen anything other than declawing that prevents cats from clawing furniture.

 

[wunkmom]

Leather furniture. It also eliminates a lot if your pet hair in the furniture problems.
Please don't declaw your cats. It sounds like an easy procedure, but essentially the first bone of each toe is removed. That would be like chopping off your fingers at the knuckle below your fingernail.
I'd look into some double sided tape and keep their claws trimmed. Also, make sure they have plenty of "allowed" places to scratch.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

You should definitely do some research on declawing. Yes it hurts them! They don't just remove the nails.

Get some claw caps from the pet store, double sided tape or one of the many other options there are to deter scratching.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We just went through this with out little guy.

We tried: water, deterrent spray, scratching posts of every size shape and texture, nail trimming, nail caps, tape, and tin foil. Nothing worked and we were yelling at him constantly to stop. I asked for opinions on declawing on here and got told again and again that it is cruel. So I talked to my vet. He told me some cats just can't be stopped from scratching. He also said it is cruel for a cat to be yelled at constantly, or put back up for adoption over and over because it destroys the house with scratching. After litter box issues, cats with scratching issues are the second most common given to shelters.

So we had him declawed in the front. He was given pain meds for a week. At 24 hours he was jumping to the top of his 6 foot condo. We stopped pain meds at 3 days because he didn't need them.

Guess what? He hasn't changed a bit since he was declawed. He doesn't act traumatized because they are gone. He still "scratches" everything he can, but he doesn't get yelled at. Our relationship with him is much better now.

 

[lustergirl]

You should definitely do some research on declawing. Yes it hurts them! They don't just remove the nails.

Get some claw caps from the pet store, double sided tape or one of the many other options there are to deter scratching.

Question about the double sided tape? I know they don't like the feel of it and I wonder after a certain time can you take the tape off? After they have retrained to not scratch the furniture?

I am not going to get them declawed. To me it sounds hurtful and wouldn't want someone doing that to me

 

[wallawallakids]

Question about the double sided tape? I know they don't like the feel of it and I wonder after a certain time can you take the tape off? After they have retrained to not scratch the furniture?

I am not going to get them declawed. To me it sounds hurtful and wouldn't want someone doing that to me

The tape is supposed to be removable without harming your furniture. (At least that is what it says on the box!) Maybe someone on here has used it and can tell you for sure.

ETA: Just realized that you might not have been talking about the furniture! Yes, once the cat is trained you should be able to remove it for good.

 

[grafxgirl]

We have 5 cats. We did not declaw because declawing involves the amputation of removing the end bones on their paws. Can you imagine what is would be like to have the end bones of your fingers removed?

Cats scratch because it is a form of exercise for them and it keeps the claws clean. One thing that helps us is to keep the claws trimmed and an alternate scratching post. My mother used double-sided tape on the areas of furniture her two cats scratched at. She only had to use in on a temporary basis, then they stopped.

 

[smitch425]

We just went through this with out little guy.

We tried: water, deterrent spray, scratching posts of every size shape and texture, nail trimming, nail caps, tape, and tin foil. Nothing worked and we were yelling at him constantly to stop. I asked for opinions on declawing on here and got told again and again that it is cruel. So I talked to my vet. He told me some cats just can't be stopped from scratching. He also said it is cruel for a cat to be yelled at constantly, or put back up for adoption over and over because it destroys the house with scratching. After litter box issues, cats with scratching issues are the second most common given to shelters.

So we had him declawed in the front. He was given pain meds for a week. At 24 hours he was jumping to the top of his 6 foot condo. We stopped pain meds at 3 days because he didn't need them.

Guess what? He hasn't changed a bit since he was declawed. He doesn't act traumatized because they are gone. He still "scratches" everything he can, but he doesn't get yelled at. Our relationship with him is much better now.

Every indoor cat I've ever been around has been declawed. They were happy, healthy, normal cats. No signs of pain whatsoever. Declawing a cat is a common practice, not animal abuse.

 

[wallawallakids]

Every indoor cat I've ever been around has been declawed. They were happy, healthy, normal cats. No signs of pain whatsoever. Declawing a cat is a common practice, not animal abuse.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html

http://www.declawing.com/

This is the reality of declawing. If it was harmless to the cat it would be legal in all states. It is not.

 

[smitch425]

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html

http://www.declawing.com/

This is the reality of declawing. If it was harmless to the cat it would be legal in all states. It is not.

I am familiar with the info. It just isn't what I've experienced in terms of post surgery life. I don't expect anyone to agree with me. It's just my personal opinion based on my own experiences.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Every indoor cat I've ever been around has been declawed. They were happy, healthy, normal cats. No signs of pain whatsoever. Declawing a cat is a common practice, not animal abuse.

Once it's healed yes.

It's really not common anymore at all.

 

[smitch425]

Once it's healed yes.

It's really not common anymore at all.

Yes, I meant daily life past the initial post surgery pain. Any surgery (whether pet or human) has a recovery period. No way around that.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Kind of an off topic question, but in areas where declawing is illegal, are docking dogs tails and the thing they do to Doberman's ears illegal too?

 

[wallawallakids]

Kind of an off topic question, but in areas where declawing is illegal, are docking dogs tails and the thing they do to Doberman's ears illegal too?

I agree that both of these are cruel. And yes, 13 states regulate docking dogs tails (including California). Ear cropping is illegal in 8. (although I do not believe California is one of those 8.)

 

[DisneyDreamer2504]

Regarding the OPs original question, we had this concern we our new couch. It has fake leather sides, so I knew the cats would want to scratch, especially the corners on the side that sticks out, not against the wall. Basically I've draped a blanket over the arm which mostly covers the corners. It's really helped a lot. Occasionally they'll try, like if he blanket slips, but we make sure to punish them and provide other scratching options.