ScRaTcHiNg!!!! UGGHHH

anyone know of any good scratch deterrents??? She is driving me crazy and my couch cannot take much more. I have plenty of different types of scratching posts...some on the ground, some that stand upright. I don't want to go waste money on a spray that may not work so I thought I would ask you guys.

Do those sprays work?

Any suggestions to get her to scratch on the appropriate things (I have tried catnip...she is indiffernet about that but my other cat loves it)?

She will scratch on the posts only occasionally...mostly she prefers the couch.

please help!

I do not know of any deterrants that actually work. Have you tried Soft Paws? www.softpaws.com What about getting a post made out of the material similar to the couch? If she goes for the ends of the couch, put posts at each end of the couch. That's all I can think of for now. You might conside searching the forums to see what other info you can find!

I tried putting tinfoil on where the cats where scratching. And it worked. But the couch is used so much on a daily basis that I would have to replace it ever other day or so.
We then tried putting a towel over each of the arms of the couch, since that's where they were scratching. It worked too. I don't mind two towels hanging off the couch though.

I also clip their nails as short as I can without making them bleed.

I read that the smell of citrus deters a cat from scratching around that smell. There are some carpet and air fresheners that smell of citrus. In fact: Someone I know actually placed citrus rinds in their couches and swears by this technique! My babies don't scratch the furniture so I am not sure how effective this is though.

We have a cat climbing post that I frequently treat with a catnip spray and fresh catnip. This keeps it the most alluring piece of furniture in the home!! That may help out to keep them scratching on just their own furniture.

It's one thing to have a lot of scratching implements - but it's another thing to have them in the right places.

Cats like to scratch (part of stretching) when they wake up. Do they sleep on the couch or the back of the couch? How about placing scratching posts in front of the arms of the couch, or at the sides of the couch?

Also - what about draping the arms (and/or back) of the couch with throw blankets? This is what we do. We just leave them there. We wash them weekly. It cuts down on vacuuming. It protects the couch from cat claws. And when company comes, we just fold them up and set them somewhere.

The alternative is to change the aluminum foil every few days. For most cats, if they can't use a place for about a month, that's enough time for them to not go back to the old habit.

Some cats do not like the smell of citrus air freshener - it can usually be safely sprayed on fabric. Or try a citrus fabric-refresher.

You can also try this - it's a tip in the "Inappropriate Peeing" thread - but it could work to discourage kitty from scratching too, as it is a scent deterrant:

Take a Tea bag, then once used and its cooled, pour a few drops of OLBAS OIL on it. Olbas oil is a herbal remedy ideal for colds and completely natural. Health food shops as well as pharmacies sell it here and its cheap enough. Then place the Tea bag with this smelling stuff on a small food bag and place it in the vicinity of where the cat has been urinating. They hate the smell and he's given it a wide berth ever since....

Click to expand...

Placing these on the arms of the couch may work to discourage the scratching.

Laurie

One thing you want to be careful of is anything that could harm them, air deodorant, fresheners.........if they scratch or try, its on their paws which they then clean.

thanks for the tips yall!! I will try them all to see which ones work!

We are using the sticky paws on the door to keep them from knocking all night. They are recommended for furniture. Try shaking a can of coins when you see your kitty scratching.