Saying hello

Just got a new cat (1 yr old black male, spayed or neutered -- haha bob barker) and was wondering if anyone has any good advice.

Specifically, my concern is about the cat tearing up the joint with his claws.

My GF won't let me de-claw (I know, I know... it's cruel, etc., and we're not going to, but it would've made life easier. Alas...).

So, any tips for training a cat to not ruin thousands of dollars of furniture?

thx

Hello & welcome to TCS. I'm very glad you won't be declawing. In my country its illegal. The 1st thing you need is a scratching post or scratching tree & show him what its for. With my kitten I gently scratched her front paws on the post & she knew what it was for immediately.
Others may give you more ideas.

Originally Posted by Kalikat

Hello & welcome to TCS. I'm very glad you won't be declawing. In my country its illegal. The 1st thing you need is a scratching post or scratching tree & show him what its for. With my kitten I gently scratched her front paws on the post & she knew what it was for immediately.
Others may give you more ideas.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll do that

welcome!!

The only other thing I would add is when you see your kitty starting to scratch the furniture, I would bring him to the scratching post and kind of put his front paws on it gently so he could scratch that.

I hope that made sense.

Hi! Welcome to TCS!

Glad to hear that you won't be declawing. Anyway, we have 5 cats, all with their claws, and no problems with them scratching on the furniture. When each of them came in, we made sure to show them what was appropriate to scratch on. If they tried to scratch on something that they weren't supposed to, we just redirected them. Like others mentioned, get a scratching post or something. We have a large cat tree, plus a smaller item that has a scratching post and tunnel attached. We, also, have one of the toys that has the cardboard in the center of it for them to scratch on and a single cat condo.

Hi there

we're so happy to get the chance to welcome you and your new kitty to TCS. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay with us - we're one great big family and you'll find loads of friends here. If I can help at all while you're finding your way around TCS just click on my username and send me a Personal Message - I'll do what I can to answer your questions

I'm so glad you won't be declawing this kitty. Talk to your vet about softclaws (little covers to go over each claw) or claw clipping. I'd never done it before we had the two indoor kitties, but it is surprisingly easy to get used to.

Hola y bienvenido a TCS, ...Catulina

y Milky

te saludan!!........

(Translate: Hi and Welcome to TCS, Catulina and Milky say hello to you!!!... )

See you on the forums!

Hi

Hell and Welc me. Glad to hear you won't be declawing your kitty. My advice is similiar to what you have already been given. Good luck with your new fur baby.

Welcome to the site! Enjoy your stay. P.s. I am very very very careful when I do it but I trim little kitties claws. She has poor balance, so she jumps up claws out, and I have to do it to save my legs/arms. . .

Hi and welcome to TCS! It's great that you've joined us!

If you have any questions as you are finding your way around the site, please feel free to click on my username and send me a private message. I'll do what I can to help you.