New Carpet

cosmo

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I have two cats, Cosmo and Curby. They're pretty well behaved; they usually use their two scratching posts. However, on occassion they will get lazy and use the rug/mat in the kitchen. I want to get wall to wall carpeting in the living room, but am concerned they will see it as one big scratching area and not use their designated scratching posts. Is it possible to condition my cats to only use their scratching posts, and not the carpeting?
 

larke

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Do you really love vaccuming that much :-)? Unfortunately you may be asking for a lot of trouble. It also might depend on what kind of carpet you buy, but I have yet to find one that I would guarantee cat proof - posts or no posts. They can't help it, it's just very attractive to them, and the scratching so hard-wired I wonder if they are really aware they're even doing it a lot of the time... which would mean trying to tell them off when they do it rather difficult - the same as trying to make my dog stop barking - he's not even really aware of doing it, so cannot relate to my saying stop - 'Stop what?"!
 

goldenkitty45

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Well if the cat's nails are kept trimmed on a regular basis (once a week) then even if they use the floor carpet once in awhile, it will not hurt.

Maybe if the treehouse if part carpet, part sisal then they would use it more. Also you can attract them to the post with some dried catnip.
 

calico2222

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I agree catnip on the scratching posts would help, but if they insist on scratching horizonally sometimes (and some cats do), get those little remenants of carpeting they sell for door mats, treat them with catnip and try to get them to use that instead. Or, you can also get those toys that have the cardboard scratching pad in the middle, and a track with a ball inside. My MIL's cats LOVED theirs (and the replacement cardboard is only a few bucks for a pack of two). Mine weren't that impressed but most of them use the cat tree.

Trimming their claws regularly will also help, or if it is really a problem you could try soft paws.

Wall to wall carpeting can be had with cats. We have it in our living room and the cats have been fine. Now, the dogs muddy feet is another story (and one I won't go into right now. Let's just say we've had to buy a new carpet scrubber
)
 

goldenkitty45

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You'll need to train that pup to stay in one spot and have his/her feet wiped off before they tear thru the house
We've trained Keno to sit by the door and get her feet wiped off before tracking in snow/mud
Plus it helps to have a few rugs by the door.
 
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