Ripping up my carpet (While wearing soft paws)

Jinkers is the first cat I have ever owned that was not declawed. I know the official stance of TCS is anti-declaw, but when I adopted Spooky and Mulder it was just one of those things our vet did when you took them for neuter. I have since learned differently and of course do not plan to declaw any cats going forward.

When I brought him home from the shelter about a month ago I clipped his claws and applied soft paws caps to them. The soft paws are still all in place, I checked. Since then he has been kept exclusively upstairs in our "basement ranch" style home. Upstairs we have regular carpet, tile and laminate flooring along with the regular household stuff. Jinkers has not shown any interest in scratching our furniture, flooring, or anything else for that matter. Last night we decided to let him come downstairs with us into the basement "rec room", the stairs and all of the basement are covered with berber carpet. Immediately upon being introduced to this environment Jinkers began feverishly scratching at the stairs.

At first we didn't think anything about him scratching because he is wearing soft paws and we thought that meant he wouldn't be able to do any damage. But then I heard a tearing noise and checked it out and he had done some pretty serious damage to the carpet on our stairs. I did some more reading on soft paws and it seems most people are using them to protect their furniture, not their carpet. Jinkers is not interested in the furniture.

I believe the reason we haven't had a problem with the carpet upstairs is that the soft paws are keeping him from being able to damage the regular carpet, but downstairs he is able to get his claws into the berber and pull it up, so the soft paws aren't preventing that.

We spend a lot of time downstairs as that is where all of our hobby/entertainment/computer stuff is. Since I adopted him I have been staying upstairs with him to help him settle in, but now we really need to be able to let him down here with us, otherwise he will spend a lot his time alone up there, the other two boys come down here all the time.

DH jumped to "just get him declawed" but I am not interested in doing that, so he said he will support whatever I want to do. We don't have a scratching post but we are going out today to buy one. I have one of those cardboard scratchers but he isn't interested in it. We are going to order a cat tree with lots of scratchers and try to train him to use it. But... since neither of us have had a cat with claws, we have no idea how to go about it.

So I guess... help? What do I do?

Get your scratching posts, trees, and other scratchers placed around the house. Add a good piece or two (piece as in cat furniture) in the room that you will all be in the most. He'll want to be around you a lot. When you hear or see him scratching tell him "psst! No scratching the carpet!" and take him to a proper scratching surface. Do this every single time.

Mine will occasionally get worked up playing and will scratch at the den carpet a little, but simply saying "don't scratch the carpet" or "no scratching the carpet" stops them right away.

When picking out scratching posts and furniture, make sure there are posts that are tall enough for an adult cat to fully stretch out on. I think 32" is enough for a lot of cats.
I have a couple larger cats so I made a ~4ft post and put a platform on top of it. Cost me a total of $8 for the rope.

We looked at scratching posts today. DH did not like any of the ones we found for the price because most of the ones we found that were tall enough for Jinkers (he is very long/tall) were around $40 and DH thinks he would rather just buy a cat tree off of ebay for ~$100 that all the cats can use. I have one picked out we are going to buy at the end of the month.

Until then we are going to work on getting him to scratch the scratch box we already have, and we are not going to let any of the cats downstairs until the new tree arrives. That way Jinkers can't destroy our carpet any more, but he won't be totally alone either.

Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

We don't have a scratching post but we are going out today to buy one. I have one of those cardboard scratchers but he isn't interested in it. We are going to order a cat tree with lots of scratchers and try to train him to use it. But... since neither of us have had a cat with claws, we have no idea how to go about it.

So I guess... help? What do I do?

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If they like catnip, rub catnip into the scratcher.

ONE scratcher... HA!

You will need horizontal, angled, and vertical scratchers. They need to be very sturdy. You will have to experiment with what textures are preferred. You will then also have to supervise constantly at first to try and catch em in the act and squirt em or otherwise without them associating the correction with you (or else they just do it when you're not around). Even then, there are some surfaces I have learned that are just too awesome to scratch like my office chair, and so I recovered them.

I am surprised that they are still scratching a lot with soft claws though. With mine they mostly stopped until a few shed off.

For a scratching post, mine liked this:
http://www.amazon.com/SmartCat-3832-...5043779&sr=8-1



And of course cat trees/condos usually have sisal rope legs.

I'm also surprised he can catch his claws in anything, much less damage something, with the Soft Claws on. I put them on a few of my boys just for fun, and they couldn't catch onto anything. I think it was frustrating for them; I learned my lesson and won't be using them for fun anymore. And he probably won't use any scratching apparatus until the Soft Claws fall off. It's just not satisfying to rub plastic nails on sisal. Once he can really dig his claws in he might enjoy his posts, and training will be easier. There are also some good training tips on the links in my signature. Don't allow him to scratch anything that's not allowed to be scratched, even though he is wearing the Soft Claws. They're meant to prevent damage while training, thay aren't really something to be used forever, although I guess if a cat is really resistant to training you might have to.

It's fairly easy to make a good sturdy post with sisal rope, a 4 x 4, a square of plywood, and some staples and glue. My cats do NOT like the woven sisal like the picture above--"one of them will use it! 20 cats and not one likes it, that must mean something. They like sisal rope instead.

And have hope! Most cats do not scratch inappropriately after they've fully matured. It's mostly a naughty kitten/teenager/young punk thing. Or if the cat is new and doesn't know the house rules yet.

Originally Posted by Willowy

It's fairly easy to make a good sturdy post with sisal rope, a 4 x 4, a square of plywood, and some staples and glue. My cats do NOT like the woven sisal like the picture above--"one of them will use it! 20 cats and not one likes it, that must mean something. They like sisal rope instead.

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Have you tried that particular product?

Both my cats love it, and out of 150 customers that reviewed it, 130 are five star, and almost all the rest four.

He was damaging the carpet because it is berber so its continuous ropes woven into the flooring which he was able to pull out with his soft paws on. We think he is pretty young probably a 2009 kitten. We are getting a 72" condo/tree with lots of posts and also he has the cardboard one and we are going to get a turbo scratcher and some of those ones you hang from doorknobs. For upstairs we are going to eventually get an 81" corner style conso with lots of scratch posts and one of those climbing towers from walmart but those will have to wait til later.

How handy is your DH? If you need a scratching post now simply go get an untreated landscaping post, some thick plywood (easier if you have scraps laying around) - a base should at least be close to 2'x2' if you make it tall. Your choice if you want to add a small platform on top. Use natural untreated sisal or manila rope - I like the smaller diameter rope because it holds up better to cat claws. Make it as tall as you want - you can use the whole post if you wish just make sure you get enough rope. Screw it together with heavy screws, cover the wood if you want to - if you don't sand it a bit. You could use carpet scrapes or even heavy fabric to upholstery with.

We trim nails weekly (or at least check them). I find in most cases when their nails are getting long they tend to scratch more then normal.

The SoftPaws should protect even if they do claw.

I forgot to ask. How old is the carpet on the stairs? How well is it tacked down?

All of the carpet in the house was installed at the beginning of 2009. It is like new, or was until he went after the stairs.

Today we trimmed off his old soft paws and applied new ones. The last time we put them on we used size medium and they fit perfectly. This time they seemed too small so we are going to get some large and apply them when these come off. We have been working to get him to take to the scratching box we got him and also a scratch rug we bought yesterday. So far no interest in either, only on the stairs.

Wow, how DID you get the Soft Claws off? Like I said, I put them on 4 of the boys (I got extra-large and none of the girls are that big) last month, and Scotty still has 2 on him. They will not come off. I snipped the tips and everything. Still on. They're driving me crazy.

I clipped the tip off, then I snipped the side of it from the base to the end and peeled it off. His claws were shedding anyway so they came off with just that top layer of nail that would have fallen of itself if the soft paws weren't on.

Some vets won't even declaw a cat. I want to buy a new couch, but now that we have a cat, I DON'T want leather. (We've had our two year old rescue cat since March.)

And to me, training a cat with a water gun is cruel, too. When our cat began scratching at our couch, I gently picked him up and took him over to his scratching post and took his front paws in my hand and tried to 'gently' motion his paws up and down on the post. We have a floor to ceiling scratching post with three levels which he loves to run up and down (we often put treats and toys at the top). He would never be able to get to the top without his claws. He seldom scratches on the couch any more. (But, I'm STILL not getting leather!) I have another smaller scratching post in my office. It takes time, but it's worth it.

Even though we got an adult cat - it wasn't difficult to train him. You just can't use punishment - like you might do with a dog or even a child. A book that became my 'bible' in this - and still is - is STARTING FROM SCRATCH: HOW TO CORRECT BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN YOUR ADULT CAT by Pam Johnson-Benet.

lin

Jinkers doesn't seem to be interested in the furniture. Actually he's not interested in scratching anything except the stairs.

We are probably going to have to use the spray bottle training unfortunately. We think Jinkers may have been stepped on in his past because whenever someone walks towards him he steps away, like he is afraid of your feet (but still wants your attention). Because of this no matter what he is doing if you walk towards him (like to move him to the scratch post for example) he runs away.

I built a shelf unit cat tree/scratching post (inspired by Otto's recent post about hers) with sisal rope, carpet and cardboard covered burlap on various parts to see if he is interested in scratching any of those. We still plan to buy the big cat tree in a week or so also.

My husband mentioned the declaw and I said no. His stand point is that every cat he's ever had has been declawed and he has never seen a problem with it or them. I told him Jinkers is my cat, and I say no to declawing him. End of discussion. My husband did not push to have him declawed or anything, that was just his automatic answer. When I said no declawing, he said he would pay for the scratching post.

Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

I told him Jinkers is my cat, and I say no to declawing him. End of discussion.

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Way to go! Were you making the face at him?

Do you wear shoes in the house? Sometimes that spooks cats, just because shoes make more noise.

I hope your homemade cat furniture is a hit with them.

We do wear shoes but he reacts the same way when we are barefoot. He doesn't fear our feet on the bed or seated only when walking.

There was no argument about declawing. Every cat either of us have had has been declawed. Spooky and Mulder are declawed. Since then I have learned differently and I don't plan on doing it again, he just didn't realize I was so against it.

He helped me make their new shelf and is going to buy the tree I have picked out. He is very good with the boys.

That's the "Ultimate Scratching Post" picture above. My cats like it. All use it sometimes, and a couple use it a lot. I also have a carpeted post that they all use, and one of those curl things (also called "wave" or something else). They use them all, least of all the curl, though. Or, I should say they use it least for scratching. A couple of them like to sit in it and play on it.

I second the idea of rubbing catnip on the posts to make them more attractive.

I have had great luck with "Sticky Paws" double sided tape for the purpose of training my cats not to scratch the upholstered furniture. I just put in on the favored spots. They hate the way it feels on their paws, and it stops attempts to scratch there immediately. After a couple months they no longer are interested in the furniture and I can take it off. I wonder if you could try some on parts of the berber carpet? However, the humans and cats have to be able to walk on the stairs and floor, so I don't know if that is a good idea. Maybe it's worth trying it in a few places and see if it stops him.

Good for you for being committed to not declawing him! I'm sure you can figure this out, in time.

Robin

We put the homemade cat tree upstairs for all the cats to get used to it while he still couldn't get to the berber. We let his soft paws fall off and have been keeping his nails trimmed but not putting the caps on because he isn't scratching anything other than the berber carpet, and we haven't been letting the cats in the basement for now. We have started a project downstairs to really cat proof the area before letting any of them down here because its a crafting and computer area there are a lot of kitty dangers to protect (wires, small craft things, etc.)

In the meantime we have been encouraging Jinkers to use the tree and his cardboard scratcher. He isn't interested in the cardboard but has scratched some on the sisal and frequently scratches the carpet I wrapped around the poles of the shelf. We praise him and give him treats every time he scratches the tree or his scratch box. He still isn't interested in scratching anything else. We are hoping that if we get him used to always using the scratcher, it will be easier to persuade him to leave the carpet alone once we let him downstairs.

We also decided to keep him and the other two upstairs for another couple months to let Jinkers settle in more. He is still kind of jumpy and doesn't take well to behavioral correction, he gets frightened. So we want to let him get more comfortable with us and our home and behaviors before we really push to correct the carpet scratching, as right now telling him "No" or trying to pick him up to put him in a different place to scratch startles him and he acts afraid and unsure of our intentions.

Sounds like a great plan to me.

My cats use the scratching posts 99% of the time. Very occasionally one starts to scratch the carpets. But getting their attention by saying their name and asking them to stop usually works. If not, (and this would be very rarely) I walk over to them and they stop. When I ask them to stop I'm not yelling, "No!" or anything like that. I just speak loud enough and insistently enough that they know I mean it. But really, weeks go by and no one attacks the carpets, because they prefer the scratching posts.

I save the loud, "No!" and other yelling for times when they are having "arguments" among themselves. And I don't even have to do that much yelling very often. I usually just quickly find the spray bottle and shake it and all go running. And this is their reaction even though I have hardly ever sprayed any of these cats more than slightly. Now I almost never spray it. And if I do, the spray is only in the direction of the cats because they have taken off so fast the water doesn't touch them. They really hate it.

But I only do this if someone is in a particularly aggressive mood and aggravating someone else so there is growling and hissing, and maybe even a little screeching. But, the point I'm making is the spray bottle is a great deterrent. I've read that some think it is a bad idea as the cats will become afraid of you and associate you with bad things. All I can say is that 4 of my 5 cats are all over me with affection - as much as I can stand. And the 5th one, well I'm one of only a handful of people who she has ever allowed close to her and allowed to touch her. And a lot of people tried to work on winning her over for the 3+ years she spent in a shelter, with little success. I pet her every day, and she even sometimes asks me to.

So, if one is a loving cat parent, they don't hold a little "discipline" against you.

Robin