THIS close to declawing her...(not seriously, but very frustrated)

Okay not really. But I am angry with Trout.

We just got brand new furniture on Saturday...yes..Saturday. And she has already pulled a bunch of threads out of one of the corners with her nails.

I NEED ADVICE ON HOW TO MAKE HER STOP THIS. I was seriously mad at her last night, and I'm thinking of locking her in the basement when we aren't home. Our basement is nice and finished etc...but she won't be happy if that happens. We also just got brand new carpet on our stairs..I haven't caught her scratching it YET. But she used to scratch the old carpet.

Please give me useful tips so I don't have to kill her!

I do cut her nails regularily. And for the record, I don't see softclaws working for us because she would likely not allow them to be put on her.

Has she got alternate places to scratch? We have several cat trees in every room and never had any furniture  scratched,noting this is for a number of cats and kittens, you could get away with less poles with one cat.

I would start by adding a new special, tall, sturdy scratching post like this one at Petco called Smart Cat I have MANY scratching posts, cat trees around the house. Use catnip to get her started on the new posts. Once cat's learn where to scratch and enjoy that particular scratching post, they naturally go back to the same thing over and over.

Get some Sticky Paws When you add a new piece of furniture, new carpet, etc. Cats ALWAYS want to "mark" that new furniture with their claws. You just have to be ready ahead of time and have a plan to keep the cat away from the new piece of furniture. There is also SSScat http://www.petstreetmall.com/Indoor-Containment/7108/525/ this will give Trout a burst of air if she goes near that corner of the couch. It is motion sensitive. AND once they get frightened by the SSScat - they stay away. There is also scat mats http://www.safepetproducts.com/scat-mat-for-cats-and-dogs.html?gclid=CI-bqpm_m68CFSWFQAodXQGpZA that you could place under the corners of the couch. Of course, these things will not have to be permanent fixtures in your home :lol3: They are used as training and really do work.

I am sure other's will have many more suggestions for you.

The Sticky Paws have worked well for my mother and I in the past.

As far as the rug, my mother bought a small braided rug to put over the spot that her cat liked to claw. Her cat really prefers the braided rug.

Do you have to keep the sticky tape on all the time? Or do they eventually stop going to that furniture even when you take the tape off?

From this website, which scratcher would you guys recommend if Trout likes to stretch upwards and dig her nails into the corner of the couch?

http://www.petsmart.com/category/in...y|Furniture+&+Scratchers&pg=1&searchSort=TRUE

Trouts mom said:

From this website, which scratcher would you guys recommend if Trout likes to stretch upwards and dig her nails into the corner of the couch?

http://www.petsmart.com/category/in...y|Furniture+&+Scratchers&pg=1&searchSort=TRUE

Click to expand...

It depends on what type of scratcher she likes the best.  Mine like the honeycomb it seems.  But they also use them all.  And they have all the varieties, too.  So, I think it's more of finding something to replace the chair... So she has to stretch upward so look at the scratchers that have her doing that.  And the one in the corner of the wall looks really cool.  So something that can replace her bad behavior but as close to it as possible. 
 

Trouts mom said:

From this website, which scratcher would you guys recommend if Trout likes to stretch upwards and dig her nails into the corner of the couch?

http://www.petsmart.com/category/in...y|Furniture+&+Scratchers&pg=1&searchSort=TRUE

Click to expand...

Jamie is a "vertical scratcher" and likes this type. We've got a couple of sisal scratching mats tacked to the wall right beside doors, his favorite place to scratch. He's also got a ceiling-high cat tree and a big sisal throw rug (on the floor) that he uses. He leaves the furniture alone because he has his own chair (an old desk chair at the moment) to scratch. Once he ruins one of "his" chairs, it's replaced with another, usually an old upholstered dining room chair we've gotten from family or friends.

You might want to offer Trout a number of different surfaces (cardboard, sisal, carpet) at various angles. Check out DIY or carpet stores for carpet samples, and put some face up and others face down for her to use rather than your new carpets.

You won't have to leave the sticky paws on forever :nod: Just until you get Trout scratching on the new scratchers you will be buying. I think you could try a couple different kinds. I also have the cardboard scratchers. The cat's LOVE those two and catnip really gets them going. Just make sure you get a tall one that is very, very sturdy and won't move when Trout reaches up to scratch. It has to be solid. The flimsy small ones just knock over that the cat's never use those after that happens. I would get a tall one and a couple of the cardboard scratchers. They are inexpensive and last a long time.

We put soft paws on Molly because she was scratching everything...including her 6 scratching posts I didn't think she'd allow it either (so I had the vet do it ).  They've been great.  She doesn't even notice they are on. 

Miss Mew said:

We put soft paws on Molly because she was scratching everything...including her 6 scratching posts

I didn't think she'd allow it either (so I had the vet do it

).  They've been great.  She doesn't even notice they are on. 

Click to expand...

Ummmm, will the vet do this for me!?!!? This sounds like Trout's personality and I feel nothing will stop her..lol

I have come up with something that works amazingly!!

You would never guess in a 100 years I have cats literally everywhere, AND with new furniture!

Simply buy a roll of clear contact paper and a roll of double sided tape.

I cut large squares of the contact paper, attaching it sticky side out with double sided tape.

Put it on all corners of the furniture, and your cat will NOT scratch again. Period.

It looks just fine too, you can hardly even see it.

OMG!!!! What an amazing idea! Where do you get this paper from?????????
 

catwoman707 said:

I have come up with something that works amazingly!!

You would never guess in a 100 years I have cats literally everywhere, AND with new furniture!

Simply buy a roll of clear contact paper and a roll of double sided tape.

I cut large squares of the contact paper, attaching it sticky side out with double sided tape.

Put it on all corners of the furniture, and your cat will NOT scratch again. Period.

It looks just fine too, you can hardly even see it.

Click to expand...

Cats need their own furniture to scratch. My cats have every shape and size scratcher imaginable, and they use them all. And when I bought new couch last year, I also bought two new scratchers. No one has ever scratched my new couch (though they did scratch the old one sometimes).

I have had good luck also with the Feliway Spray.  I have sprayed the areas where Kiefer has scratched and we aren't seeing as much damage.  You do need to test it in an inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn't discolor your furniture and you need to refresh it every 2 or 3 days.

Just chiming in to say that Feliway spray worked for us too.  I've never seen Leo scratch the couch if the Feliway spray is fresh (have to keep respraying each day.) 

If you don't want the worry of keeping up with the spray, you can buy a plug in diffuser.  I swear by the stuff.

The others' posts are all good -- you need a number of scratching-allowed surfaces throughout your house, both vertical ones and horizontal ones.  We have those, and they are used.  We also have opted for leather furniture over cloth-upholstered, and the leather, while not exactly the choice I'd make from an ethical point of view, is never bothered by anyone's claws.  In fact, they rarely even jump up on the sofa, and rarely on the chairs.  If you are really that angry about your cat's natural instinctive behavior, perhaps another loving, forever home would be the best?  Cats come with claws, for a reason, and declawing is mutilation which is illegal in over 37 enlightened, compassionate and progressive countries, as it should be in all.

I think that clear plastic looks like a great idea, I don't know where you would get it from but it protects your furniture and you can hardly see it. I am lucky my cats have never scratched my furniture, Billy however scratches my stair carpet, doesn't bother me at present but I am getting a new one soon that worries me, I really considered whether to get a leather sofa before I did but they haven't ever touched it, it was 2nd hand though and I think sometimes the smell of new furniture attracts cats to scratch, must be something they use on certain items of furniture. Good luck with stopping her.x

I got a scratching post today and she started scratching it as soon as I put it down!! She loves it!

I also got some of that clear sticky tape. I feel good now and no longer angry..lol