I was hoping the lemon oil would work. Febreeze makes an allergy spray for furniture, I sprayed it on my couch once where the cat hung out and he quit going there. I felt so bad.
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At My Wits End!
- Thread starter pi-pi
- Start Date
Damn
pi-pi
I really hoped that spray would work for you. I have to say that we get round the problem by not having expensive rugs :lol3: I have a cheap cotton rug in my bedroom that's one of Asha's favourite 'toys' - she'll get herself all worked up playing, then go and kick the hell out of the rug 
I don't think I could bear the look on her face if she wasn't allowed to play with it. Guess who rules this house.... :catguy:
Good luck with claw trimming...and catching Pi first Maybe softpaws will have to be the solution.
pi-pi
I really hoped that spray would work for you. I have to say that we get round the problem by not having expensive rugs :lol3: I have a cheap cotton rug in my bedroom that's one of Asha's favourite 'toys' - she'll get herself all worked up playing, then go and kick the hell out of the rug I don't think I could bear the look on her face if she wasn't allowed to play with it. Guess who rules this house.... :catguy: Good luck with claw trimming...and catching Pi first
Maybe softpaws will have to be the solution.
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I don't have carpets so that's one problem solved. They have a big climby thing and a big scratch post plus 3 of the cardboard scratchers which blighty loves. Unfortunately he also loves my furniture, the back of at least, and I can't stop him. I can't clip his claws or take him to the vet. Like pi pi. He won't be picked up and if I manage to grab him to cuddle him, he cries so after a few kisses to the head I let him go. He doesn't sulk and loves to be stroked. He's a weird boy. Black and White and bigggg. I got him from the street age 2 months and now he'll be 2 on Friday.
Judy there's something here called cat off or similar. It's a spray that's supposed to repel them. I'll check.
Whisky isn't so bad and sometimes I can clip his front claws and no problem going to the vet but he's also weird, I wonder why! !!! He sucks hhis tail. He's an abandoned siamese six months older.
Judy there's something here called cat off or similar. It's a spray that's supposed to repel them. I'll check.
Whisky isn't so bad and sometimes I can clip his front claws and no problem going to the vet but he's also weird, I wonder why! !!! He sucks hhis tail. He's an abandoned siamese six months older.
That is the reason I only have a couple, (actually 3) small, inexpensive scatter rugs. I have one in the entry way, one at the feet of 2 chairs, and one in front of the patio doors. I can wash them and if necessary, throw them out without wasting a lot of money. The apartment has wall to wall in the bedrooms, laminate in the great room,
tile in the entry way and bathrooms....
I try to make it a bit easier on myself....who cares what it looks like...I do not buy expensive things because I have a CAT!!
I live for my comfort, Artie's comfort. It is a combination of my style, colors and what works with us and my bidget...
Please, I am not being snarky with these comments....
just what it is in my life right now...
tile in the entry way and bathrooms....
I try to make it a bit easier on myself....who cares what it looks like...I do not buy expensive things because I have a CAT!!
I live for my comfort, Artie's comfort. It is a combination of my style, colors and what works with us and my bidget...
Please, I am not being snarky with these comments....
just what it is in my life right now...
Good luck with getting Pi in to his carrier without him (or you) getting too distressed. I have to leave Mouse's carrier out for days before I plan to use it then have it well positioned for when I get hold of him and need to maneouver his limbs as well as his body and head into it. LoL. I'm lucky he doesn't use claws or teeth during such processes - he makes himself about 1 meter long and almost as wide with all limbs fully out at the sides and squirms like crazy though.
Then he wails just about the whole way to the vet so I feel REALLY bad about what I've done to him...
Is there any chance of you picking up an off-cut of similar stuff from the carpet store you got the rug from, enough to cover your rug for a while and try to get his scent or what ever it is he likes about this rug transferred? Also, do you have any large size scratching things which are flat as maybe it is the flat surface he likes rather than the posts and trees? Clutching at straws here, I feel your desperation as I too have a very nice (and too expensive to replace) rug in my home and it has been luck rather than anything else which has kept it here so far.
Is there any chance of you picking up an off-cut of similar stuff from the carpet store you got the rug from, enough to cover your rug for a while and try to get his scent or what ever it is he likes about this rug transferred? Also, do you have any large size scratching things which are flat as maybe it is the flat surface he likes rather than the posts and trees? Clutching at straws here, I feel your desperation as I too have a very nice (and too expensive to replace) rug in my home and it has been luck rather than anything else which has kept it here so far.
I like the scatter rugs and the entry way rugs. My sister gives me grief because it doesn't bother me that the cats scratch on these as well as their cat trees. But they are cheaper and larger than some of the scratch pads you can buy for cats.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #27
LOL! Don't think you're being snarky. But with me the cat came AFTER the nice rug. Prior to that it was just me and my dog (ShihTzu) Happy. Pi was an outdoor stray or semi feral last year looking for a home. Guess who took him in! But he is a love and seems to appreciate it very much. I think he scratches this particular carpet because it is wool and he scratches up fluffy pieces of it. I think he likes that he "gets something for all his work." I don't!
He's a lucky cat, and very handsome! Another silly thought but do you have any old wool jumpers, throw or similar you could put down where he scratches at the carpet? Being under the table hopefully yuou could avoid tripping on things there while seeing if it worked. If it is the wool fluff he likes he might transfer over to something like that.
mservant
makes a great point. If you don't have anything suitable you could always try local charity shops (thrift stores/goodwill in the US? Sorry, not certain what they're called over there). There's sure to be something for not too much money at one of them...at least, there's usually tons of woollens in the shops round here.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #30
I don't have carpets so that's one problem solved. They have a big climby thing and a big scratch post plus 3 of the cardboard scratchers which blighty loves. Unfortunately he also loves my furniture, the back of at least, and I can't stop him. I can't clip his claws or take him to the vet. Like pi pi. He won't be picked up and if I manage to grab him to cuddle him, he cries so after a few kisses to the head I let him go. He doesn't sulk and loves to be stroked. He's a weird boy. Black and White and bigggg. I got him from the street age 2 months and now he'll be 2 on Friday.
Judy there's something here called cat off or similar. It's a spray that's supposed to repel them. I'll check.
Whisky isn't so bad and sometimes I can clip his front claws and no problem going to the vet but he's also weird, I wonder why! !!! He sucks hhis tail. He's an abandoned siamese six months older.
Two cuties!
Thank you.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #32
Well guys I have had some success! I went to the Pottery Barn website (my dining room rug is from PB) and found that they sell 18" square samples of their carpets. They still carry my style even though I purchased mine in 2009 or 10. They just don't carry the same color but that's OK. Anyway I even got it at 20% off so spent $20 plus tax and no shipping. Not too bad. I had to tape it down to my porch carpet (he doesn't scratch that one) so it would stay in one place when he pulled his nails through it. I just got it in place when he came over and went to town! Unfortunately this morning before I came downstairs he also did some scratching on the dining room carpet. But I will continue to keep as much of that covered as possible and to spray the vulnerable area with citrus spray. Each time I catch him going there I will redirect him to the sample swatch and reward him with a favorite treat. Hopefully in time he will use only the swatch. Fingers crossed!
This is his work so far today!
This is his work so far today!
:cross: and 
that he makes the switch 
that he makes the switch
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #35
I hope, I hope!That is a LOT of shredding for one day's work... Pi Pi has daemon paws! It is great that you are managing to catch him with this taped down sample and working on 'training' him to like scratching there instead of your main carpet. All fingers here crossed that you get enough of the samples to keep him going until he decides some other surface is just as satisfying. :cross: Maybe once he has destroyed the wool he will keep working on the backing fabric and perhaps that will help transfer him over to other textures.
This post made me take a closer look at the damage. He could get employment as a professional shredder :lol3: I've never seen a cat single pawedly do so much damage in such a short time!- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #37
Oh boy! Now you can see why I am so worried about my dining room carpet which is 8' x 10'!This post made me take a closer look at the damage. He could get employment as a professional shredderI've never seen a cat single pawedly do so much damage in such a short time!
Actually though in fairness to Pi this carpet comes with a notice tacked to it telling the buyer that it is natural wool fiber that is hand cut and will "shed" a lot at first but ease up with continued vacuuming. This indeed has been the case with the large carpet. However, because of that it is easy for my little panther to dig out a lot of fluff whereas he would not show that much damage on an average carpet. Do I like the fact that the carpet is made this way? Absolutely not but I didn't find out exactly what that notice was referring to until after my first dinner party with it in place. When my guests left I happened to look under the table when picking up something and was shocked to see piles of fluff where those with rubber soled shoes had been sitting. I was mortified and hoped nobody had seen it. That no longer happens as it has been vacuumed many times in the past 5 or 6 years since I bought it.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #38
This seems to be working! I have one sample of the carpet on the porch where he spends his days and another in the kitchen in the area where his things are kept. He has to go first through the kitchen then the dining room to get to the porch. So having a scratching pad which he likes on either side of the dining room seems to keep him from stopping there to scratch while walking through. Hooray hope it continues. I still have carpet saver covering most of the dining room rug. That's fine when I don't have company.
Question: do cats scratch less after having their nails trimmed? Someone told me they can actually scratch more. I hope not. After the July 4th holiday I have sworn to myself that I will somehow get him into his carrier and to the vet for an exam and to get the nails clipped.
Question: do cats scratch less after having their nails trimmed? Someone told me they can actually scratch more. I hope not. After the July 4th holiday I have sworn to myself that I will somehow get him into his carrier and to the vet for an exam and to get the nails clipped.
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So great that the samples are working. Long may it continue! :cross:I can't answer your question though - I've neve clipped a cat's claws.
Some scratching can be territorial and scent marking, some may be habit and general behaviour - Mouse loves to run through to his tree and show off scratching and posing when we first get up and go through to the sitting room in the morning. Other scratching is purposeful and sheds the loose, outer layers of the claw and smooths the claws keeping them healthy (and I'm afraid yes, probably helps sharpen them by getting rid of the debris so leaving the nice new growth). I am sure Mouse likes to have a good claw at his post after his claws have been clipped, but only so much as to smooth them off nicely and get rid of the rough ends left from the clipping. I reckon this extra little bit of clawing is more than compensated for by the blunted ends which reduce how much they get caught in and grip in to carpets etc to shred them. Of course others may disagree with me.
