- Joined
- Nov 11, 2015
- Messages
- 8
- Purraise
- 2
I'm Greg and I'm brand new here. I have a 5 1/2 month old domestic shorthair name Lexi. I'm determined to let her keep her claws and make my best effort at teaching her to scratch only on her her things designed for that purpose. My spouse would rather I have her declawed as we did with our first 2 cats, but is willing to let me try. The thing is that it has been over 20 years since I taught a kitten to do this sort of thing. I have many different textures and shapes of scratching materials, but I would say she is showing a definite preference for sturdy, vertical objects. To that end, I purchased a 6 foot tall tower to put in the front hall near the staircase. I think you've all seen these advertised if you don't actually own 2 or 3 yourselves. She likes the tower and her scratching posts and I play with her on and around them several times a day. The thing is that I am not dissuading her from clawing at OTHER things to any significant degree. I tell "No!" sternly a couple of times and put her on her nearest scratching item, but she just collapses into fur ball at the base of it with no apparent desire to claw at anything. Anyone have any suggestions??? The thing is, I am not convinced she has a plan at her age. I think she's walking or laying around, touches something with a paw and says, " Feels right! Claw it!" Also, I trim her nail once a month to keep them short.