Moving to a condo with hardwood floors...

I am moving into a new unit (renting) and the woman has hardwood floors. Both my cats still have their nails and I'm worried about them scratching up the flooring...does anyone know what I can do? I do trim their front nails once a week.

Katie

Have you considered trying the Soft Claws? Or Soft Paws, can't quite recall the name.

We have hardward floors on the main floor of our house. 5 years now and I don't know of a spot that they have marked up with their claws. Furniture, yes, but not flooring.

YMMV

Hey Marion...I don't think my cats would take to soft paws real well....the are only mildly ok with nail trimmings (because I bribe them with treats).

Katie

In that case, are there any particular spots that you think they are likely to scratch up? Like near the door(s) or a window? Maybe put small area rugs there...

Originally Posted by TNR1

Hey Marion...I don't think my cats would take to soft paws real well....the are only mildly ok with nail trimmings (because I bribe them with treats).

Katie

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Then they should be fine. You glue the soft paws on, so the cat can not remove it. And if they allow you to cut their nails, then after you cut the nails, all you do is to glue the soft paws on, and it's done.

I was thinking runners and rugs in high traffic and Indy 500 areas. They have little rubber pieces that go under the rugs/runners to keep them in place even on hardwood without damaging the surface underneath.

We have hardwood floors all through the house. The dog claws have been tough through the years but I don't think the cats have done too much. The above ideas, runners, rugs are a good idea. I guess it would matter how rough your kitties are, if they are more quiet and relaxed I wouldn't think damage would be done.

Depends on what type of hardwood floors they are.

If they're those really nice snap-together wood floors that came out within the past ten years, you couldn't scratch them with a knife. I wouldn't worry about the cats leaving marks.

If they're the old hardwood floors that are covered in shellack... We have those all through the first floor of our house, and our last cat left marks everywhere. You should see the gouges she left on the wooden trash can and the coffee table. The new cats are better. Hans just pads around. Merlin never jumps on anything with his claws out. (He's actually skidded off the coffee table a few times.) L.S.... well, more scratches have been added.

You'll have to look at labels to find a cat friendly product, but a good hardwood floor wax should help prevent and hide any scratches they make. We've never done it because we're too lazy.

Katie are the hardwood floors like mine in this picture?. Mine are the original floorboards which are varnished and their all the way through the bottom of the house, and neither Rosie or Sophie have been tempted to claw at them, they slide all over them when their playing chase after each other and make such a noise batting their balls around but apart from that their ok!

Originally Posted by valanhb

... high traffic and Indy 500 areas. ...

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That's a perfect description!

Katie, all our cats have had intact claws, and none of them has ever clawed the "hard" floors (rugs have been a different matter). We used to live in a house with shellacked oak floors, and our current house has parquet in the living room and upstairs hallway. I really doubt you'll have a problem, but if you do, I'd suggest getting some small, cheap wool or wool-blend rugs for them to claw. Or synthetic ones you can turn upside down, so that the cats can work on the backing. Until it went out of business, a home furnishings store here used to "order" an extra set of carpet samples for me from their suppliers, and sell them to me for a few bucks. My sister still does that - I think it's a local "Menard's" she gets the samples from.

I have parquet wood floors all over hte house, and the cats never mark them. I only have a problem with the rugs, and I put sisal door mats down in strategic areas to encourage them to scratch those instead of the wool rugs. It mostly works.

My parents have hard wood floors and we had no problems with Limerick... I would be more concerned if you had a dog. Our dog Peebles ripped up the floors pretty good. that's b/c dog's have no way to retract thier claws. I you're take worried about possible damage, I'd keep the nails trimmed and everything should be fine.

We have "antique" maple flooring. We removed from a one room schoolhouse and installed in our house 10 yrs ago. No apparent damage from the cats. I have a paper grocery bag on the floor and Bakker likes to slid into it!! Plus its easy to clean up if they have any types of accidents.

Thanks everyone...this is a HUGE change for me. The current condo I live in has really old carpet and is not in great shape. I just want to make sure I don't accidentally have my cats create any issues since I'm responsible for any "damage".

Katie

One thing to think about - though I never had trouble with my cats' claws on hardwood floors (I kept them trimmed), if you use a clay litter & the cats track it around, that can cause problems - if you step on even a tiny bit it will scratch the floor. That's why I started using Feline Pine, b/c it only tracks soft sawdust.

You could try a litter that doesn't track, or one that has a soft texture if your cats can tolerate changing litter types, or try putting anti-tracking mats around the litterbox, but it might be good to also keep a broom or hand vac by the door, so when you come in you can keep an eagle-eye out for tracked litter & sweep it up before it gets stepped on.

I have lived with cats and hardwood floors all my life and I would prefer to have cats on hardwood floors than on carpets. The modern hardwood is virtually 'indestructible' and the older homes with hardwood floors, while requiring a lot of work to maintain, never had any damage from cat claws. I don't think you should have anything to worry about.

Kathryn

Sounds like you have received some great advice Katie, so all the best with the shift!

I wouldnt know how my cat is on hardwood floor. My parents have hardwood and when i take my kitty to visit she walk on all the furniture to not walk on it, but she has really sensitive paws. When we first moved in out current appartment she wouldnt even use her litterbox because i put it in a room with a tiled floor.

Don't worry about your kitty has a problem like mine though, Sakura is one weird kitty.