Give me some alternatives...

juicelyn0527

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Ok, since you all are much more knowledgeable on this subject..
(and I am not being sarcastic either)I would like some ideas for alternatives to declawing. I don't care about the furniture, it is just that I dont own a home and don't expect to anytime soon. The girl at the vet today said that the soft paws work on some cats and not others. Can you all give me some other suggestions? I am very open and willing to listen..thank you. Again- I have decided that NO MATTER WHAT I will not have my babies declawed, so now I need some help. Thanks so much!:tounge2:
 

airprincess

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I'm by no means an expert on this, but here are some suggestions that were given to me as alternatives.

get a scratching post. you may have to try several before you find one that the kitties like. they have sisal (rope), carpet, many others, and you may need to try a couple before you find one that is effective. I brought home a sisal one, and within 15 minutes one of my girls was scratching it. The other one prefers the carpeted cat tree.

When I catch them scratching anything a sharp 'NO!' usually does it. If it doesn't some other suggestions are shaking a can with coins in it, as cats hate loud noises. squirting with a water bottle, or clapping your hands while saying no.

If you notice them scratching in one place, you can try spraying bitter apple, or some other citrus scent there to deter them from scratching.

it's really just a matter of training. i haven't had any trouble with my 2.

these are just a few things I could remember. I know that Hissy and Sandie will have lots more, as well as our other members.
 

hissy

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Your best bet is to find or make a natural scratching post, you really don't want to get a carpeted one as you are trying to show the cat that scratching on soft things is a no no. So either rope or wood is good. You might even want to get a horizontal scratching pad some cats prefer those over the straight up and down ones. You can also buy cardboard ones, though I use the flats eggs come in, my cats love these and they last about 2 weeks before they are shredded. You can also put double-sided sticky tape on the sides of your furniture. There is a special product you can buy called side pockets (I think) and they are vinyl and attach to the side of your furniture which stops them as well. PLus you can spray the sides of your furniture with lemon-scented air freshener which will deter them because cats hate citrus scented anything. Those are some ideas that you can use
 

sandie

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I stand by the fact that I have 12 cats and none of my furniture or carpets are torn up. I mean out of 12, what are the chances of one being untrainable? So the odds are that ALL cats can be trained. I think the only things I could add to the above is that you can also sprinkle some catnip on the trees or posts to persuade them to scratch there, put them near the food and sleeping areas (they like to scratch after napping and eating) and when they are using these areas, make sure and give them pets to let them know they are doing a good thing.
 
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juicelyn0527

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Thanks everyone...I am appreciating the alternatives. Luckily, my kittens aren't much for scratching. My baby Archie does like to knead her paws in the carpet. We will look into these. I appreciate all of them.
 

krazy kat2

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My cats love to scratch on furniture, but I have gotten them to scratch on only 1 thing. I have a raggedy old recliner the only they use for sleeping and scratching. Everything else gets them yelled at and squirted with the water bottle. This recliner stays by the cat tree and they jump back and forth. As long as they have their own things, they have been good about leaving other things alone.
 

fitzy's mom

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Thanks for posting the website--I had only known a little about declawing and thought it was cruel but then people started trying to convince me to do it. Now there's no way I would do that to my baby!
 

melissa

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I'm so glad to hear you say that
Doing your research is a big part of being a responsible pet owner, which you obviously are :rainbow: Your kitty would say 'thank you' if he could
:tounge2:
 

alicat613

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Yay for you! Cat declawing is horrible.

Great advice everyone, although I try not to encourage them to use any furniture, old or not.

What has worked for me is to scratch the post myself. It gets your scent on it and also the kitty sees you doing it. Keep it in an active area of the house, especially if kitty likes to be around you a lot.
 
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