climbing and scratching speakers

Hi there,
well now all of asudden little Terry Fox has decided he is going to make his Daddy as angry as possiable by ruining his very expensive speakers.
He has never even shown intrest in them until last night. I there any way to make him unintrested in them? He climbs the large ones and is pulling on the little side ones. I don't know what to do, and I can't take the dirty looks and being woken up at 4 am cause the little bugger is trying to climb the speakers. Please help!!!!!!

Mel and "the little bugger"

Try putting a nasty smell near the speakers. Orange peel is supposed to deter cats.

Also do you have a scratching post for your cat to sharpen their claws on? If not try investing in one as my cats love climbing theirs and wont climb anything else.

My solution was to put my expensive oiled walnut speakers in storage and buy some bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer to replace them. I was pleasantly surprised to find the sound quality almost as good as the expensive speakers.

Hi Mel! - I don't have expensive speakers thank goodness, and having a cat, I'd probably think twice about getting them - but I know what you mean. My Tiki loved to have a good old scratch on anything that made a satisfying rip - she didn't care if it was old or new - the brat!! And not only that - she did have a scratching post which she used as well! My husband recentl was able to get a couple of tree stumps, and I have them in the house (novel but weird decoration) - and she absolutely loves them to scratch - and she hasn't touched anything else since - not even her scratching post!

Well getting rid of the speakers is not an option unfortunatly (If it was up to me they would be gone). What about two sided tape? Do you think that would work? I am going to try the orange aswell. I clipped his nails and he doesn't seem to go near them as much but he still sniffs around. He is begining to respond to a loud no and a clap which is good aswell I guess.
It seems once he learns not to do one thing he moves onto another bad habit. I finally got him to leave us alone during dinner. Only a few pity crys but no jumping on the table
Thank you all for your advice but any more would be great I ca never get enough of a good thing.
Mel and terry fox

It takes awhile for them to learn where all the "no no`s" are....just like with children.
When mine were young and wanting to scratch in places i did`nt want them to...I`d say "NO!" and then pick them up and carry them to where they were allowed to scrathc and show them how...(with making their paws go through the motions) and praise, praise PRAISE them while we were doing it....and ESPECIALLY when they started doing it on their own!!!!! Your kitty will learn if you are consistant.Just be patient....remember this is a baby, and it takes time.
Linda

Hi, Mel! Terry Fox isn't being naughty by scratching your speakers, but rather carrying on with his natural instincts. Scratching like that is necessary to sharpen his nails and remove the outer sheath as his nails grow. He will also reach up and pull with his nails in order to stretch the muscles in his legs and along his sides and has scent glands on the pads of his feet and will use scratching to mark his territory.

It's very important that he be provided a scratching post where he can enjoy his scratching. His post should be tall enough for him to stretch out full length on the vertical surface. If not, he will find something taller and more appealing, such as your speakers.

Cats do not learn from negative reinforcement, so the loud no's are not the answer. As a deterrent, I would recommend putting Bitter Apple on your speakers. When introducing a new scratching post to Terry Fox, you may want to try sprinkling the post with catnip or placing tasty treats on and around the post to encourage him to use it. You may also use a toy that dangles, hold it above the post and play with your him, encouraging him to climb the post to get the toy. When he starts to scratch your speakers, gently pick him up and take him to his post or redirect him to the post with a toy or treat. You may want to do as described earlier and again, gently, move him through the motions of scratching. Whenever he does so, show him what a super good baby he is and give him a treat!

This is all natural behavior, and he should catch right on to his new scratching post! Please do let us know how it goes!

I seem to hear alot about this bitter apple stuff, would anybody know where I could find it. I'm sure it will come in handy at some point if not now. I live in montreal and we do not have pet smart or any of those places. Would wal-mart carry it by any chance?

Mel, you can probably pick it up at your vet's office; if not, I'm sure they can recommend some good stores in town. Just a quick Google search showed me a bunch of interesting-looking pet stores in Montreal (key words: "pet stores" "Montreal"), and I would imagine that any that cater to cats and dogs would carry bitter apple or similar deterrants. Things like that don't really work for one of my cats, Spike, but he's a special case (he likes apples ... and oranges ... and other things cats aren't supposed to take a fancy to!), and what works well with him is distraction and re-direction. If I catch him clawing at the loveseat, I distract him by jingling keys, and then I move him over to his scratching post. It takes some time and effort (and a whole lot of patience!), but it's worth it. Good luck, and feel free to send me a PM if you want help locating stores in your area (I have a cousin who lives in Montreal).

My cat Buster used to scratch our speakers, and we would clap and say 'no!' firmly. Then we put a small scratching post in front of the one he likes to scratch and he's stopped for now! If you have one of those electric razors, they're great for shaving off all the torn up bits on the speaker. Terry Fox, that's a great name!