New House = NO claws!! Advice wanted!

I just received the keys to my new house on Friday I was thinking of calling the vet but then I thought ill try here first.

Basically I just want to know the best option to stop my cat from clawing my carpet and couch.

Any suggestions?

Here's a good article on scratching. Have good sturdy scratching posts available. I keep the nails trimmed on everyone here by checking them once a week. Some people have had good luck with Soft Paws.

Congrats on the new house.

The best thing that ever happened here was the addition of a huge corrugated cardboard box.
Two or three toddlers could fit in it.
The clawed cats shred it daily, they don't even give the furniture a passing thought, and the scratching posts are now all but neglected.

Get things they like to claw, use softpaws if you have to during the retraining.

We have had really good luck with Softpaws with Ace, our oldest. He doesn't have them on now, but that's because he quit scratching on the furniture for the most part.

Cats have to have something to scratch on; they are marking their territory and trimming their claws that way.

do you have a scratching post?

we also have cardboard boxes at times that they love... and being indoor/outdoor cats they do alot of their scratching outdoors

1. Keep your cat's nails trimmed - check once a week. I find that my cats tend to scratch a lot more when their nails are longer.

2. Invest in a good heavy duty scratching post - like the "tree houses" with carpet/wood.

3. You can cover the couch/chair with some scotch tape or sticky paper for awhile.

I used soft paws until she learned to only scratch where she was allowed. Keeping their claws trimmed will also help. Declawing is terrible. Please don't even consider it. It can lead to a lot more problems than clawing!!

Agreed.

I understand that you want to protect your new house. However, there are easier, cheaper, and less abusive ways to do it that declawing.

Learn how to trim a cat's nails without cutting the quick. Get at least two scratching posts, in more than one style, and notice where the kitty likes to scratch. Doorway? On the floor? In a corner? and then put the scratching post there. Guide her to it without being forceful. And then encourage her and pet her and praise her when she uses it.

Newspapers are fun for some cats too, but that may be a whole can of worms you do not want to open.

Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

I used soft paws until she learned to only scratch where she was allowed. Keeping their claws trimmed will also help. Declawing is terrible. Please don't even consider it. It can lead to a lot more problems than clawing!!

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The good thing is, it looks like she lives in Melbourne, Australia, so declawing is illegal there.

You've gotten very good suggestions here. Positive reinforcement is key in redirecting the kitties to appropriate places to scratch. Praise, praise praise when they do it right, and when they forget kindly redirect their scratching attention to the appropriate places.

If you're having trouble cutting their nails, a blindfold/cat muzzle helps a ton. Just sneak it on them when their not looking, and once it's on, they freeze. Sure they'll protest when you grab their paws to clip, but they can't see you so they can't put the claws they still have on your skin, nor can they put their fangs on you. And then a nice tuna treat afterwards makes them forget till next time.

Happy trimming

-Lemur 6

www.catscratching.com has good suggestions too - you can also check the stickies at the top of the behavior forum for scratching problem info.

I had good luck with soft paws on my cats too - I only had to use them until my cats learned where it was OK to scratch and where not to. It took a few months or so for them to learn (they were already senior cats at that point), and I haven't had any problems with them since.

I also use soft paws, and I've had good experiences with it. Also, A cat scratching post with some catnip spray on it will help lots.

I guess I've been lucky that mine don't scratch inappropriate things very often. When they do I tell them NO! and that seems to work (at least for that time). I just personally feel my cats are more important than my things, and I don't clip or use those bootie things on them. Tried to clip Swanie once, and he flipped out when he saw the cutters (they used them at the shelter), so I decided not to put either of us through that

Originally Posted by Misty8723

I guess I've been lucky that mine don't scratch inappropriate things very often. When they do I tell them NO! and that seems to work (at least for that time). I just personally feel my cats are more important than my things, and I don't clip or use those bootie things on them. Tried to clip Swanie once, and he flipped out when he saw the cutters (they used them at the shelter), so I decided not to put either of us through that

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I don't clip claws on either of my two that have claws, either. They would never hold still long enough, and they're too wiggly for me to manage it.

I can't remember what they were called, but we got some sticky stuff that helped protect furniture corners (Princess's favorite scratching area). It was basically clear, VERY sticky, double sided tape. Since it was clear, it wasn't very noticeable on furniture, and it also didn't ruin the furniture when removed. Princess tried clawing a few times and decided she didn't like having her paws stick to it. We were also able to remove it (for short periods of time), and she wouldn't notice it was gone. This would probably have been easier with a younger cat.

One thing not to try is aluminim foil. We read somewhere that it would prevent clawing. All it did was cause Princess to remove it, claw the couch, and then play with the foil.

Another thing not to bother with is the water spraying. That just taught her not to claw when we were in the room.

We haven't tried soft paws since the combination of the sticky material and a favorite scratching pad have worked. That would be something to try though.