Our five young cats (under a year) refuse to leave the curtains and furniture alone. Herbal deterrents have not worked. Mom bought them a cat-climbing/scratching post, but that doesn't seem to be enough (ETA even though they loved it). I need a heavy-duty solution for five very stubborn cats. Please help!
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DESPERATE Help Needed!
- Thread starter chibi-doodlebug
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For the furniture get Sticky Paws double sided tape at Petsmart or Petco or the like. It works well. You put it on places they like to claw and they don't like the way it feels. I've trained a number of cats with this stuff. After a couple months, most of them have lost interest in scratching on that furniture and don't go back to it. If not, leave it on longer.
You may need different kinds of scratching posts. I have a very tall one with sisal fabric that is the most popular, along with a tall carpet one. Some cats like sisal rope posts and some like horizontal scratchers. There are cardboard ones, too.
As far as the curtains, I don't know. You could try the Sticky Paws tape there, too.
Kittens are just very active and into everything. That's just the way they are. Eventually they grow out of a lot of these behaviors. But it is like having small children, you have to make allowances and keep temptation out of their way.
Robin
You may need different kinds of scratching posts. I have a very tall one with sisal fabric that is the most popular, along with a tall carpet one. Some cats like sisal rope posts and some like horizontal scratchers. There are cardboard ones, too.
As far as the curtains, I don't know. You could try the Sticky Paws tape there, too.
Kittens are just very active and into everything. That's just the way they are. Eventually they grow out of a lot of these behaviors. But it is like having small children, you have to make allowances and keep temptation out of their way.
Robin
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I suggest you buy this book and work with your cats in retraining them.
http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-No-Mor.../dp/1933958928 I am currrently using this process on two 3 month old kittens and it is going really well. I was skeptical that it would even work at first! But you don't want to introduce negative aspects into their world or scare them. Try this positive reinforcement method- I think you too will be surprised.
http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-No-Mor.../dp/1933958928 I am currrently using this process on two 3 month old kittens and it is going really well. I was skeptical that it would even work at first! But you don't want to introduce negative aspects into their world or scare them. Try this positive reinforcement method- I think you too will be surprised.
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You could also try putting Soft Paws (plastic claw covers) on their claws so they can't climb, or rip the furniture and curtains. Depending on the cat, it might work. Midnight get's them off as quick as he possibly can. Luna keeps them on. They come in all colors. The vet tech's will put them on for you.
Attitude and Nuts went through a curtains(and blinds) stage but finally outgrew it, now the only time the curtains or blinds are touched is if Nuts wants to see outside and feels they are in his way or if he wants to scratch the window glass.
I used Soft Claws until they got over this and it saved the curtains from being shredded.
They pretty much left the furniture alone(except for the box spring, you can see where Nuts scratched it) and Soft Claws solved that as well.
They work really well and honestly if you can clip your cats nails you can apply the Soft Claws yourself. Mine 'fought' nail clipping; Nuts still does and he purrs throughout the process so I think he sees it as a game; I just needed a second person to hold the cat so I could slip them on and it was fine. It really is simple.
Kittens go through stages like this. They also need a variety of scratching posts. I have 4 currently a normal carpeted post(Maude mostly used it and so did Attitude, but Nuts doesn't really use it), one 36" one with sisal rope(Attitude loved it and Nuts uses it all the times, it was their favorite), one with sisal fabric on it(Attitude like it and Nuts uses it fairly often, not as much as the rope one though) and a cardboard one(it rarely gets used, none of them really liked it, Nuts will scratch on it for 2 mins if I add catnip to it and sometimes he'll just use it out of the blue, but not much.)
Taryn
I used Soft Claws until they got over this and it saved the curtains from being shredded.
They pretty much left the furniture alone(except for the box spring, you can see where Nuts scratched it) and Soft Claws solved that as well.
They work really well and honestly if you can clip your cats nails you can apply the Soft Claws yourself. Mine 'fought' nail clipping; Nuts still does and he purrs throughout the process so I think he sees it as a game; I just needed a second person to hold the cat so I could slip them on and it was fine. It really is simple.
Kittens go through stages like this. They also need a variety of scratching posts. I have 4 currently a normal carpeted post(Maude mostly used it and so did Attitude, but Nuts doesn't really use it), one 36" one with sisal rope(Attitude loved it and Nuts uses it all the times, it was their favorite), one with sisal fabric on it(Attitude like it and Nuts uses it fairly often, not as much as the rope one though) and a cardboard one(it rarely gets used, none of them really liked it, Nuts will scratch on it for 2 mins if I add catnip to it and sometimes he'll just use it out of the blue, but not much.)
Taryn
I am pretty open about my love for claw caps. Kitty Caps and Softpaws are both great brands, my Munchkin is wearing some Kitty Caps brand claw caps right now.
They're adorable and should preserve your stuff until your cats learn what is not ok to scratch.
I also recommend catnip spray...dose up their scratching surfaces and put the sticky paws stuff that Bastetservant suggested on the furniture. They'll quickly learn that their own stuff is fun to claw up, the furniture not so much. Fortunately most cats I know...once they learn what is and is not acceptable to claw on, they're pretty trustworthy in the long haul. We just went through this with my young idiot-I MEAN, my young longhair, Merlot. He's crazy and loves to claw on everything. It took a couple of months to convince him that my roommate's red chair is not his own personal toy.
I'd also recommend differing surfaces...get some scratching posts that are that rope-y stuff, some that are carpet, and some that are cardboard. Some can be vertical, but make sure at least one is more horizontal...for over a year my Persian would occasionally attack the floor's carpet...turns out she just prefers a horizontal scratching post to a vertical one. Now that she has her very own new scratchytoy, she never touches the carpet any more.
Different cats have different tastes, the idea is to make your furniture look like it's the least appealing thing in their lives to scratch.
Best of luck!!!!
I also recommend catnip spray...dose up their scratching surfaces and put the sticky paws stuff that Bastetservant suggested on the furniture. They'll quickly learn that their own stuff is fun to claw up, the furniture not so much. Fortunately most cats I know...once they learn what is and is not acceptable to claw on, they're pretty trustworthy in the long haul. We just went through this with my young idiot-I MEAN, my young longhair, Merlot. He's crazy and loves to claw on everything. It took a couple of months to convince him that my roommate's red chair is not his own personal toy.
I'd also recommend differing surfaces...get some scratching posts that are that rope-y stuff, some that are carpet, and some that are cardboard. Some can be vertical, but make sure at least one is more horizontal...for over a year my Persian would occasionally attack the floor's carpet...turns out she just prefers a horizontal scratching post to a vertical one. Now that she has her very own new scratchytoy, she never touches the carpet any more.
Best of luck!!!!
That's what I've always done - used positive reinforcement to redirect their activities to something they find fun that is not harmful. The cat condo is a great start, but you will want to redirect them to it at the instance that they go for the furniture or drapes. Make their positive alternative a fun place for them.Originally Posted by hissy
Try this positive reinforcement method- I think you too will be surprised.
I have cat condos all over my house, and I move them around on a regular basis whenever they stop using them. It always surprises me how something as simple as moving a cat condo from one wall to the other invigorates their interest in it.
