Ideas or Products to Discourage Unwanted Scratching and Chewing

tinkerbeltink · Jul 6, 2015

I have a year old cat and a twelve week old kitten. Our introduction phase is over and they are pals hanging around the house, eating, and playing.

I had my older cat about 80% trained not to scratch unwanted furniture surfaces, when the new kitten arrived. From what I could tell, he almost never chewed on wires, either.

My problem is with the kitten. She destroyed a phone wire and I can see she bit and chewed on others. I think I have stopped most of the chewing by not letting her in the room with 75% of the cords unsupervised. I have taped or semi-blocked off or hidden most of the areas behind furniture. The kitten also scratches material on chairs and other furniture. When I see her do it, I take her and show her how and hold her hand and do one claw for her. I am not sure how much she notices because she tries to pull away.

I have a vertical scratching post on the second floor. I have a vertical scratching post AND a horizontal scratching post on the first floor. I also have a Nature's Miracle spray that you spray on furniture to discourage scratching. My problem is I am not always on the first floor to monitor her and they are often unattended at home.

How long does the spray last? Anyone notice it staining furniture? Any additional ideas to help with chewing and scratching? I have heard about some kind of spray for cords that tastes bad. Any opinions? Anything you might add for scratching and chewing, but mostly scratching?

riley1 · Jul 7, 2015

A couple things: get Softpaws put on the kitten while learning about scratching, make sure one of your posts is sisal rope, wrap two sided tape around cords or tabasco sauce on them, put double sided tape on ends of couches or places kitten scratches (contact paper can be used as well, sticky side up), do not leave the kitten unattended. Others will have more suggestions but I hope these help. I used to foster kittens & would never think of leaving them loose in the house. They just don't know enough & can get in some dangerous trouble. Others say this works but I am not a fan of taking their claws & showing them how to do it. I don't think they understand at all. Making a big fuss over them when they use the post makes more of an impression. Have not tried this myself but I am wondering if confining them in a bathroom with a sturdy post would give them the idea because there would be no other options. Good luck & I am sure you will get more help from others on the site.