apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Laura, are you redirecting her when she scratches the couch? Praising her when she goes for the real one? And can you move what you get to a prominent place? Also, make sure the scratchie is tall enough so she can get a spine stretch. As for stylish ones, no clue. It's a taste thing. I think easy to vacuum and colorful looks good. I think the picture of the kitty in the bowl above.

swap the cat for a dog. that'll solve the problem :)

These are some great ideas. Unfortunately since they are moving one can't tell what these are priced at. I found the cat tree on another site (http://www.everydaystudio.com/index.php?nv=shop&p=shop_cattree) for $75.. that is A LOT for a scratcher (my cats go through one a month), specially since it doesn't appear that any of the sites sell refills for their tree.

But, the good news is that all of these designs are made out of corrugated cardboard. While it would take a little time to perfect, i think this would be a fun DIY project - just take the cardboard refills they sell at petstores and cut them into shapes.

DYI:

Buy the frosta stool from ikea $12.99, turn it upside down and set the Alkov basket (the large dish shaped one also from Ikea)in it. You can screw the basket to the stool if you'd like, but it sets in pretty deep and I've had no trouble with it unsecured.

It ends up looking very similar to the kitty pod and my cat loves to sharpen his claws in baskets as much as cardboard boxes and they hold up better.

I can verify the basket can support at least a 12 pounder :)

One more thing. You can cover where the legs screw in with one of those little round wood or plaster circles they sell at craft stores or any other decorative item - tile, plates, etc.

I set a colorful square plate with a pot of pet grass under mine. I also painted the basket to match my decor.

Yes, unfortunately, cats are usually picky scratchers and don't always like to use cardboard ones (mine included). I've been contemplating making a tall pole-style scratching post out of some Flor tiles so it would look a bit more "modern." Has anyone ever made a cat scratcher before?

I've never had an indoor cat, but isn't that what de-clawing is for?

Just word to those contemplating declawing - if the possible side-effects and the trend of vets refusing to do it doesn't bother you - one set of declawed cats went on to CHEW the new sofa to death.

I second the vote for positive reinforcment when it scratches in the right place.

Also, on the declawing front, some cats stop using the litterbox afterwards. Beside the fact you're amputating part of your cats paws.

Suggestions - whenever your cat scratches someplace she shouldn't BLOW on her. Most cats hate being blown on. Also, until she gets the hang of it get some "fresh kitty furniture protectors" at Petco.

Pop for one of those simple cat posts, hopefully in a neutral color that will go with your decor.

Or try one of the cardboard ones that are a little more unobtrusive that can be either horizontal or verticle. Check out petsmart.com or do a google search.

This is an untested idea, but a thought nonetheless... could you buy a sisal mat or small rug and hang/nail it low on the wall? This would allow for a lower profile versus a hideous scratching post, and offer the vertical scratching opportunity. I share the sentiment that standard scratch posts leave much to be desired decor-wise!

Have you tried anything horizontal? My cat likes to scratch any kind of tufted mat that resists. It has to be something she can sink her claws into and pull on without it moving too much. Years ago, I had a cheap car floor mat on the walk-in closet floor, and she loved that. Now she just uses the sisal rug in the kitchen.

rope scratching post. many cats love the rope texture. scratch some catnip into it while your cat is watching, it'll get the idea. while not a piece of cardboard taped to the wall, it's not exactly something you'd find in an architectual digest. but... come on, cats need something to scratch.

Sisal rope makes one of the best cat scratching materials. You can wrap it around the leg of a table or chair - people who travel with cats often carry a length of sisal so they can make an instant scratching post wherever they are. Or you can get creative and wrap around a railroad tie, a section of log, or something else.

Please don't have your cat(s) declawed. It's quite a cruel thing to do.

P.S. - Or just buy the cats a railroad tie or a section of log and let them go at it! LOL!

Unfortunately my camera is on the fritz, so i can't take a picture...but, we made a scratch box for our cat. we did a simple one, a rectangle, 16x20x18, with a divot in the top. took about 16x20 sheets of cardboard, stacked them, drilled 4 holes all the way through the stack(we started to glue them together with a spray adhesive and then we realized how much glue that would take...expensive after a few cans, and it was harder to control them being perfectly lined up), put threaded rods through the 4 holes, with a nut and washer at each end to keep the whole thing in tact. every few months...or years, we take a sander to the box and reshape the top that the cat loves. since the day i brought it home, she hasn't scratched anything in our apt that she's not supposed to. it also makes a great seat when we have a party (though the cat tries to nudge people off).

Laura,
one thing you can do to make the cat avoid scratching is putting aluminium paper on the place. Cats hate alumunium paper, and as i had the problem with one of my cats scratching my favourite chair, i wrapped alu-paper ( as used in the kitchen ) around the legs.
Lately i bought a floor mat ( like the ones you put in front of your entry-door )made of sisal or something similar. My cats just love it and both scratch their claws on it.

pb, do you have a picture of your homemade kitty pod?

I've nailed a carpet sample to the back of a door and my kitty liked it very much. She was a vertical scratcher, too.

Oh, and I put the carpet up back-side out...she seemed to like that better. I'm sure the preferences vary from cat to cat...

Go get the "Ultimate Scratching Post." It's the least cheesy looking one, and highly recommended. Just be sure that whatever you get is sisal. Whenever kitty scratches something she's not supposed to, go pick her up and stick her on the scratching post. They learn quick.

Oops. Least cheesy (that doesn't cost a fortune).

Purrfect post! Purrfect post!

http://www.purrfectpost.com/helpful_tips.html

If you don't buy one, please at least read through the recommendations for training cats on where to scratch from the vet who designed it.

aquarabbit, you can buy sisal rug remnants, that and sisal rope + glue gun are what we've used to make a jungle gym for our kitties out of an 8 foot wood ladder (they're spoiled because they have a purrfect post too).

cats love sisal, they started scratching on their purrfect post before I could even get it out of the box and assembled!

they also love bark (as in, on trees), if you wanted to rig up something creative with logs.

regards,
trillium

You want to make the couch as uninviting as possible until the cat loses interest in it.

In my experience, most cats really hate the smell of oranges. Perhaps using a strong orange-scented spray on the couch might help. (Note: Some cats don't mind the smell.)

You can spray the cat with a squirt bottle whenever it comes near your couch, though this will only work when you're nearby. (But, again, some cats actually like to have water sprayed on them.)

I've also heard of people using plastic chair mats where they don't want their pets to go. If you place it upside down, the sharp little pegs (intended to hold the mat in place when used on carpet) should stick up and irritate your cat's feet.

You may have to experiment a bit to see what works best for you. You will probably want to try a combination of things, just to reinforce the lesson.

My cats used to enjoy scratching the couch because we were always on it and they like being around people. So we got a cat pod (for free, my old roommate works with the guy who makes them in Dallas) and put it, along with their other scratching post, right next to the sofa. That gave them an alternative that was close to where we sit. Cats really love attention, so scolding is still attention in their world. Putting the scratchers close to the couch means we can redirect them to what we want them to scratch by scratching it ourselves (they love that), thereby giving them plenty of attention and play time when they do the right thing. Our cats love all the things they're supposed to hate -- spray bottles, citrus scents -- so the only thing that works is positive reinforcement and regular nail trimming.

Cat Scratch Guard.com

I had cat scratching the couch problems for years. Nothing worked so I came up with my own idea. Nearly invisible, easy, cheap and I'm done.

http://catscratchguard.com/