apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i don't shoo any of our (4) cats off of anything ... i invited them into my home with the intention of sharing my life with them. and that includes my furniture. keeping the nails clipped and offering up a large, attractive cat tree takes care of the upholstery. as for the hair -- invest in one of those great big lint rollers, use often, and then everyone is happy.
easy peasy!

If you were a cat, where would you want to sleep? On the floor, or on the couch?

Is this a joke? Does anyone actually have a cat that they can keep from going *anywhere* when they're not home? I come home occasionally to cats peering down at me from on top of my kitchen cabinets, and my two kitties are reasonably well-behaved (but very curious).

kimberlykc23 has it pegged; you have to offer a scratching post, or your couch will become one. I do have to vacuum my couch once a week to keep the fur down.

One tip I would offer up is the bitter apple spray; we used it on the entertainment center's wires -- unplugged, naturally -- and the boys left them alone (as kittens, one of them had chewed through a cell phone charger cord). Not sure if you would want to spray that all over your couch, though.

i wish i could keep my cats from clawing the furniture...but they're obnoxious lil buggers (darlings!), so i just let them do whatever they want. they have scratchers, and use them, but they come scratching the living room chairs trying to look cute and get attention. usually it works. cuz i'm a sucker.

My brother recently bought a new couch and raved about Sticky Paws. The cats hated the tackiness of the tape and stopped scratching at the couch.
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441817155&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025622&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1188329686930&itemNo=1&Ntt=stickypaws&In=All&previousText=stickypaws&N=2

I believe he also used some of that bitter apple spray as well and I know he has a couple scratching posts. I think the combination of the three really helped.

My mother has actually been pretty successful at keeping their cat (and our other cats over the years) off furniture most of the time. Obviously, they're cats and there's only so much you can do, as even their well "trained" cat will ultimately start getting up on kitchen counters and tables if they've been away for long periods.

But it all is down to a pattern of reinforcing negative consequences when the cat is somewhere that my mother doesn't want her to be--through noise or the ever-present squirt bottle. It's a multi-year process, but it does actually work if you put the time into being consistent.

Personally, I'd rather put energy into other things--and my mother laments the behavior of my cats when she cat-sits for me. ;)

It doesn't seem to matter if my kitty has a scratcher out or not (he loves those corrugated cardboard scratch pads though), he just likes to scratch: the rug, the couch, the chair. I finally had enough when I got my leather sofas and tried the SoftPaws claw caps on his front paws. They're awesome - they've worked great for us!

They're like press-on nails for your cat, you put a bit of glue in them and they slip onto the claws. It's totally a DIY deal, but I have heard that vets will put them on if your cat is a hellion. Not every cat will stand for sitting still and having their paws handled that way, and I've heard some will pull all of them off within a week, they jsut get obsessed with it, but my little guy is pretty mellow and doesn't give me too much resistance when I put them on. Usually he pulls one or two off in the first couple of days, which I have to replace, but then they stay on for a month or so. They come in clear or in colors, which are both fun helpful for being able to tell at a glance when one is missing. They also come in different sizes. Sorry to sound like an ad, but it's been a really good solution for me!

A pack of 40 caps and glue costs less than $20 at Petco, so it's definitely worth a shot.

(http://www.softpaws.com).

what about when they retract their claws?

my cat will not scratch anything i want her to scratch. She doesn't like the cardboard things or scratching posts. i think she likes to spite me because she's on a diet. she's a fatty bo batty.

PUT THEM OUT!!!

Or deal with it :-)

at first i was going to express how weirded i am about "Soft Paws", cause...come on, its WEIRD. and it can't be easy for a cat to get used to, right? i cannot stand any kind of fake fingernail for more than like an hour, so i'd imagine a cat would be equally as annoyed.

but then i saw that they made them for dogs, and now im all into 'em, cause my dog's nails are always long and scratch the hell out of me no matter how often i go get them clipped.

still weird...but i'm sold!

oh, and i have several friends who have used a Pet Communicator to ask their cats not to climb on speakers, pee on bathmats, and poo on the couch. and it has totally worked 100%, this woman is amazing. im a believer!

a combo of sticky paws (or just plain double stick tape) on the super kitty delectable corners of the couch, the squirt gun, feliway (cat phernomes, http://www.catfaeries.com/feliway.html) and multiple other acceptable scratching options located nearby keeps the unwanted scratching at bay. but keeping her off the couch, table, shelves, windowsills, counters, etc completely? forget it, that's against a kitty's natural behaviour.
-miss dbl a in l.a.

Errr, I'd rather people didn't put their cats out cause they don't want them scratching the furniture - not to revive that old debate, but indoor cats live FAR more healthier and safer lives indoors than outdoor or outdoor access cats. Having cats means they will want to scratch - and yes, they might attack the couch.

Natural behavior indeed. Don't have cats if you don't like it!

Leather is the way to go for getting rid of the hair at least - it just brushes right off. I am also lucky enough to have cats that don't enjoy scratching the leather so my couch is actually sitting pretty, so to speak.

More of a concern is the general hideousness of most scratching posts. I at least was able to find a slightly darker brown one at PetCo recently, it's this bizarre thing that has three small posts stuck together (one wood, one rope-covered and one sisal-covered) with a little platform on top. But in general these things are fugly. I do have two cardboard ones in discreet places on the floor as well, but the vertical one really helps eliminate the furniture problems the best.

We used tin foil. They hate the sound of it. So I put some on the kitchen counter and the sofas. I've mostly given up on keeping off the sofas but they understand under pain of death they are NOT to go on the kitchen counters.

They also have a cat tree that they can sleep on and scratch and stuff and that seems to keep them from scratching the other furniture.

The SoftPaw caps don't cover the entire claw. Cat claws are really long, even when retracted, there's a good bit of claw there that isn't immediately visible because of the hair on their toes. The caps really look in the package like they'll be too big, but once you have that claw stuck out and slide the cap on, you realize there's plenty of room left to retract it. The claw doesn't go all the way in, so the claw with cap on it is actually longer than the naked claw. Not sure if that makes sense...

As for getting used to them, even the first time my cat didn't seem adverse to it. He didn't go after his paws trying to get them off or walk funny or anything.

THAT SAID... I have friends whose cats have hated them and would not rest until they had chewed the caps off. So it's not going to work for every cat. But at $20 versus the $2000 sofas, I thought it was a good gamble to try them out and they've worked well for my kitty.

Oh, and like goodnightdean mentioned, they do make them for dogs, but I've not seen the dog versions as often as the cat variety at pet supply stores.

I've been training my cat using positive reinforcement and a clicker. (I even subscribe to a Clicker Training for Cats list on Yahoo). Basically, by rewarding my cat (with treats) for scratching her scratching post, I have drastically reduced her scratching other places, such as my furniture. I've also reduced other negative, attention-seeking behaviors (such as plant eating) through clicker training with the bonus that now my cat can also give me a high five (seriously). The clicker training keeps her from getting bored and acting out...

The Soft Paws work well for my two cats, too. I'd highly recommend them. They completely forget they're wearing them about 3 minutes after they're applied. It helps to have two people involved in the process, though; one to hold the cat and the other to actually put the glue in the little caps and stick them on.

If you have a cat at home ( I have two), you have to accept that it will follow its natural instincts. That includes scratching. They can be trained, it takes time and patience - but it can happen. I always have a nice cover on my sofa (IKEA has some great and not expensive items for this) and also I have their green stuffed dragon on the back of the sofa (it is under my window) at the exact spot where they love to lie down on so the dragon has all tha hair and not the couch. I also picked my sofa fabric so that it can be removed and is washable in the washing machine. And also picked the sand color it has because of my cats too. SO yo uhave to adapt yourself and your home to cats, not expect them to adapt totally to your whims and tastes. They are animals after all.

Soft Paws are great! We adopted a tough-as-nails 20 lb alley cat that likes to shred everything. We take it easy on him because he's had a rough life (almost lost an ear in a fight, has very few teeth etc) so we just got Soft Paws. He's never tried to chew them off or anything like that. As soon as we let him go, he forgets all about them and saunters off giving us the stink eye over his shoulder. Not only does it protect furniture and carpets, it also protects me - he likes to hide in a dining room chair and swipe out at me as I pass by. We have a hate-hate relationship.

There isn't anything you can do to keep cats off your couch. They instinctively like sitting on top of higher pieces of furniture in a room to survey their territory and a couch back is usually the highest most comfortable piece of furniture. Just get a good hand vacuum, I have an older Royal hand vacuum with beater-bar brush, and clean frequently.

If scratching is a problem, try the two-sided tape, and clip your cat's front claws regularly. If they're young enough, and won't go outdoors regularly, consider having the front claws removed.

I have to disagree with John H, never ever get your cat's claws removed. It's cruel and unnecessary. Good, consistent training is key to help keeping kitty from scratching where you don't want them to. And with all of the preventative measures out there, like soft paws, there is really no reason anymore.

One problem with scratching posts is that a lot of people by a short or small flat one and put it off in a corner. Cats like to stretch out when they scratch, so a taller or longer object--like a chair or sofa or a big rug--is more attractive to them. They also tend to scratch in the rooms and places where they normally hang out. So, you have to get a big post and put it somewhere they like to be. In combination with an initial use of sticky paws and occasional use of Feliway, I have found that my cats like their big scratching post and so are not interested in scratching on other furniture. It is ugly, but not as ugly as scratched-up upholstery.

Cats scratch stuff; its what they do. They need to sharpen their claws to kill their prey. I say this as my own cat is curled up all cute asleep on my sofa looking like he wouldn't hurt a fly, but they are basically hunters, and have hunters' instincts.

I've said this before, I think, but please please please don't get cats de-clawed to stop them scratching your bloody furniture. Its just not right. I don't like the idea of those soft paw things either. I'm lucky enough to have a cat who is very well behaved and doesn't scratch anything in my house, but if you don't want to risk getting your stuff scratched, then don't get a cat. Jesus if someone pulled all my fingernails off, I'd do my best to ruin their expensive sofa too!

We use StickyPaws like Katie mentioned above, and it's worked quite well. It's also amusing to watch our naughty cats jump up to find a sticky ledges or top of furniture they like to scratch with the stuff and then quickly descend back down.

We give them a lot of scratching options throughout the apartment, like a large shaggy rug, a large scratching post they're fond of, or the FLOR tiles. The secret is to give them options in every room. Cats need to scratch. But then again, we're also knowingly changing their lifestyle and behaviour to live with us anyhow and things like stickypaws or soft paws are benign solutions for merging our different species' lifestyles. But I totally agree: de-clawing is more than frowned upon...it's downright cruel. And no piece of furniture is worth imposing that sort of extreme pain on another living creature (opposed to the fun of squirting my cats on the backside when they're up to no good).

Declawing is not removing the claw (fingernail), it is removing the first digit, which is like cutting off the tip of the finger. The cat is unable to defend itself. This is a barbaric practice and has been outlawed in England. Many veterinarians will not perform this mutilation.
If you choose to have your cat declawed to save your furniture, you do not deserve to have a cat and are no better than Michael Vick or anyone else who victimizes animals for fun and profit.

sometimes you dont have a choice, and the cats need to stay off the couch. My girlfriend has three cats and I am very allergic(hives from hair/dander), its hard to break bad habits but it can be done. The key is making them not want to be on the couch. we tried the boundry spray it will work for a little bit but I think it really stinks and the cats dont relate the smell with the couch. The best and super cheap solution is to get a lint roller, peel off a few sheets and place them sticky side up all over the couch, then they relate being very irritated and uncomfortable with the couch and not the person. As long as you are fairly regular it works great....