apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have very naughty cats who like to scratch the furniture. I've tried everything but declawing. Squirting them with water, ugly scratching posts, cat nip, double sided tape, even cat pheromones that come in a spray bottle.... Perhaps this will do the trick. (and my boyfriend will get a kick out of torturing my babies.)

They actually look rather painful to the cat / dog... I see that they're using cardboard to trip the mechanism, but what if they stepped on it - poor cat! And it's only going to make them scared of the Jumpo, not the furniture....

"kind of like asian parents" HHAHAHAH

I don't really see how this is going to stop scratching unless you put a dozen of them around the entire base of the couch or chair. It looks like a bear trap only less sharp. I get the frightening part of it and the noise, but what if a snout, tail, or paw gets in there and snaps shut on the poor cat or dog? That could cause some serious damage! Looks more like cruelty than a training mechanism.

Some people I know use something called "scat mats" (I know!) to keep animals off furniture etc. After a few warning clicks the animals receive a mild shock. When they recognize the plastic mats, you can replace them with "dummy mats" that have no current. I know, from experience, that it's almost painless but still question the method a bit. First of all, who really wants to shock their animals into submission? Secondly, who wants the ugly plastic mats laying about?

I have to admit, the Jumpo would be wildly entertaining in my house. Fortunately, the cats and dogs* stay off countertops (at least when we're home). Unfortunately, our furniture is their furniture. Lately though, with the temperature hovering in the teens, I wouldn't have it any other way.

*My friend has a bassett hound that climbs onto the countertops. True story.

Emhoop,

Try trimming the cat's nails. It doesn't keep mine from scratching my furniture, but it DOES keep the damage to a minimum. Also, pay attention to where and on what they do their scratching and try to replicate that as much as possible on the scratching post. My older cat likes a horizontal scratcher and pretty much leaves the couch alone now that I got her one of the cardboard ones (sprinked with catnip every so often, heheh) and left it on the floor near the couch. You might also try those large strips of double sided tape they sell at petstores. Those helped with my younger cat.

This looks too much like a bear-trap for me to be ok with it. I realized the two pieces aren't connected, but it still could hit the cat/dog or something fragile.

does this work on co-workers?

Don't you think the animals would figure out pretty quickly how to manoeuvre around them? Unless you had them literally covering your furniture, in which case, you may end up with your bum in a trap!

Unfortunately, this wouldn't scare my dog. We tried the scat mat, but we think it made him go nutso after he tripped it and then he would chew up things around the house. (He's very excitable). We've gone the route of clear auto mats turned upside down, so the pointy edges point up. Unattractive - yes, but they work and are cheap. We just move them when company comes.

That looks like it's based on the old traps used to capture coyotes for fancy hammocks.

Is there an Asian parental stereotype I missed?

With the way they leap up, they look like they could hit an animal in their delicate little noses.

heijiranyc: please don't nag me like my korean mom; she even got the joke.

This looks potentially inhumane.

I don't need this. I trained my cat from the first day she came to live with us. She knows what is not to be touched because I simply clapped my hands very loudly when she got into what she wasn't supposed to...like on the kitchen counters or the leather sofa (I cannot understand how some people allow their cats on the kitchen counters and such, YUCK).

Coyote hammocks sound really cool! And fancy!!!

P.S. If you have scratchers for your cat (I have use the cheap cardboard ones that my cat loves) You probably should move it away from the sofa.

That they use the word "humane" on their website is really hypocritical.

This is basically a flying plastic beartrap that can jump up and snap on an animal's nose, paw, face, tail, etc.

A really bad design!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way to have a respectful relationship with your pet.

"(kind of like asian parents)"

WTF?

For those who say this is inhumane, look at the photos of it in operation. It looks like it doesn't actually clamp down, but snaps together to make a noise and releases. I have a dog who is avoids mousetraps just because he has seen them trip while I was setting them (for mice). He avoids gopher traps for the same reason. So this might work for some dogs, but I have no clue about cats. I would suggest setting it up while you are around to observe the animal's reaction to it. If you just set it and leave, the dog or cat could go bonkers when it releases and knock down a lamp or something dangerous, or get very depressed and scared. It depends on your pet's temperament. You should always be present to observe your pet's reaction to new training devices.

I have successfully used a plastic anti-jump mat like the auto mats Sharon R described. It had hard plastic points on it. My dog was a counter jumper!

I gave up trying to keep my 2 cats off our sofa. I bought a sheepskin throw from IKEA -- thinking the cats would lay on that. One of the cats hated it, and would not even go close to the couch after it was placed. The other cat loved it! He -- ahem -- appeared to be living out his sexual fantasies on that thing. (Seriously! I didn't know cats DID that!?) Eventually we got rid of the sheepskin. The resulting sexual deprivation was probably more cruel than this device...

OMG!!!!!! The comment above mine (from arroyo) made me laugh harder than I have in ages!!!!! I could barely read it aloud to my boyfriend because I was laughing so hard!