I am moving into my very own house in March and have two s that have to go with me. Don't tell me to get rid of them because that's not an option and neither is de-clawing.

Does anyone have any tips on what to do to protect furniture and carpets from claws? Crystal is declawed, but my favorite cat, Zoro, who is 11 years-old, isn't, and he's the one that causes damage. He has ruined the ends of couches with clawing. He's torn the carpet off the end of a stair. He's scratched the back of the dining room chairs. He's laid on his back and "run" across the bottom of leather couches, ruining the bottom edge.

Does anyone know of a way to protect carpet or furniture? I don't want to have Zoro ruin my new house too.


^Zoro and Crystal.

 

Double faced sticky tape! Cats freakout when you stick a piece of tape to them, and yet, in the big picture other than maybe a little mental stress you are not hurting the cat.

Both of mine have their claws. I got a new oak library table and wanted to make sure they were not jumping up on it. I just layed down a piece of cardboard on the top and put some double sided tape on it. I came home one day and found fur stuck to the tape. I have never seen any evidence of new fur after that.

The theory is, once you have tought them that is a no go place, you can take the tape away. I'm not into all sorts of questionable chemicals. And of course, make sure you give them a HUGE scratching post. Most people fail to give their cats a proper sized post. The post must be taller than the cat when they stand on their hind legs and reach all the way up, if it is shorter than that it is not doing its job.

Running to a meeting, congrats on the new house. I can offer up more ideas too.

 

Rottweiler?

 

It may be tough to teach old new tricks. Do they go outside? If so, he should find something to claw outside, out cat uses a tree or a deck post...

If they do not go outside, how about one of those cat clawing things, with a bit of catnip around to entice him?

We trained our cats not to go on certain surfaces, like the kitchen table or the counters. I won't have that! When they were little, if they started hopping on surfaces we didn't want them on, we'd spray them with a little water from a spray bottle. They didn't like it, they don't like water and they learned not to go on those surfaces.

They need to sharpen their claws, so you have to find somewhere they like, or they'll do it everywhere...

 

Gosh, Patty, I have my first kitties in my life that have been de-clawed. I have had cats for decades and none of them clawed anything! Good luck!

 

All good ideas so far - and make sure to keep their nails trimmed as well. It's not hard to do - ask your vet if you need help so as not to cut too much. I've always just used regular people nail trimmers.

Having alternative "good places" to scratch is key. Reward good behavior for using them (treat, catnip).

Keep a squirt bottle filled with water nearby and when bad behavior happens a quick squirt - preferably so they do not know where it came from (you) - is a good learning tool...

"I scratch here and I get wet == this is a bad place to scratch!"

GORGEOUS kitties Patty

 

I went to dinner at some ppls house a couple years ago. They had two cats that were allowed free roaming. Before dinner, one cat jumped up on the dining room table and licked the butter. The hostess saw it, but did nothing. I never went to their house again. (I didn't touch the butter either)
I have no use for cats, so you wouldn't like my suggestion, Patty.

 

I'm not quite sure how the cat licking the butter would hurt anyone, but I certainly see your point.

 

At least not when you are around to see it.

 

True. Thankfully, I've not noticed paw prints or cat fur on my table or counter tops.