Stopping cat from clawing furniture

When you get other places for the cat to scratch (cat tree, cardboard scratching boxes, etc), try pinning cloth to the furniture. Our cats started clawing the corners of our couch. We got a couple cat scratchers which the cats used, but still (probably out of habit) clawed at the couch every so often. Wife hung matching color cloth using clothes pines on the corners of the couch, basically to try to hide the damage. Nothing fancy, just like a 12 inch by 18 inch piece of cloth hung by safety pins at the top. The cats stopped clawing the corners - we think because the cloth hung loose. Eventually we took the cloth off (and got a new couch), and now all is well.

If you aren't already doing it, I'd start with the simplest and most likely to be effective thing -- weekly nail trimming. It's very easy to trim a cat's claws. If that doesn't produce satisfactory results, then I'd start looking for scratching posts that resemble the fabric on the furniture the cat is scratching. Sprinkle whatever you get with some catnip, or use a catnip spray on it. At the same time start using a squirt bottle and/or double sided tape to discourage the furniture clawing. If none of those works satisfactorily, then I'd try SoftPaws. If you don't want to apply them yourself (or can't), most groomers and vets will do it.

Thanks all for the advise....this particular cat is over 7 and I just won't consider ever having any of mine declawed (won't get into that subject)...I have the long scratching boxes, but never thought about her preferring the vertical one...I will certainly try that. I have covered the corners of the furniture already. I may try the doubled sided tape and squirt bottle of water.
None of our 3 cats would allow the nail clipping (one is feral) the other 2 are very mild and tame, but do not like their feet touched.

I had large areas to cover so instead of sticky tape I went to the Dollar Store & bought rolls of stick down shelf covering. I peeled off the backing & stuck it on the back of my couch with those screw-in fasteners that look like tacks.

Cheap & the cats avoided the sticky stuff like the plague!

toedtoes wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
And BTW interestingly the best place I found to do it is sitting on the toilet (lid closed of course:W) Don't know if it's doing it in room they are not used to or what but they just lay there real still while I clip away.

I thought I was the only one. Perhaps they figure if we're on the toilet we can't shove them in a cat carrier and take them to the vet... :B

Me three..... they demand attention there and they get it. With a mani-pedi.

To the OP.... just cut the hooks, the sharp bits, each time. I use a toenail trimmer.

Pheremone spray on or near the target area will help with the marking aspect. Or a diffuser.

Most vertical scratchers are too short, look for a long one and catnip spray may encourage regular use.

Code2High wrote:
Pheremone spray on or near the target area will help with the marking aspect. Or a diffuser.
...

We actually use both - spray directly on areas where they've scratched, and a plug in diffuser. Hard to tell if they work, but it makes wife and daughter happy...

We had a registered Siamese cat several years ago. Smart and playful but it chewed the ends off the rockers of a rocking chair. Wife was afraid he would get her new furniture next. Only way I could find was to give it to my Secretary. She had some of the same problems with him.

Cats do not like citrus. Spray Lemon Pledge or any citrus smelling spray on a cloth, leave it on the sofa or chair and the cat will avoid it. Spray it lightly or hang the cloth where the shredding is occurring and they will avoid it. Course that doesn't mean they won't find someplace worse. ;-)