Bringing A Cat Home?

[JaneBlush]

Half a year ago i found a cat curled in a corner right next to my house. She was freezing cold and couldn't really move. I decided to bring her in the house because i didn't want to leave her to freeze. I thought i'd bring her in the storage/summer kitchen next to the garage. Everything's been great so far. I go there every day to feed her and play with her for a bit but i can't keep her there forever. I could get her outside but we've had problems with cat worms before so i can't risk it.
I want to bring her in, but the problem is that everything in my apartment is new and there is leather as well as curtains in almost all of the rooms. There is a leather sofa in the living room but i can just keep her away from that room. The problem is that i don't know if it would be a good idea to bring her in. Do you think that she'll scratch up the curtains or the furniture?

 

[abyeb]

You can absolutely bring her in. Introduce her to the house slowly, one room at a time. For most cats, if you provide them with a variety of scratching posts, they won’t scratch the furniture, because the scratching post feels nicer on their claws anyway.

IF she starts scratching furniture for some reason, there are things you can do to deter her, such as using this special tape: SmartyKat Scratch Not Tape

This article gives some great advice as well:
How To Stop Your Cat From Scratching The Furniture

Thanks for caring!

 

[Mummycat]

She will initially. It's a natural behaviour of cats to remove the dead outer layers of their claws. But they can be trained to only scratch certain things, like scratch posts, though it will take time and patience. You can protect your furniture (sofa covers etc, sprays to keep them off furniture, or even sticky tape with the sticky bit facing outwards) in the mean time until she gets the hang of things.
When training cats, you need to remember that they don't understand scolding. They probably think you're being mean and may get defensive and scratch or bite. They do understand treats though and if you reward an act with a treat, they are more likely to repeat that act. Give her treats every time she uses the scratching post and soon she will not associate your furniture with scratching.

 

[lollie]

I've been very lucky with my cat not doing any inappropriate scratching. Aside from kitty trees though, I do have a cardboard scratcher in every room. She really loves these and will purr when using them.

Much easier to start out with the right equipment, than attempt to change behavior when necessity has caused them to become accustomed to using something inappropriate.

 

[soubida]

I think that adult cats are better at not scratching? We adopted an adult cat a while back and she has no interest in scratching anything besides her (multiple) scratching posts... and occasionally the doors of rooms she's not allowed in LOL