Help Please

[Bloom_Z]

Hi Everyone.
I adopted an almost 1 year old female about a month ago. I am at my wits end with her scratching. I have tried literally everything I feel like - from using feliscratch, anti scratch sprays, every type of scratching material that a cat would like (the rope, carpeting, card board and one other firmer one), I bought different types of scratchers, I bought her a condo with rope and carpet scratchers, and she is STILL using my furniture. I've used double sided tape and she scratches past it... I am now trying foil (not two seconds after I put it on the couch, she stretched around it and found a new spot), the spray works temporarily but then she goes right back. People have told me to scare her with coins in a can, I tried that. I tried spraying her with water or clapping my hands... I don't want her to think that she can't scratch because she can, just where I want it. And the couple times that she has used her post, I've rewarded that behavior.
When I first adopted her, I told them I wouldn't get her declawed because I thought that overtime, she would learn to use whatever other materials I had, but nope. Honestly, if I can't get her to stop, I'll find a vet that will remove her claws (I'm a single female, and can't afford to keep spending money on stuff that isn't working).
I work 10-12 hours a day, some people have told me that she is 'bored' and needs things to do so I have a bunch of toys for her - there are plenty of ledges in my house that she can look outside with.
I'm not one to give in so easily but honestly this is the most frustrating thing... I can't keep having her ruin my fun

 

[Nazneen123]

Sorry to hear about your situation

10 - 12 hours a day you're not around so she's bored as you said

What condo did you buy?

Have you thought about getting a Cat tree?

I'm guessing shes' an indoor Cat


PS - Maybe you can get another Kitten for company but then that's double the work - Just a suggestion

 

[LTS3]

Scratching is a normal natural behavior. Discourage your cat from inappropriate scratching by using these tips:

How To Stop Your Cat From Scratching The Furniture

Spraying water never works. A firm NO and a hiss is usually recommended.

Cats And Discipline Don't Mix
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification
How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat
5 Reasons To Never Spray Water On Your Cat

Keep your cat's nails trimmed. Use claw caps if needed.

TCS is an anti-declaw community. Declawing is basically amputation, not just simply removing the claw. The procedure is painful and many cats exhibit negative behavior problems afterwards for years.

Declawing - More Than Just A Manicure
Declawing And Alternatives

Just having toys out for the cat isn't enough. Do you actually play with the cat when you are at home? A long play session will help burn off some of that excess energy. Just 15 minutes is plenty. You can do this while you're watching tv or instead of staring at a phone or computer.

A second cat is often recommended and something to consider if that is a possible option for you.

 

[IronHippo]

Is she clicker trained? Also, have you tried putting scratching posts in front of the places she scratches? Then she might gravitate towards the post first instead of the stuff she isn't supposed to scratch. When you see her scratching the post instead of the sofa, click, reward, and praise!

Some people have found good success with claw caps (e.g. Soft Paws). For us, we just covered the corners Marple has started to like scratching with a fleece blanket to protect the upholstery, and we'll probably pick up another scratching post since the couch is new (we think she might feel like she doesn't have enough things to scratch on--the blanket is working to deter her for now).

 

[She's a witch]

what furniture is she scratching? If it's a couch, can you maybe cover it with the fabric that is not attractive to the cat?
She's young and I'm guessing way to active to be kept alone for so many hours. I second the another cat idea, hopefully she will feel less lonely and more entertained.
If you run out of options and decide to declaw her, please rehome her instead. Declawing is inhumane and no furniture is worth causing so much suffering to the cat.

 

[IronHippo]

Not to pile on you about the declawing...but also just wanted to echo the other comments and ask you to please explore options other than declawing, and please review what declawing actually entails to understand why it's a pretty inhumane thing to do to any cat. Imagine having your fingernails removed by cutting your entire fingertip off to the joint --that's what would need to be done! Plus more behavioral issues can follow (e.g. Ongoing pain leading to litterbox issues, biting in defense instead of the more natural swipe).

 

[Bloom_Z]

Thanks for the replies, and YES, I know about declawing and how the procedure works, how its inhumane etc.. I wasn't looking for a lecture about that, I was looking for some tips to prevent scratching.
So, if anyone else has TIPS on scratching, that would be great, thank you!

 

[Bloom_Z]

what furniture is she scratching? If it's a couch, can you maybe cover it with the fabric that is not attractive to the cat?
She's young and I'm guessing way to active to be kept alone for so many hours. I second the another cat idea, hopefully she will feel less lonely and more entertained.
If you run out of options and decide to declaw her, please rehome her instead. Declawing is inhumane and no furniture is worth causing so much suffering to the cat.

I wouldn't ever rehome her considering I'm her second home within a couple months. I can't afford to adopt another cat at the moment, as I am a single female living in a one bed apartment. If you have other tips, that would be great, thanks.

 

[Bloom_Z]

Is she clicker trained? Also, have you tried putting scratching posts in front of the places she scratches? Then she might gravitate towards the post first instead of the stuff she isn't supposed to scratch. When you see her scratching the post instead of the sofa, click, reward, and praise!

Some people have found good success with claw caps (e.g. Soft Paws). For us, we just covered the corners Marple has started to like scratching with a fleece blanket to protect the upholstery, and we'll probably pick up another scratching post since the couch is new (we think she might feel like she doesn't have enough things to scratch on--the blanket is working to deter her for now).

I haven't thought about a clicker - I've clicker trained animals in the past, so many I could try that. My issue is, I'm not home for a good part of the day so I'm not sure that it would work to prevent unwanted behavior, while I'm not home.

 

[Etarre]

I can relate to your frustration! Juniper has scratchers that she likes and uses, but sometimes prefers the carpet or the spare room couch. We adopted her at 8 months, and she seemed unfamiliar with the idea of a scratcher, so it's possible that she wasn't raised with specific things to scratch.

If your cat likes catnip, using spray catnip to attract her to the scratchers might help. This worked well with my first cat.

Since our spare room couch has proven so irresistable to Juniper, we topped it with something that she loves to scratch even more-- an extra thick yoga mat. If your cat enjoys scratching rubber, this could be an option to protect the couch. There are also couch covers designed to protect them from pets available on Amazon. I get that you don't want to have to cover your furniture forever, but it might help with peace of mind while you're at work.

And finally, not to pile on about declawing, but just to add something to consider; declawing can make cats' paws so sensitive that they will avoid the litterbox. As frustrating and annoying and destructive as scratching can be, cats who pee outside of the litterbox are a much bigger problem, and even more destructive to your belongings and living space.

 

[She's a witch]

I wouldn't ever rehome her considering I'm her second home within a couple months. I can't afford to adopt another cat at the moment, as I am a single female living in a one bed apartment. If you have other tips, that would be great, thanks.

I wasn’t suggesting to rehome her, just flagging that rehoming would simply be better for her than declawing since that’s what you said you consider.
My cat used to scratch the corner of the couch and I realized I only had round sisal scratchers; also, not heavy and stable enough to keep it from moving when in use. It was simply more comfortable for him to use the couch, couch doesn’t move no matter what. So I added two heavy square ones covered in carpet rather than sisal and placed them near the couch and it helped a lot. He still occasionally scratch the couch but I don’t actually care, it’s not a big deal for me anymore (which is also a possible solution to you, if you’re willing/able to change attitude towards it).

Edited to add: but if she’s doing it because she’s lonely and bored, she may find some other habit until the root cause of the problem is managed. Any chance you could have someone coming over to entertain her In the afternoon?

 

[KarenKat]

I wasn’t suggesting to rehome her, just flagging that rehoming would simply be better for her than declawing since that’s what you said you consider.
My cat used to scratch the corner of the couch and I realized I only had round sisal scratchers; also, not heavy and stable enough to keep it from moving when in use. It was simply more comfortable for him to use the couch, couch doesn’t move no matter what. So I added two heavy square ones covered in carpet rather than sisal and placed them near the couch and it helped a lot. He still occasionally scratch the couch but I don’t actually care, it’s not a big deal for me anymore.

Edited to add: but if she’s doing it because she’s lonely and bored, she may find some other habit until the root cause of the problem is managed. Any chance you could have someone coming over to entertain her In the afternoon?

I may need to try that, Olive definitely prefers the couch too. She will use sisal ones if no couch presents itself, but I can tell she prefers carpet or fabric. What one did you end up getting?

They are expensive, but once I buy nice furniture I’m planning on looking into getting something like this to protect the corners - Couch Corner Cat Scratching Post 18 inches Tall, Stained Pine, Sisal Rope

We also choose fabrics for couches carefully when purchasing new items - microfiber seems to be very scratch resistant

 

[Hellenww]

Do you have something like this: https://www.chewy.com/catit-chaise-shape-scratcher-catnip/dp/49895

My Yoshi scratched our couch up and for 10yrs I tried everything with no luck. Heavy trees w/sisel and carpet, cones, flat cardbord scratchers, double sided tape, air cans. I something shaped similar to this on clearance and dropped it next to the couch. Since then he hasn't scratched the couch.

not heavy and stable enough to keep it from moving when in use.

I didn't think of this. Even with concrete blocks on the bottom of the trees they move a little when his 16lb of muscles lands on them. The scratcher he likes is big enough that he can stand on it and scratch at an angle.

I wish they could speak "human" but I'd probably be cursed at regularly so maybe not.

 

[Hellenww]

They are expensive, but once I buy nice furniture I’m planning on looking into getting something like this to protect the corners - Couch Corner Cat Scratching Post 18 inches Tall, Stained Pine, Sisal Rope

They look pretty easy to make.

 

[She's a witch]

I may need to try that, Olive definitely prefers the couch too. She will use sisal ones if no couch presents itself, but I can tell she prefers carpet or fabric. What one did you end up getting?

They are expensive, but once I buy nice furniture I’m planning on looking into getting something like this to protect the corners - Couch Corner Cat Scratching Post 18 inches Tall, Stained Pine, Sisal Rope

We also choose fabrics for couches carefully when purchasing new items - microfiber seems to be very scratch resistant

I brought them with me from Europe, and from what I checked on Amazon, the closest would be something like this:
AmazonBasics Large Premium Tall Cat Scratching Post - 16 x 35 x 16 Inches, Wood The most important feature for me is that they Are heavy. Mine got torn in one place and I actually covered it with the cheapest (1$?) Ikea door mat and it worked good as well.

 

[Bloom_Z]

I can relate to your frustration! Juniper has scratchers that she likes and uses, but sometimes prefers the carpet or the spare room couch. We adopted her at 8 months, and she seemed unfamiliar with the idea of a scratcher, so it's possible that she wasn't raised with specific things to scratch.

If your cat likes catnip, using spray catnip to attract her to the scratchers might help. This worked well with my first cat.

Since our spare room couch has proven so irresistable to Juniper, we topped it with something that she loves to scratch even more-- an extra thick yoga mat. If your cat enjoys scratching rubber, this could be an option to protect the couch. There are also couch covers designed to protect them from pets available on Amazon. I get that you don't want to have to cover your furniture forever, but it might help with peace of mind while you're at work.

And finally, not to pile on about declawing, but just to add something to consider; declawing can make cats' paws so sensitive that they will avoid the litterbox. As frustrating and annoying and destructive as scratching can be, cats who pee outside of the litterbox are a much bigger problem, and even more destructive to your belongings and living space.

Thank you!!! I didn't know about the furniture cover - do you know what the brand is? I would be interested in that while I'm away at work. That way, once home, I can remove it and continue to train her.

 

[Bloom_Z]

I brought them with me from Europe, and from what I checked on Amazon, the closest would be something like this:
AmazonBasics Large Premium Tall Cat Scratching Post - 16 x 35 x 16 Inches, Wood The most important feature for me is that they Are heavy. Mine got torn in one place and I actually covered it with the cheapest (1$?) Ikea door mat and it worked good as well.

The scratcher I have looks just like that - I think I have the 'Smart Cat' brand? It was like 70 bucks.

 

[IronHippo]

If you are thinking about training, I highly recommend The Trainable Cat by John Bradshaw and Sarah Ellis. Cats don't think like other companion animals do, and a lot of people will get frustrated if they try to train a cat the way they would train a dog. The Trainable Cat helps you to get into the cat mindset (again, different from a dog) and gives good tips on how and when to reward your cat as you train her. Also, I do think having someone to actively play with her would help alleviate her boredom while you're gone during the day. She definitely sounds bored. Being alone for 10-12 hours a day (and effectively alone for even longer while you're sleeping) is quite a lot of time.

I'm glad you know how bad declawing is and that you aren't planning on doing so!

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Neko-chan was scratching the corner of one of our chairs. We put a scratching post there with a similar texture and the behavior stopped that same day.

 

[Etarre]

If you search 'pet couch cover' on Amazon, a whole bunch of them show up. You can also occasionally get good deals on them on Zulily.