How Do I Save My Chair?

[tallyollyopia]

Some time ago, I got a new chair in the living room, a swivel rocker. Due to circumstances beyond my control, the living room was packed with stuff for quite a long time (about four or five months) and the chair was inaccessible--to humans. The cats got to it without problem, and I ended up cleaning copious amounts of fur off my chair. (Still feels new.) Well, when I sit in it, the cats tend to come up, slip behind the chair, and then proceed to claw the living daylights out of the back of it. They have a scratching post. They're indoor/outdoor cats, so they're not suffering from excess energy with nowhere to put it. I've tried picking them up when the behavior starts in order to correct them (laugh all you want, but it's how I trained them not to claw curtains or poop on electric cords)--and they think it's a new game. So, back to the title question: How do I save my chair?

 

[Kieka]

Double sided sticky tape in the spot the scratch or a loose blanket draped over so that if they claw they pull the blanket down. You could also move a scratching post to that spot but since its a swivel rocker that will likely be less effective. But the first two works to stop my boy from the exact same on the same type of chair.

 

[neely]

You can also try a fitted bed sheet which will conform to the shape of your chair, depending on the size and whether it will fit. That's what we did for one of our cats when we had two new chairs in the living room that she liked to scratch.

 

[Tobermory]

Mist the chair with Feliway spray once a day for a couple of weeks, then as needed. Just be sure that no scratching posts or cats are nearby until the spray settles...@15 minutes. I use this strategy to keep Mocha from scratching our chairs and rugs that she prefers over the $200 worth of scratching posts I have all over the house.

 

[rubysmama]

I feel for you. My Ruby has started to scratch the top of my sofa and loveseat, and I currently have throws over them in an attempt to break her habit. Hasn't really worked yet.

TCS has an article on the subject that may be worth reading:
How To Stop Your Cat From Scratching The Furniture

 

[tallyollyopia]

Thanks everyone!

Double sided sticky tape in the spot the scratch or a loose blanket draped over so that if they claw they pull the blanket down. You could also move a scratching post to that spot but since its a swivel rocker that will likely be less effective. But the first two works to stop my boy from the exact same on the same type of chair.

I tried the blanket, and they made a game of tugging it. I think the chair lost more of its life. I wasn't able to find double-sided sticky tape when I went to Wal-Mart, but tried.

You can also try a fitted bed sheet which will conform to the shape of your chair, depending on the size and whether it will fit. That's what we did for one of our cats when we had two new chairs in the living room that she liked to scratch.

I don't think a fitted sheet would work. The only sheet I had to try was a twin, and it's bigger than a twin, but much smaller than a king. Is there a way to sort of fasten the sheet to the chair without damaging it?

Mist the chair with Feliway spray once a day for a couple of weeks, then as needed. Just be sure that no scratching posts or cats are nearby until the spray settles...@15 minutes. I use this strategy to keep Mocha from scratching our chairs and rugs that she prefers over the $200 worth of scratching posts I have all over the house.

Where could I get Feliway? I haven't seen it in the store.

I feel for you. My Ruby has started to scratch the top of my sofa and loveseat, and I currently have throws over them in an attempt to break her habit. Hasn't really worked yet.

TCS has an article on the subject that may be worth reading:
How To Stop Your Cat From Scratching The Furniture

Thank you!

 

[rubysmama]

Where could I get Feliway? I haven't seen it in the store.

Petsmart has it on their website, so probably in store too.
Search Results | PetSmart

Also Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/146-3864168-4144713?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=feliway

 

[Tobermory]

Petsmart has it on their website, so probably in store too.
Search Results | PetSmart

Also Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/146-3864168-4144713?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=feliway

And Petco...and if you find it cheaper on line, Petco will match that price.

 

[kitty chew]

Give it away! Cats and chairs do not mix well. I have a beautiful antique green chesterfield couch. Now it's covered in claw marks. They don't even try to destroy it. It's just from them jumping on it, and running over it. I put a big throw rug over one side where they sit. It helps a bit.

 

[maggiedemi]

If you can find a big enough sheet, you can cover the whole entire chair and tuck the sheet in under the chair on all sides. Or use 2 sheets.

 

[orange&white]

Underneath this cheap ugly king-sized Walmart blanket (and lovely cat) is a beautiful custom-upholstered Thomasville chair. The blanket is folded triple-thick and fastened with large safety pins at the back so Farrell can't get underneath it.

I expect I may never see the fabulous upholstery again, except to wash the blanket a few times a year, but Farrell is so worth the "ugly décor".

I should at least find a blanket color that matches something else in the room.

Anyway, you can see all the pull marks (and cat fur) on the blanket. She can do that 'til her heart's content.

 

[basscat]

You lay a sheet or blanket on the floor. Set chair on top of it and wrap up the chair from the bottom upward. Clothespins all over the place.
You then take another and lay over the top of the chair, draped downward. Clothespin all over again.
Then you take another and drape over the top again. This one just tucked in here and there so you can take it off and wash it and put it right back in place easily.
THEN you ask yourself....why did I buy a nice chair?

 

[tallyollyopia]

All good ideas--sorry it's taken me so long to get back, but things have been crazy around here.