Kitten Scratching The Furniture

[Raevyn]

My kitten will NOT stop scratching my brand new sofa! we have about 4 or 5 cardboard scratchers and a giant cat tree that has multiple seisel roped scratching posts on it and he chooses to scratch nothing but the couch.

we've tried:

1. yelling NO really loudly when he does it, but he just stops for a second and then seems to forget he just got told no and goes right back to scratching it.
2. yelling NO and banging on the couch and same thing - he waits and then goes right back to it.
3. banging a shoe or something on the floor next to him - same thing.
4. squirt him with a water bottle - he doesn't care.
   
5. Cat nip rubbed on the scratching post - hes still pretty young AND his nose is congested so he either can't smell it or gets no reaction from it.
6. play time near the scratching post. He touches rope and doesn't seem to like the feel of it.

we have on two occassions caught him using the horizontal cardboard scratcher like hes supposed to and we rewarded him heavily for it. he watches the older cat use them all the time so I know he knows to use them but he just won't. We are now starting to see visible claw marks in our brand new sofa and I'm really not happy. He has already sneezed all over the sofa and left crusty stains all over it that I'm still trying to scrub out after a month.

what have you guys tried? I'm at he point where im going to start spraying an entire bottle of water at him until he stops.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Unfortunately, spraying with water can cause as many problems as it solves in some cats. Have you tried double-sided sticky tape yet? It won't harm the sofa, and will feel very icky to his paws. It will only takes a few days before he gives it up as a bad deal.

 

[Raevyn]

Unfortunately, spraying with water can cause as many problems as it solves in some cats. Have you tried double-sided sticky tape yet? It won't harm the sofa, and will feel very icky to his paws. It will only takes a few days before he gives it up as a bad deal.

suggested it, but my boyfriend doesn't want to put double sides tape on the sofa. thinks it will stick to it

 

[LTS3]

How old is the kitten? Kittens have no manners and are pretty much troublemakers. Most will eventually learn what they can and can't do but they need to be taught by you which requires lots of patience for really clueless kittens.

There may be helpful:

5 Reasons To Never Spray Water On Your Cat
How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat
Cats And Discipline Don't Mix

Keep your kitten's claws trimmed to minimize the damage caused to furniture. You can try sofa protectors and slip covers.

 

[doomsdave]

R Raevyn try the sticky tape, just stick it on there. It won't hurt the furniture.

I just posted another thread on exactly this issue, maybe you'll find it helpful.

 

[Raevyn]

How old is the kitten? Kittens have no manners and are pretty much troublemakers. Most will eventually learn what they can and can't do but they need to be taught by you which requires lots of patience for really clueless kittens.

There may be helpful:

5 Reasons To Never Spray Water On Your Cat
How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat
Cats And Discipline Don't Mix

Keep your kitten's claws trimmed to minimize the damage caused to furniture. You can try sofa protectors and slip covers.

He's SUCH a trouble maker! He's not quite 6 months so he's essentially at the peak of his crazy.

I put tape on the spots he was scratching this evening and he just watched me for a second and then was like watch this mommy and went to scratch it and was rudely diabused of that idea when his paw got stuck to the tape LOL Bugger is probably doing it on purpose. He knows to scratch the other things for him but he doesn't care. My older cat has been slapping him around when he gets out of hand though.

 

[doomsdave]

Did the tape work?

 

[Raevyn]

Did the tape work?

Well he hasn't tried the scratch the sofa since he got his paw stuck to it but only time will tell I suppose.

 

[neely]

I second the double sided tape, I have used it with our past and present cat and it really does help. Definitely does not ruin the furniture. In fact, I've left it on or replaced it for more than 5 years, works like a charm.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Wow ! It sounds like tape may have helped discourage the behavior. ( way too late for my 'furniture' )
Good luck ...

 

[Raevyn]

This morning he hasn't even tried to scratch the furniture at all.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It really does not take them long to figure out that they don't want anything to do with that tape! I've NEVER seen it take longer than 5-6 days, and that's with a phenominally stubborn, older cat.