Scratching... Help!!

[Ninipow13]

my 6 week old kittens are in my master bathroom (for now). Sometimes we leave the door open to my bedroom to give them some more playroom but they LOVE to scratch my bed..
my brand new linen bed. They have a scratch pole they sometimes scratch but they still love my bed. They also scratch it to get on my bed but they also scratch it for the heck of it. We have sprayed it with Keep Off (green/purple spray) but it doesn’t seem to do nothing. I need help. My older cat ruined a lot of furniture in her day, this isn’t going to happen again. These cats have more scratch toys than my older cat ever had. What else can I do?? Any better sprays recommended that don’t ruin fabric? What’s the best way to discipline these kittens and keep them away from furniture and carpet but encourage them to use their scratch toys?
In this pic I just moved their scratch pole near the bed but that obviously didn’t make a difference lol

 

[MissMarq]

Hmm, have you tried double sided tape? I used tape on a section of an ottoman my girls loved to use as a scratch post. They still used the taped area but my ottoman didn't get damaged further. eventually they lost interest and I was able to remove the tape.

Also maybe you can try putting a stool near the bed they can use to climb up. I did that with my girls. They would make holes in my bedding trying to climb up on the bed. I already have a stool under my bed for muse (our bed is tall and I am not lol) I placed it by the bed and placed them on it so they would use it to jump on the bed. It took a few tries but they got the hang of it! Whenever I would catch them clawing up the bed, I would put them down on the floor and then place them on the stool to remind them to use that instead.

 

[abyeb]

Double sided tape was my first thought as well. You can use regular tape, or special tape designed for this purpose:

SmartyKat Scratch Not Tape - Chewy.com

Sticky Paws on a Roll - Chewy.com

Also, when they scratch the post instead of the bed, reward them with a treat to reinforce the wanted behavior.

This article has more tips: 23 Proven Ways To Stop A Cat From Scratching Furniture

 

[war&wisdom]

Try getting a ramp style of scratcher like ours (pictured below). Our kittens used to scratch the bed like crazy, but this solved it. You can see that it's been well-used.

Also, they're so young to be away from their mother! What happened to her?

 

[Tagrendy]

I don't know if it would damage the fabric but lemon water in my experience helped a lot to deter the cat from going to a certain places. Yiu would need to reapply it every few days.

You can try trimming the cat's nails if they are indoor only cats - but if you do, you'd need to trim all of their nails.

Also, moving the scratching post is true first step, you still would need to train them to use it. Scratch the post yourself, take their paws and scratch with it - if any of them repeat after you give the one who repeated a treat. You would need to do this for a month. Cats learn but slowly. Also at any random time you see them using the post - give them a treat and pet.

It would be good if their sleeping area was also close to the post since cats have an instinct to scratch and stretch right after waking up, it would get them used to the post.

 

[sargon]

They actually make scratching pads you can affix to the corners of beds. The ramp suggested looks nice, too. With that said, beds are prime real estate, so cats want to scratch/mark them ( this is also part of why a sizable number of very distressed cats pee on beds)getting a cat to not scratch one is pretty difficult. I'd suggest adding a heavy dust ruffle, preferably one that isn't much fun to scratch, and accepting that you may not be able to eliminate this particular behavior.

 

[Ninipow13]

Try getting a ramp style of scratcher like ours (pictured below). Our kittens used to scratch the bed like crazy, but this solved it. You can see that it's been well-used.

Also, they're so young to be away from their mother! What happened to her?

View attachment 269543

WHere did you find this ramp?
Someone found them and their 2 siblings underneath their house. The girl that found them kept 1, someone else got 1 and I took the other 2 kittens (brother and sister) because I wanted to keep them together.

 

[war&wisdom]

WHere did you find this ramp?
Someone found them and their 2 siblings underneath their house. The girl that found them kept 1, someone else got 1 and I took the other 2 kittens (brother and sister) because I wanted to keep them together.

It's from PetSmart.

 

[Ninipow13]

It's from PetSmart.

Okay
Well I’m searching on Amazon for something similar. I’m just having trouble finding the right height.
I’m also investing in double sided anti scratch tape and a couple different type of scratchers as well. Maybe they just don’t like the one they have right now. I think because they’re small kittens, it might be too rough for them.

 

[war&wisdom]

Okay
Well I’m searching on Amazon for something similar. I’m just having trouble finding the right height.
I’m also investing in double sided anti scratch tape and a couple different type of scratchers as well. Maybe they just don’t like the one they have right now. I think because they’re small kittens, it might be too rough for them.

We bought ours without checking the height, and it was fine. It would fit any standard-height bed. We originally had it on the floor and then wedged it into the bed. It's been there for many months now.

You can order the exact one we got from PetSmart.com.

 

[Ninipow13]

I like this one but I need to find something a little cheaper!

 

[war&wisdom]

Ours was half the price and isn't cardboard, which little kittens can rip out and eat.

 

[war&wisdom]

Whisker City® Stretch 'n Scratch Cat Ramp | cat Furniture & Towers | PetSmart

 

[Ninipow13]

Whisker City® Stretch 'n Scratch Cat Ramp | cat Furniture & Towers | PetSmart

Thanks so much! I had just found it myself!

 

[Tobermory]

I used Feliway spray (the spray not the diffuser) to discourage Mocha from scratching furniture and rugs when I adopted her. She was already three years old and couldn’t seem to get the hang of scratching posts! I lightly misted the spots she seemed to prefer every 2-3 days for several weeks, and she never scratched in those places. The spray never damaged or marked the furniture. You have to be sure not to spray near their scratching posts or around the cats themselves.

I know some cats seem to immune to Feliway, but I had great luck with it. Mocha rarely scratches at the furniture any more.

Also, I had to experiment with a variety of scratchers before I found ones she really liked. She likes vertical not horizontal, prefers narrow sisal to fat sisal, doesn’t care for carpeted scratchers, isn’t interested in cardboard scratchers. It was really trial and error.

 

[Ninipow13]

I used Feliway spray (the spray not the diffuser) to discourage Mocha from scratching furniture and rugs when I adopted her. She was already three years old and couldn’t seem to get the hang of scratching posts! I lightly misted the spots she seemed to prefer every 2-3 days for several weeks, and she never scratched in those places. The spray never damaged or marked the furniture. You have to be sure not to spray near their scratching posts or around the cats themselves.

I know some cats seem to immune to Feliway, but I had great luck with it. Mocha rarely scratches at the furniture any more.

Also, I had to experiment with a variety of scratchers before I found ones she really liked. She likes vertical not horizontal, prefers narrow sisal to fat sisal, doesn’t care for carpeted scratchers, isn’t interested in cardboard scratchers. It was really trial and error.

Can you show me pictures or links of the scratchers she prefers?

 

[Tobermory]

I couldn’t believe it, but she prefers this relatively inexpensive one. She’s an average-sized girl of about 9.5 pounds, and she doesn’t seem to mind that she can’t stretch full length on it. I have four of them and put them where she hangs out the most.

I also bought her one of these very tall expensive ones, and she wouldn’t use it. I donated it to the shelter where I volunteer (and from where I adopted her), and those kitties adore it!

 

[Hellenww]

Think of kitten and scratchers like toddlers potty training. When they look like they're getting ready to scratch lead them to the scratcher. Try showing them by scratching it yourself.

At 6 wks they are more babies than toddlers so they might take a few months to really get it.

 

[war&wisdom]

Think of kitten and scratchers like toddlers potty training. When they look like they're getting ready to scratch lead them to the scratcher. Try showing them by scratching it yourself.

At 6 wks they are more babies than toddlers so they might take a few months to really get it.

This is a good point. Mine were older (8 weeks) when I got them, and they didn't use the scratching posts/ramps very regularly for about a month or so.