Cat scratching behavior problem

JTR357 said:
The sprays don't work from my experience.I use double sided tape.Tape it where they're scratching,they should stop.Also get or make them a couple decent scratching posts & put some catnip on them.

How come everytime someone has a problem with their cat,someone always suggests killing it?Tongue in cheek,kidding or not, it's just not funny.:thumbdn:
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+1 JTR357:thumbdn: Declawing a cat is brutal.I constantly find missing declawed pet cat ads in the pets lost section of our local paper. If a declawed cat escapes outdoors it is pretty much defenseless against an outdoor cat, and can't even climb a tree to evade a dog.
One thing I've had success with is putting up aluminum foil on the surface you don't want scratched...my cats sure don't like it.YMMV
 
I bought "No Scratch" at PetSmart. I'm not sure if they still sell it. You might have to buy it online.

But it worked perfectly. You have to be persistent in spraying it lightly once a day or heavily every few days for it to continue working.

It really worked though.

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C.S. Graves said:
Sounds like a perilous task, Greg. My Maine Coon would gut me if I tried that. :(
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My maine coon had very long bum hair, and as a result, he used to get whole turds clumped in it. I had to bathe his rear end... needless to say he really didn't enjoy that. When done, and once I stopped the bleeding on my arms and back... and got the poop out from under my finger nails, it wasn't that bad.:p

Soooo, sticking those soft paws on him was a walk in the park.:D
 
moonwilson said:
It sounds like a territorial thing. There are some sprays that you can put on things to discourage cats from scratching them. I'm an advocate of declawing, but with a 14 year old cat, that's not really an option. I would combine a repellent spray with a water-squirt bottle, squirt the cat whenever he gets near the couch.

Or you could do what I always tell my sister to do with her cat- loop a zip-tie over the thing's head and cinch it down good and tight. The thing will stop thrashing around eventually, and then you can just toss it in the nearest dumpster. :D (I'm a dog person)
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Declawing is a euphemism for amputation of the distal phalanx of each digit. In human terms it would mean amputation of the end joint of each of your fingers and toes. If this were done to a person, it would be considered unthinkably cruel - in the case of a cat, it is immeasurably worse since they are digitigrades (they walk on the ends of their toes) and it leaves them with greatly reduced ability to manipulate objects with their paws. I'm not necessarily opposed to all "alterations" of animals, like spaying and neutering, but this procedure strikes me as a cruel and unnecessary mutilation.

Don't let the cat see you with the squirt bottle. If they see you with it, they're smart enough to know they can shred the furniture with impunity when you are not around! :D
 
I may try the Soft Paws, never heard of it before until now. Every cat I've had, I have been able to trim their claws without a battle. It's just that they hate it afterwards, and reminds me too much of airline security.

Years ago I tried making something similar to Soft Paws by taking small pieces of wine cork and simply sticking them onto the end of their claws. Satiba the cat simply pulled them off in a matter of seconds.

The alluminum foil also sounds like a possible idea.

For the time being I trimmed Jake's claws. If there are any other suggestions, then keep em coming, I'm sure I'm not alone when it comes down to this.
 
GregS said:
My maine coon had very long bum hair, and as a result, he used to get whole turds clumped in it. I had to bathe his rear end... needless to say he really didn't enjoy that. When done, and once I stopped the bleeding on my arms and back... and got the poop out from under my finger nails, it wasn't that bad.:p

Soooo, sticking those soft paws on him was a walk in the park.:D
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:eek:
They oughta breed non-poop-clumping Coons.

And make them big enough to ride like Battle Cat. That'd be rad.

Er, back on topic though, I pretty much agree with the anti-declawing folk, though an ex got a few of hers declawed because she lived in an apartment and one of them was a destructive little guy who would shred the banister and carpet upstairs.
 
Cats need to scratch and it is one of the several ways they mark their territory. Ultimately you need to make the furniture unattractive and provide an attractive alternative. Citrus scents and tape will help make the furniture less desirable. Second, provide sisal scratching posts and put them near the furniture. Third, keep her nails trimmed and use Soft Paws if necessary.

I keep my two cat's front claws trimmed even though they don't scratch the furniture - the porch is the closest they get to going outside. They prefer the cheaper post I bought at Target that has a flat sisal material over an expensive sisal rope post. One enjoys the rectangular cardboard box material and both like the sisal door mat at the front door.

The following is a list of countries in which declawing cats is either illegal or considered extremely inhumane and only performed under extreme circumstances:

England
Scotland
Wales
Italy
France
Germany
Bosnia
Austria
Switzerland
Norway
Sweden
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Ireland
Denmark
Finland
Slovenia
Portugal
Belgium
Brazil
Australia
New Zealand
Yugoslavia
Malta
Israel
 
I would mix up a mint oil/citrus juice spray and use in on the cats eyes ....No just kidding spray it on or right near the spot he is scratching and he should leave it alone as they do not like mint and citrus at all ,just be sure it will not stain if it does you could pin a cloth rubbed in it from the area until he gets the hint .I have never had luck getting older cats to scatch on anything new that I wanted them too, but you can get them to stop scratching if you can outsmart them (not always that easy).
 
Get some stick and peel 60 grit sand paper garnet grit and line the floor with it. Within a few days, kitty will have short blunt nails.....Plus she will be able to turn a mean corner without sliding out, on the sand paper of course.
 
Might I suggest some anti scratch socks. A few pet stores
carry these. They only have to wear them for a time until
they get out of the habit.

202441511_6e730b3fbb.jpg
 
Sloppy, your cat is almost a mirror image of Jake my orange striped with white cat that's been clawing. :eek: Your cat seems to tolerate the socks. Was it a battle to keep the socks on, or did he accept them early on?
 
Bufford,

This isn't my cat I just found the pic on the net. I just wanted
to show what the socks look like. I got them before at a pet store
for my own cat. They worked great for my pet but not every animal
will wear them.

I used to have a chiuahua that would give me problems when I had
to cut his claws. I had to put a sock on his head. It worked as he
growled and would bite into the air. He finally quite struggling.

Just had to try different things to see what works.
 
I have a cat and tried everything prior to having her declawed. Sprays, scratching posts, squirt guns, cloth covered mousetraps (scares but doesn't hurt), etc. You name it, I tried it. Nothing worked. She'd tear the hell out of the scratching post before going for the furniture again. Ruined two arm chairs before starting in on the sofa. The final straw was when I bought brand new furniture and it wasn't in place five minutes when I caught her getting ready to go for it - she was off to the Vet that same night.

No way in hell would I ever have a cat who wasn't declawed.
 
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