Ok, just kidding…sort of. It hasn’t gotten to that point yet but I swear the little fuzz-butt has me on my last nerves. It seems like no matter how much I blast my roughly 8 month old male cat in the face with the squirt bottle he continues to scratch the furniture in my room. He particularly has a penchant for my office chair, and as a result the back of it is completely torn up with the stuffing coming out.
He knows damn well that he’s not supposed to be scratching stuff. A lot of the time when I’m sitting at my computer and he’s not in the room he’ll dash in really quickly, get in two or three quick scratches on my bed, and then run out at full speed while i fire desperate shots of water at his retreating behind. It’s gotten so that I have to keep the door to my room closed at all times when I’m not there, and be watching him like a hawk when we’re both in there. What really bugs me is that he doesn’t really do it to any other furniture in the house…just the stuff in my room.
He’s got a scratching post which he absolutely never uses, even though I’ve sprinkled it liberally with catnip a few times. Is there any way that I can convince him to stop scratching? I’ve seen in a number of other threads that some people suggest putting vinegar into the squirt bottle because apparently cats don’t like that. Any resident cat lovers have any other ideas?
Multiple scratching items (posts, and I’m told that many kitties loooove those cardboard ones), maybe praise/treat when you catch him scratching the right stuff.
Double-stick tape on things he shouldn’t scratch, many cats hate the feel of something sticking to their paws.
Keep his claws trimmed - buy one of the little clippers at the pet store ($10) and learn how to trim properly. I take my cat into the bathroom and lock the door to keep her from bolting. She didn’t like it the first time or two but got used to it pretty quickly. Make sure that the cat is on something like tile which affords no grip.
I have an uncle who is a veterinarian and declawed many cats. Every cat he owned was declawed. Every cat he owned was an “indoor” cat (though he did have an enclosed sideyard for them to frolic in.)
His reasoning was that indoor cats can easily catch their claws in all of the fabrics we decorate our homes with. Front claws, because they are used for defense and killing prey, are longer than back claws, so it’s much easier for a cat to snag a claw on the furniture, carpet or drapes. It’s also safer for you, for other pets and for any children in the house. His advice had nothing to do with damage to the sofa – he believed any cat could easily be trained to “sharpen” claws on a claw post.
Outdoor cats, he always emphasized, should NEVER be declawed, for obvious reasons.
He writes books for Barron’s, a publisher of how-to books. Look up Dan F. Rice on Amazon.com, you’ll find most of his books still in print.
You might try a different kind of scratching post - our younger cats will use only a) human seating, e.g. the couch or the office chairs, or b) a cheap horizontal cardboard-on-edge thing. They won’t touch the pretty jute vertical one I got for them.
Our older cat will use only a) the couch or b) a tree, preferably a young one he has some hope of killing off. Since we don’t let him outside anymore, he’s down to just a).
We prevent couch abuse (and visual aesthetic abuse of couch-gazers) by covering it with a big sheet, all tucked in like a slipcover. None of the cats is interested in scratching the slipcover.
They like scratching our stuff because scratching is a territorial thing as well as claw maintenance; our stuff is obviously more desirable than their stuff since we keep it for ourselves.
If it’s between getting him declawed and getting rid of him completely… it’s better to have him in a good loving home, clawless, than to have him out on the street or in a shelter.
I see nothing wrong with declawing a cat (well, a kitten - it seems to me that it’s cruel to do to an adult cat), but I can understand the arguments of people who are against it. Comes down to personal preferences, I guess, and also the personality of the cat. If he won’t learn to stop ruining furniture, he won’t - I personally would rather have such a kitty declawed, rather than spend hundreds on repairing all the fabrics in my house, and nursing a bunch of scratches all the time. But some cats do learn to use scratching posts, and some will sit still to have their nails clipped or capped.
Tough call to make. But I hope in the long run you manage to keep the cat and the furniture.
I forgot to mention a couple of things in the OP. He is a strictly indoor cat so I don’t have to worry about him outside. Also, I really don’t think that I will end up getting rid of him. I think it would be incredibly selfish of me to send him back to the shelter or set him loose on the streets because of how I feel about my furniture. I do like what i read about the two sided tape, I’m going to have to try that. No word on whether or not vinegar or a water/vinegar solution in the squirt bottle will help?
I’ve always read that you’re supposed to squirt them when they don’t know you’re there. Like if they jump on the counters, lead them to believe that a natural consequence of jumping on the counter is getting wet. If they see you do it they’ll learn that if you catch them they get wet. Unfortunately, mine have caught on to that.
The tape thing does work. Unfortunately, Eddles has learned that he likes to chew the tape. Still doesn’t claw it, though.
What type of scratching post do you have? If it is one of those 2’ high flimsy things that tip when a cat scratches on it, that’s your problem. Cats like things that won’t tip over when they really get going on them, and most pet places sell those lightweight dealies.
I personally have huge cat tree-type things that are heavy and won’t tip.
Rewarding them lavishly when they use their scratching post (I give them Bonito flakes, which they looove).
Multiple scratching posts, including 1 that’s flat on the ground.
Trimming their nails once a week (I just wrap them in a blanket and pull out one foot at a time, they don’t love it, but it’s not terrible either).
Remembering that declawing cats actually removes their claw at the knuckle and that some cats have slow, painful recoveries and difficulties with litter in their litter box, I’ve also heard that some cats can bite more frequently (no personal experience though).
I tried to cover the declawing debate from both sides of the issue here. Although I’m opposed to routine declawing, there are some cases in which it’s the last resort before getting rid of the pet.
My reason would be that although you may want him to be an indoor-only cat, if he gets outside by accident, he has no defenses. Worse, he doesn’t know he doesn’t.
YMMV, but our cats could never stand to be cooped up indoors and we found it impossible (and felt it somewhat cruel) to prevent them from slipping out.
In some neighborhoods like mine, wild animals will make short work of a defenseless feline. Having a few household furniture items shredded is a small price to pay. You didn’t expect that your house would be totally unaltered by the presence of a pet, did you?
I didn’t really use the squirt bottle for my cat; I used a hand-clap and a loud PSST sound to startle her when she was doing something bad, and she would startle and run away. It worked for her, but she still scratches a few things I don’t like. I got a cat repellent spray, and that works as long as I remember to spray it on the stuff I don’t want her scratching. I also plan not to buy new furniture until my little furniture scratcher is gone; sometimes that’s just the way life goes. We also keep doors closed on rooms that we don’t want the cats in.
If he’s only clawing furniture in your room, can you close the door to the room when you’re not there with him? Maybe put a scratching post near the door?
My Micky does the same thing – races madly through the house to get to the back of the upholstered chair. It’s kinda cute, cuz he’s so fat – you wouldn’t think he could move that fast. He’s been using that chair for a few years, but he’s only managed to loosen some threads.
Ricky, the other cat, only claws the scratching post. It’s one of those jute things on a flimsy plastic base, but we scootched a corner of the base under a couch, so it’s sturdy enough.
I haven’t had any luck with the water squirter either - better luck with “shake cans” (a couple of pebbles in a coke can, tape over the hole) and, best results with a “scat mat” see Drs Foster and Smith (or any other pet supply catalog). Scat mats work best, since they also work when you’re not around.
I am against declawing in general, but I am enough of a realist to understand that it is necessary is some instances. Two of mine are declawed; they were that way when they came to live with me.
One thing you might try as a scratching post that my cats absolutely love is a section of tree trunk. I have a section of cedar trunk mounted on a board - make sure the board is large enough he can’t pull the tree over on him. You could contact a tree removal service to see about obtaining a piece of tree if you don’t have any just lying around.
One thing you must think about before you have the surgery done is that there is a very real chance your cat could undergo a personality change after the surgery. I have seen it in some cats who had the surgery done as adults. Mine both had the surgery done when they had their neuter surgery as kittens. It doesn’t always happen; I would say it doesn’t usually happen. But there is a chance is could happen.
If you do have it done, make sure your vet is one who will provide pain meds for the first few days after surgery. The cat still has to walk on those paws that have just had pieces removed, make it as easy on him as possible. The vet will probably recommend newspaper litter for the first week or so.
Here’s another alternative: Soft Paws. They are caps you glue onto the cats nails. You can even get 'em in purdy colours too.
Both of my cats are declawed (had them done when they were young). They still catch the furniture with their back claws and my new leather sofa has a million little holes in it. But at least it there aren’t any rips!
I’ve lived with three declawed cats. Two of them came to us that way. The third was clawing up one of the declawed ones - an elderly, timid rescue kitty - to the point of bloodying him, so had her declawed too so we could keep them both.
There are people who will tell you how terrible it is psychologically for the poor maimed kitties, but none of them seemed to notice they were declawed. (nor did the cat who lost her tail at age 6 seem to notice after a while, which was even more surprising) And a declawed cat isn’t defenseless, against a human at least… they still scratch with their back claws. All three were much better at lashing out with their back feet than any of the score of non-declawed cats we’ve had over the past 30 years.
While other things ought to be tried first - and I highly recommend trying soft claws/paws - I don’t think it’s something you should feel tremendous guilt about if it becomes the last resort. They adapt, don’t seem to feel a lot of angst about it, and are surely happier being declawed indoor cats than either being forced outdoors or given to the pound where they may have as good odds of getting put down as a new home.
Another trick that seems to work with cats who claw where they’re not supposed to is taping up a shield of aluminum foil over the area. Cats don’t like the sensation, it works when you’re not around to watch, and once Grey Boy catches on to appropriate scratching, you can take it down.
A sturdy scratch post is best, with nubbly carpet or terry-type covering, though some will prefer bark or sisal. Try different ones, and when you catch your cat scratching, don’t just squirt him til he races off – squirt him just enough to make him stop/get his attention, and then take him to the desired scratch post, put his paws on it and hold them gently, mimicking the scratching motion with them, encouraging him with soft words. If he follows through and scratches on his own, give him praise and a really good treat. Of course, this requires time, effort, and consistency, but I’ve had good success with it, and time and effort to me is less painful than the discomfort I’d feel declawing a cat.
