When you have a cat, one of the main problems you may have is that your cat scratches the furniture, and you have to find ways to prevent this occurrence or you could end up with furniture that looks like the above photo!!

One of the main reasons a cat scratches the furniture is because it wishes to exercise its muscles and sharpen its claws, as a way of keeping them healthy.  If a cat scratches the furniture, it is also placing its scent on the item, as a way of marking its territory.

My cat, Bess, has scratched the furniture for years, and in trying to stop her from performing this action, I have looked into many different ways of preventing it.  One of the main actions I wish I had taken when I first got her years ago was to buy her a scratching post, which may have prevented her from scratching the furniture.

If you wish to stop your cat from scratching the furniture, you should buy a scratching post as soon as you obtain a cat!!

Obtaining and placing a scratching post

One of the first actions you should take is to buy your cat a scratching post, but be patient as it may take your cat some time to get used to it.  The scratching post should be sturdy enough so that it does not move around when your cat scratches it.

You must ensure that the post is firmly placed on the ground so that there is no danger of it falling over onto your cat, or to anyone else in your home.  If the post is unsteady, your cat will not want to use it, and will probably become scared of it, going back to scratching your furniture.

You must ensure that the post is made out of a sturdy material.  Posts that are covered with carpet do not make very good scratching posts because the carpet is not very sturdy and will begin to fall apart when your cat scratches it.  Your cat’s claws may even become caught in the fibres, causing your cat to suffer an injury.  A fluffy post will not be interesting to your cat, and it will probably not be fulfilled if it used one.

So that your cat can fully stretch out whilst using the post, it should be taller than your cat – if the cat cannot scratch ‘properly’, it will abandon the post and go back to scratching your furniture, which is definitely an outcome you want to avoid.

Placement of the scratching post is important because you will want to place the scratching post near to the furniture your cat has scratched in the past.  If you have just obtained a cat, and it has not yet started scratching the furniture (great – keep it that way!!), you should place the post near to furniture you feel that your cat may want to scratch in the future.

It may be a good idea to have more than one scratching post if you have many areas in your home containing furniture that your cat may want to scratch.

You should place scratching posts in areas that are well frequented by your cat – if you place them in an area your cat does not go to very much, they are very unlikely to be used, and your cat will continue to scratch in the areas you do not wish it to.

If you have more than one cat, you should consider obtaining more than one scratching post – you may find that your cat does not want to use a post that has been used by another cat.  You could also avoid the situation where your cats are fighting over the post because they do not want to share it.  Each cat would know which post they ‘own’.

 

Training your cat to use the post

It may take some time to train your cat to use the post, so be patient with it and praise it when it uses the post to scratch rather than your furniture.  Give your cat a treat whenever it uses the post.

If you place your cat in front of the post, you should wait and see its reaction to it, and then, if it does not show an interest in the post, you should attempt to make the post more enticing for it.

You should place catnip on the post – this will make your cat more inclined to use it because cats love the smell of catnip, and it may become more interested in the post.  Catnip acts as a sedative when eaten by a cat, but if your cat smells the catnip, it makes it have a ‘high’.  Not all cats have the same reaction to catnip, with some cats not being affected at all.

You could always try to encourage your cat to scratch the post by holding its paws and gently running them up and down the post, but please utilise caution when using this method because cats hate to be forced into anything and this may have the opposite effect to the one you are seeking.

Another way of making your cat more inclined to use the post is to place its favourite toy on it – this may draw your cat’s attention to the post and in its attempt to get to its toy, it may discover how much fun scratching the post can be.

You could even try moving your own nails up and down the post to show your cat what it should do with the post.

If all your attempts to make your cat more inclined to use the post have failed, you could try moving the post to an alternative location to see if this new location makes your cat become more interested in it.    Try placing the scratching post horizontally rather than vertically as well – your cat may find it less threatening.

If your cat stretches a long way when it scratches the furniture, it would probably prefer a vertical post, whereas if it scratches the base of your furniture, it may prefer to use a horizontal post.

 

Stop your cat scratching the furniture

If your cat completely ignores the scratching post and continues to scratch your furniture, you should say NO in a determined and forceful tone, but you must not shout at your cat because you may scare it, and you could permanently damage the relationship you have.

As I have found when utilising the above method, one possibility you must bear in mind is that although this may stop your cat from scratching the item whilst you are present, it may not stop your cat from scratching whilst you are not around.  Your cat will begin to learn that it is only punished whilst you are around.

Another option to curb your cat’s behaviour is to spray it with water before it begins to scratch the furniture but if you are unable to do this, you can also squirt it whilst it is scratching.  Your cat may begin to associate being sprayed with water with the action they are performing, but please bear in mind that if your cat realises it is you who is doing the spraying, it could again forever tarnish your relationship with your cat because it may become scared of you.

There is always the possibility, of course, that your cat will realise it is only sprayed with water when you are there, so will just continue scratching whilst you are not present.

You could also spray the area your cat is scratching with a cleaner made of citrus fruits because many cats hate the smell given off.  To determine if your cat does indeed dislike the smell of citrus fruits, you could try placing some of the cleaner on a cloth and placing it in front of your cat.

If your cat backs away, as my cat Bess does, it is a sign that your cat dislikes the smell, so spraying the scent on your furniture may prevent it from scratching.  Not only could this prevent the occurrence of your cat scratching the furniture, your house will also smell nicer!!

Placing tin foil over the area you do not wish your cat to scratch can also act as a deterrent because some cats do not like the noise it makes when they walk on it.

If you catch your cat scratching the furniture, you could try making moves to distract it such as holding its favourite toy near it – this may distract your cat’s attention away from the furniture and on to the toy.

Spraying a cat repellent on the furniture may also have the desired outcome because it has a smell of citrus.  Your cat will not be adversely affected by the spray, but will hopefully leave the areas you have sprayed alone because it does not like the smell.  You should always spray a small area of your furniture originally to ensure that the spray does not have an adverse effect on it.

One thing you must never do to stop your cat from scratching the furniture is to hit it.  It will not understand why you are becoming angry with it, and could even attack you because it sees this attack as an assault.  It could even begin to fear you, forever jeopardising the relationship you have with your cat.

 

Stop your cat accessing the furniture it scratches

If your cat continues to scratch the furniture, whatever you do, you may find that placing double-sided tape on the furniture helps prevent your cat from scratching it because the tape will stick to your cat’s claws, making the item less appealing to scratch.

You should bear in mind, however, that placing tape on your furniture could damage it when you remove the tape.  You should only cover a small area with tape originally and then remove it to ensure that your furniture will not be damaged if you cover a larger area with the tape.

Another option would be to cover your sofa and chairs with plastic covers when you are away from the house.  Your cat will not enjoy the feeling of the plastic on its paws, and the smell emanating from it, so may leave the furniture alone.

After a period of time, you could try removing the plastic covers to see if they have stopped your cat from scratching the furniture.  Please bear in mind that the covers may make the furniture less comfortable when you sit on them.

Placing a motion detector near to the furniture may also help to prevent your cat from scratching it.  Please exercise caution when utilising this method, however, because if your cat begins to realise that you have placed the sensor there, it will associate this negative reaction with you, and will begin to fear you.  The cat could also continue to scratch the furniture, but only where you have not placed a sensor.

If there are items in a room that you definitely do not want your cat to have access to, the easiest way of preventing your cat from accessing these items is to leave the door closed.

Before you utilise this method, however, you should inform everyone in the house that the door is to remain closed so that the door is not inadvertently left open, giving your cat access to the room.  If the cat was to ever obtain access to the room, you should immediately get it out of there.

This method does not always work, however, because your cat may become curious about the room’s contents.  There is only one room in the house that my cat Bess does not have access to, which is the garage because of the dangers associated with her being there, but she is always trying to obtain access, hanging around whenever I go in and out of the area.  Please be careful.

 

Preventing your cat from scratching the furniture

Another method you can utilise if you wish to prevent your cat from scratching the furniture is to trim its claws so that it cannot do as much damage to your furniture.  You should ask your vet about the best way to trim your cat’s claws before doing it for the first time.  You do not want to inadvertently injure your cat.

If you were to let your cat go outside, it may be able to find a better item to scratch rather than your furniture.  You should encourage your cat to go outside whenever possible so that you can save your furniture.  A cat scratching a tree outside is a much better option for you than it scratching your furniture, but you must ensure that it does not do too much harm to the tree.

As tempting as it may be to have your cat declawed, this is not the best course of action because this could affect the way your cat walks, and how it interacts with the world.  It will have to learn how to walk again and will feel more vulnerable, possibly becoming more threatening and abrasive.

Another reason not to have your cat declawed is that the surgery will be very painful for it, it continuing to be in pain even after surgery.  PLEASE DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT!!