5 Easy Tips to Save Your Furniture From Your Cat’s Scratching
Did you recently adopt a new cat? Are they driving you crazy with all the scratching? Are they attacking your favorite chair or couch? In this post, I will share some easy tips that will help save your furniture from your cat’s scratching before you need new furniture, or lose your mind.
Some people choose to de-claw their cats because of the damage cats can cause to furniture. This is never advised. De-clawing is a drastic and extreme measure that can cause permanent damage to your cat, is extremely painful, and leaves your cat defenseless. There are other options that work.
- Have scratching posts or other scratching areas where your cat CAN scratch. Your cat instinctively wants to stretch and wear down their claws. outside they do this by scratching and climbing trees. Have things that you cat CAN scratch like scratching posts and cat towers to climb.
- Choose upholstery that cats don’t enjoy scratching like velvets. The more open the weave of upholstery, the more cats love scratching it. They don’t enjoy scratching on velvets or suede-type fabrics. But burlap and more loosely woven fabrics seem to call to cats. They love scratching these fabrics.
- Keep Your Cats’ claws trimmed. Cats with shorter claws scratch less.
- Spray bottle. Teach your cat that scratching on the furniture is not acceptable by saying NO while giving them a quick spritz from a water bottle. Cats learn quickly that the furniture is off-limits. But, you need to be consistent and not let your guard down.
- Double-sided sticky tape is great if you are not home all the time. Cats do not like the way double sided tape feels on their paws. This method works — but you may need to re-apply the tape often, especially if you use generic double sided tape that is commonly used for gift wrapping which is not as sticky and won’t hold up as well. But in a pinch, it will work. I used this common type of tape while I was waiting for delivery of the cat detterent tape that I ordered online. Getting the wider double-sided tape designed as a cat deterrent lasts a lot longer and is more durable. It is clear and hard to notice. It does attract hair and dirt as it is sticky on both sides. So, be ready to reapply often, at least initially.
