protect persian rug, declaw not an option

On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

"PawsForThought" wrote in message
...

I would highly recommend a good tall sturdy scratching post, one of those
cardboard scratching pads, and a cat tree. I have these for my cats and
they
do not scratch my rugs. The key is to give the cat something more
enticing
than your rug to scratch on. Glad to hear you won't consider declawing!

Having read this group for a few years now, I've seen the OP's question and
some variation of this answer over and over. (I won't declaw either, after
having declawed a cat years ago before I knew what it involved.)

I now find myself in a similar situation to the OP: I've moved into a rented
house where the entire second floor is carpeted. Taking it up is not an
option. My cat, who scratches both horizontally and vertically, has two
Cosmic Catnip scratchers (horizontal), which she uses religiously. She also
has a homemade cat tree with one post wrapped in sisal. Although she used it
in our last house, she hasn't used it to my knowledge since we moved. I also
tried a vertical sisal post on its own. She left it untouched.

Instead, she's supplementing her use of the CC scratchers with clawing at
the wall-to-wall carpet and on the chair in our bedroom. The chair is no
problem--she only scratches the back, and I've taped tin foil to the back so
she won't go at it anymore.

But what I can't figure out is how to get her to stop scratching at the
carpet. It's not localized to one area--it's in three different rooms, in
every square inch that's available to her. I keep her claws short (she's
agreeable to trimming), but it doesn't help. She still rips the loops right
out of the carpet.

I'll try the citrus idea another poster suggested. But does anyone have a
magic pill they can give me? g

Cate

"PawsForThought" wrote in message
...

I would highly recommend a good tall sturdy scratching post, one of those
cardboard scratching pads, and a cat tree. I have these for my cats and
they
do not scratch my rugs. The key is to give the cat something more
enticing
than your rug to scratch on. Glad to hear you won't consider declawing!

Having read this group for a few years now, I've seen the OP's question and
some variation of this answer over and over. (I won't declaw either, after
having declawed a cat years ago before I knew what it involved.)

I now find myself in a similar situation to the OP: I've moved into a rented
house where the entire second floor is carpeted. Taking it up is not an
option. My cat, who scratches both horizontally and vertically, has two
Cosmic Catnip scratchers (horizontal), which she uses religiously. She also
has a homemade cat tree with one post wrapped in sisal. Although she used it
in our last house, she hasn't used it to my knowledge since we moved. I also
tried a vertical sisal post on its own. She left it untouched.

Instead, she's supplementing her use of the CC scratchers with clawing at
the wall-to-wall carpet and on the chair in our bedroom. The chair is no
problem--she only scratches the back, and I've taped tin foil to the back so
she won't go at it anymore.

But what I can't figure out is how to get her to stop scratching at the
carpet. It's not localized to one area--it's in three different rooms, in
every square inch that's available to her. I keep her claws short (she's
agreeable to trimming), but it doesn't help. She still rips the loops right
out of the carpet.

I'll try the citrus idea another poster suggested. But does anyone have a
magic pill they can give me? g

Cate

"PawsForThought" wrote in message
...

I would highly recommend a good tall sturdy scratching post, one of those
cardboard scratching pads, and a cat tree. I have these for my cats and
they
do not scratch my rugs. The key is to give the cat something more
enticing
than your rug to scratch on. Glad to hear you won't consider declawing!

Having read this group for a few years now, I've seen the OP's question and
some variation of this answer over and over. (I won't declaw either, after
having declawed a cat years ago before I knew what it involved.)

I now find myself in a similar situation to the OP: I've moved into a rented
house where the entire second floor is carpeted. Taking it up is not an
option. My cat, who scratches both horizontally and vertically, has two
Cosmic Catnip scratchers (horizontal), which she uses religiously. She also
has a homemade cat tree with one post wrapped in sisal. Although she used it
in our last house, she hasn't used it to my knowledge since we moved. I also
tried a vertical sisal post on its own. She left it untouched.

Instead, she's supplementing her use of the CC scratchers with clawing at
the wall-to-wall carpet and on the chair in our bedroom. The chair is no
problem--she only scratches the back, and I've taped tin foil to the back so
she won't go at it anymore.

But what I can't figure out is how to get her to stop scratching at the
carpet. It's not localized to one area--it's in three different rooms, in
every square inch that's available to her. I keep her claws short (she's
agreeable to trimming), but it doesn't help. She still rips the loops right
out of the carpet.

I'll try the citrus idea another poster suggested. But does anyone have a
magic pill they can give me? g

Cate

m. L. Briggs wrote in message . ..
On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

Thank you all for the helpful posts, I will try all of your
suggestions and repost in a week or two. This post though I had to
answer, because the memory it stirs is both a pleasant and unpleasant
one. (The rug is 8' x 11' so a bit too big for the wall). When we
first got Shayna, the annoying 9 month old, we had already put a very
nice rug on the wall. After about a week she took a running start
then launched herself at the rug and clawed her way to the top.
Would've broken my heart if I hadn't been laughing so hard.

m. L. Briggs wrote in message . ..
On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

Thank you all for the helpful posts, I will try all of your
suggestions and repost in a week or two. This post though I had to
answer, because the memory it stirs is both a pleasant and unpleasant
one. (The rug is 8' x 11' so a bit too big for the wall). When we
first got Shayna, the annoying 9 month old, we had already put a very
nice rug on the wall. After about a week she took a running start
then launched herself at the rug and clawed her way to the top.
Would've broken my heart if I hadn't been laughing so hard.

m. L. Briggs wrote in message . ..
On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

Thank you all for the helpful posts, I will try all of your
suggestions and repost in a week or two. This post though I had to
answer, because the memory it stirs is both a pleasant and unpleasant
one. (The rug is 8' x 11' so a bit too big for the wall). When we
first got Shayna, the annoying 9 month old, we had already put a very
nice rug on the wall. After about a week she took a running start
then launched herself at the rug and clawed her way to the top.
Would've broken my heart if I hadn't been laughing so hard.

"Elijah" wrote in message
om...
m. L. Briggs wrote in message
. ..
On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

Thank you all for the helpful posts, I will try all of your
suggestions and repost in a week or two. This post though I had to
answer, because the memory it stirs is both a pleasant and unpleasant
one. (The rug is 8' x 11' so a bit too big for the wall). When we
first got Shayna, the annoying 9 month old, we had already put a very
nice rug on the wall. After about a week she took a running start
then launched herself at the rug and clawed her way to the top.
Would've broken my heart if I hadn't been laughing so hard.

This sounds like a cat tree might be a good option because it would provide
a good surface for climging and play (but without damaging your carpets).
My cats love theirs. They use the sisal-covered post as a scratching post,
and they also love to play on the tree. My little blind cat, Duffy,
especially loves it. He can't see to leap from the tree, so he travels
rapidly up and down the posts almost like a little bear. You can see the
tree (and my two cats) if you will scroll toward the bottom of the second
link under my signature. If you like it, I ordered mine from
www.createacatcondo.com. It is exceptionally sturdy and comes completely
assembled. Shipping is included in the listed price, and you can configure
to almost anything you want. I asked them to make mine a foot taller than
standard, and they did not charge anything extra.

MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Photos of Duffy and Holly (pictorial history of my blind cat Duffy's
integration into our household):
Duffy, Part I: The Introduction -- http://tinyurl.com/8y54
Duffy, Part II: Life at Home -- http://tinyurl.com/8y56

"Elijah" wrote in message
om...
m. L. Briggs wrote in message
. ..
On 23 Sep 2003 07:52:48 -0700, (Elijah) wrote:

Hiya.
Have a supremely annoying and occasionally affectionate 9-month old
kitten and an older and loving tuxedo cat. Was just given a
magnificent persian rug but it'd be a shame if the kitten tore it to
shreds and there's no way I'll declaw them. Is there any kind of
effective deterrant? I was thinking of waiting a few months until the
kitten isn't so destructive anymore, but that isnt 100% effective,
cause she'll still probably occasionally scratch it like when she's
bored, stretching or deliberately misbehaving. Any advice?
Thanks

How large is the rug? Would it be suitable to use as a wall hanging?

Thank you all for the helpful posts, I will try all of your
suggestions and repost in a week or two. This post though I had to
answer, because the memory it stirs is both a pleasant and unpleasant
one. (The rug is 8' x 11' so a bit too big for the wall). When we
first got Shayna, the annoying 9 month old, we had already put a very
nice rug on the wall. After about a week she took a running start
then launched herself at the rug and clawed her way to the top.
Would've broken my heart if I hadn't been laughing so hard.

This sounds like a cat tree might be a good option because it would provide
a good surface for climging and play (but without damaging your carpets).
My cats love theirs. They use the sisal-covered post as a scratching post,
and they also love to play on the tree. My little blind cat, Duffy,
especially loves it. He can't see to leap from the tree, so he travels
rapidly up and down the posts almost like a little bear. You can see the
tree (and my two cats) if you will scroll toward the bottom of the second
link under my signature. If you like it, I ordered mine from
www.createacatcondo.com. It is exceptionally sturdy and comes completely
assembled. Shipping is included in the listed price, and you can configure
to almost anything you want. I asked them to make mine a foot taller than
standard, and they did not charge anything extra.

MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Photos of Duffy and Holly (pictorial history of my blind cat Duffy's
integration into our household):
Duffy, Part I: The Introduction -- http://tinyurl.com/8y54
Duffy, Part II: Life at Home -- http://tinyurl.com/8y56