Scrathing Post Question

Hi all. I have a 11 week old kitten called Darwin. I adopted
him 3 week ago.
Every morning he tares around the house and
"attacks" his scratching post (which is good). All of a sudden this morning
I noticed he never used the post but attempted to use
the arms of my couch. Any reason why he would discontinue
using his scratching post? It was the first thing I introduced to
him when I brought him home.

The couch is bigger and heavier than the post. This way he can really attack it
and it won't move. I wedge my cat post under the side of the couch and put a
weight on the bottom so my cat can attack it all she likes. Don't let him
attack your couch. You need to stop the behavior now. Below are some tips.

1. Hopefully he likes catnip. If so, rub it all over the scratching post. If he
still doesn't use it, take his little paws and scratch the post with them and
tell him he's a good kitty. Scratch the post yourself in front of him. Remember
to associate positive things with acceptable clawing and negative things with
unacceptable clawing like the word "no."

2. Try a scratching mat. Some prefer horizontal over vetical surfaces.

3. Try sisal, rug, cardboard, fabric... covered trees or mat. Some even like
plain wood. You can get cheap thin door mats and staple gun them to a cat tree.
Use canvas if he really likes fabric. Be sure the stapes go vertical like this
"|" and not horizontal like this "--" so they don't get their claws stuck in
there.

4. Put double sided tape where he likes to scratch. They won't like the
stickiness. They may then scratch a few inches over from the tape so be
prepared to add more. Keep no. 5 in mind when using the tape.

5. Don't let him in that room where he scratches when you're not around. When
you're around stand gaurd with a squirt gun and squirt him from a distance when
he scratches the furniture. If he's real persistent, put a little bit of
vinegar in the squirt gun. Don't get him in the face. You can also yell "NO!"
when he scratches there. I also like to take him away from that area instantly
and take him to the scratchy tree, hold his paws and help him scratch while
praising him. Make it a fun experience, don't hold him forcefully or he'll fear
the kitty tree. Make everything associated with the kitty tree positive. I
sometimes will put a scratchy tree close to the furniture they are clawing so
they have a nearby alternative.

6. Put vinegar where he scratches. They don't like the smell.

7. Try some of that "cat away" spray.

8. Try a "scat mat" where he is scratching.

9. Get rid of fabric furniture with vertical fabric sides. Get THICK baggy
distressed leather or wood sofa and chairs.

10. Try soft paws. http://www.softpaws.com/

11. Try trimming his claws every ten days. Some trim once a week.

12. Whenever you see him clawing appropriately, praise and reward him lavishly.
Continue to praise him forever or he may get lazy.

13. Try Feliway to calm them down, found in most pet stores.

14. Make sure your cat tree is tall and heavy enough. Big kitties will topple a
small light one with a small base then they may fear the tree. I put weights on
the bottom of mine. I get the big ones. I also have a multi-tier cat tree they
like to rip up.

15. Try this product, a cat tree that attaches to the side of your couch.
http://www.birminghamind.com/Scratchaway/index.html

16. Try some "no mark" spray. It may keep them from spraying and/or scratching.

17. Put upside down floor runners pointy side up near where he is scratching.
This way he won't be able to stand close enough to scratch because it will be
uncomfortable on his feet.

18. Try an angled scratchy post or a scratchy teepee. Some prefer clawing at an
angle.

"JamesJ" wrote in message
...


I should've said I have no intention of de-clawing him.
He's just going to have to get used to getting his nails trimmed.

Thanks for the info,
James

I'm glad to hear that. A lot of people don't seem to know what is involved
and the vets aren't telling them.

"JamesJ" wrote in message
...


I should've said I have no intention of de-clawing him.
He's just going to have to get used to getting his nails trimmed.

Thanks for the info,
James

I'm glad to hear that. A lot of people don't seem to know what is involved
and the vets aren't telling them.

Darwin is my 6th cat and I have gotten all declawed but this was before I
realized what was involved. Like you say it's an amputation.
I can say one thing 'bout my vet. I didn't ask him to clip his nails...
he did it free of charge. Maybe he's getting away from performing
the operation.

James

"Wendy" wrote in message
...

"JamesJ" wrote in message
...


I should've said I have no intention of de-clawing him.
He's just going to have to get used to getting his nails trimmed.

Thanks for the info,
James

I'm glad to hear that. A lot of people don't seem to know what is involved
and the vets aren't telling them.

Darwin is my 6th cat and I have gotten all declawed but this was before I
realized what was involved. Like you say it's an amputation.
I can say one thing 'bout my vet. I didn't ask him to clip his nails...
he did it free of charge. Maybe he's getting away from performing
the operation.

James

"Wendy" wrote in message
...

"JamesJ" wrote in message
...


I should've said I have no intention of de-clawing him.
He's just going to have to get used to getting his nails trimmed.

Thanks for the info,
James

I'm glad to hear that. A lot of people don't seem to know what is involved
and the vets aren't telling them.

I rubbed his paws on it first thing. When he "grabs" the end of
the couch and I catch him I simply clap and say no! and he stops.

Thanks for all the advice, It is appreciated,
James

"Mary" wrote in message
...
Hi all. I have a 11 week old kitten called Darwin. I adopted
him 3 week ago.
Every morning he tares around the house and
"attacks" his scratching post (which is good). All of a sudden this
morning
I noticed he never used the post but attempted to use
the arms of my couch. Any reason why he would discontinue
using his scratching post? It was the first thing I introduced to
him when I brought him home.

The couch is bigger and heavier than the post. This way he can really
attack it
and it won't move. I wedge my cat post under the side of the couch and put
a
weight on the bottom so my cat can attack it all she likes. Don't let him
attack your couch. You need to stop the behavior now. Below are some tips.

1. Hopefully he likes catnip. If so, rub it all over the scratching post.
If he
still doesn't use it, take his little paws and scratch the post with them
and
tell him he's a good kitty. Scratch the post yourself in front of him.
Remember
to associate positive things with acceptable clawing and negative things
with
unacceptable clawing like the word "no."

2. Try a scratching mat. Some prefer horizontal over vetical surfaces.

3. Try sisal, rug, cardboard, fabric... covered trees or mat. Some even
like
plain wood. You can get cheap thin door mats and staple gun them to a cat
tree.
Use canvas if he really likes fabric. Be sure the stapes go vertical like
this
"|" and not horizontal like this "--" so they don't get their claws stuck
in
there.

4. Put double sided tape where he likes to scratch. They won't like the
stickiness. They may then scratch a few inches over from the tape so be
prepared to add more. Keep no. 5 in mind when using the tape.

5. Don't let him in that room where he scratches when you're not around.
When
you're around stand gaurd with a squirt gun and squirt him from a distance
when
he scratches the furniture. If he's real persistent, put a little bit of
vinegar in the squirt gun. Don't get him in the face. You can also yell
"NO!"
when he scratches there. I also like to take him away from that area
instantly
and take him to the scratchy tree, hold his paws and help him scratch
while
praising him. Make it a fun experience, don't hold him forcefully or he'll
fear
the kitty tree. Make everything associated with the kitty tree positive. I
sometimes will put a scratchy tree close to the furniture they are clawing
so
they have a nearby alternative.

6. Put vinegar where he scratches. They don't like the smell.

7. Try some of that "cat away" spray.

8. Try a "scat mat" where he is scratching.

9. Get rid of fabric furniture with vertical fabric sides. Get THICK baggy
distressed leather or wood sofa and chairs.

10. Try soft paws. http://www.softpaws.com/

11. Try trimming his claws every ten days. Some trim once a week.

12. Whenever you see him clawing appropriately, praise and reward him
lavishly.
Continue to praise him forever or he may get lazy.

13. Try Feliway to calm them down, found in most pet stores.

14. Make sure your cat tree is tall and heavy enough. Big kitties will
topple a
small light one with a small base then they may fear the tree. I put
weights on
the bottom of mine. I get the big ones. I also have a multi-tier cat tree
they
like to rip up.

15. Try this product, a cat tree that attaches to the side of your couch.
http://www.birminghamind.com/Scratchaway/index.html

16. Try some "no mark" spray. It may keep them from spraying and/or
scratching.

17. Put upside down floor runners pointy side up near where he is
scratching.
This way he won't be able to stand close enough to scratch because it will
be
uncomfortable on his feet.

18. Try an angled scratchy post or a scratchy teepee. Some prefer clawing
at an
angle.

I rubbed his paws on it first thing. When he "grabs" the end of
the couch and I catch him I simply clap and say no! and he stops.

Thanks for all the advice, It is appreciated,
James

"Mary" wrote in message
...
Hi all. I have a 11 week old kitten called Darwin. I adopted
him 3 week ago.
Every morning he tares around the house and
"attacks" his scratching post (which is good). All of a sudden this
morning
I noticed he never used the post but attempted to use
the arms of my couch. Any reason why he would discontinue
using his scratching post? It was the first thing I introduced to
him when I brought him home.

The couch is bigger and heavier than the post. This way he can really
attack it
and it won't move. I wedge my cat post under the side of the couch and put
a
weight on the bottom so my cat can attack it all she likes. Don't let him
attack your couch. You need to stop the behavior now. Below are some tips.

1. Hopefully he likes catnip. If so, rub it all over the scratching post.
If he
still doesn't use it, take his little paws and scratch the post with them
and
tell him he's a good kitty. Scratch the post yourself in front of him.
Remember
to associate positive things with acceptable clawing and negative things
with
unacceptable clawing like the word "no."

2. Try a scratching mat. Some prefer horizontal over vetical surfaces.

3. Try sisal, rug, cardboard, fabric... covered trees or mat. Some even
like
plain wood. You can get cheap thin door mats and staple gun them to a cat
tree.
Use canvas if he really likes fabric. Be sure the stapes go vertical like
this
"|" and not horizontal like this "--" so they don't get their claws stuck
in
there.

4. Put double sided tape where he likes to scratch. They won't like the
stickiness. They may then scratch a few inches over from the tape so be
prepared to add more. Keep no. 5 in mind when using the tape.

5. Don't let him in that room where he scratches when you're not around.
When
you're around stand gaurd with a squirt gun and squirt him from a distance
when
he scratches the furniture. If he's real persistent, put a little bit of
vinegar in the squirt gun. Don't get him in the face. You can also yell
"NO!"
when he scratches there. I also like to take him away from that area
instantly
and take him to the scratchy tree, hold his paws and help him scratch
while
praising him. Make it a fun experience, don't hold him forcefully or he'll
fear
the kitty tree. Make everything associated with the kitty tree positive. I
sometimes will put a scratchy tree close to the furniture they are clawing
so
they have a nearby alternative.

6. Put vinegar where he scratches. They don't like the smell.

7. Try some of that "cat away" spray.

8. Try a "scat mat" where he is scratching.

9. Get rid of fabric furniture with vertical fabric sides. Get THICK baggy
distressed leather or wood sofa and chairs.

10. Try soft paws. http://www.softpaws.com/

11. Try trimming his claws every ten days. Some trim once a week.

12. Whenever you see him clawing appropriately, praise and reward him
lavishly.
Continue to praise him forever or he may get lazy.

13. Try Feliway to calm them down, found in most pet stores.

14. Make sure your cat tree is tall and heavy enough. Big kitties will
topple a
small light one with a small base then they may fear the tree. I put
weights on
the bottom of mine. I get the big ones. I also have a multi-tier cat tree
they
like to rip up.

15. Try this product, a cat tree that attaches to the side of your couch.
http://www.birminghamind.com/Scratchaway/index.html

16. Try some "no mark" spray. It may keep them from spraying and/or
scratching.

17. Put upside down floor runners pointy side up near where he is
scratching.
This way he won't be able to stand close enough to scratch because it will
be
uncomfortable on his feet.

18. Try an angled scratchy post or a scratchy teepee. Some prefer clawing
at an
angle.