Scratch posts & carpet stains.

Hello all:
I am trying to"convert" my 2 indoor cats to using the sisal
rope-wrapped scratch posts, from the carpet-wrapped sort, principally
because one of my pair has started to sharpen her claws on the
carpeted stair risers of my wall-to-wall rug (an understandable
confusion on the cat's part) .

Think I am making progress, but is there any shrewder way to persuade
them to embrace (with their claws) the new posts, other than with
smearing them with catnip?

Also, I have some permanent rug stains, from hairball-hurling, which
won't yield to various stain removers and which are now "set". I tend
to blame the artificial coloring in much dry cat food. Anyone found a
fool-proof,never-fail substance to apply to the stains?

Thanks for any information.
Blair.

On Aug 17, 2:38 pm, blair thompson wrote:
Hello all:
I am trying to"convert" my 2 indoor cats to using the sisal
rope-wrapped scratch posts, from the carpet-wrapped sort, principally
because one of my pair has started to sharpen her claws on the
carpeted stair risers of my wall-to-wall rug (an understandable
confusion on the cat's part) .

Think I am making progress, but is there any shrewder way to persuade
them to embrace (with their claws) the new posts, other than with
smearing them with catnip?

Put the new posts right by the stair risers. When they use the new
posts, praise them and make a big deal of it. You can slowly move the
posts to another location once they are using them regularly. Make
sure the posts are visable areas near where they sleep and not hidden
away. Also, do they like the sisal posts---some cats prefer cardboard
posts or even a piece of wood. It depends on the cat.

Also, I have some permanent rug stains, from hairball-hurling, which
won't yield to various stain removers and which are now "set". I tend
to blame the artificial coloring in much dry cat food. Anyone found a
fool-proof,never-fail substance to apply to the stains?

I've had good luck with the Oxiclean powder mixed with hot water. Coat
the area generously and blot with a towel to remove as much moisture
as you can from the rug. Repeat if necessary.

Of course, to prevent such stains in the future, it would be a good
idea to switch to a better-quality food, such as canned or raw, which
doesn't have this coloring.

Suddenly, without warning, blair thompson exclaimed (8/18/2007 5:08 AM):
Hello all:
I am trying to"convert" my 2 indoor cats to using the sisal
rope-wrapped scratch posts, from the carpet-wrapped sort, principally
because one of my pair has started to sharpen her claws on the
carpeted stair risers of my wall-to-wall rug (an understandable
confusion on the cat's part) .

Think I am making progress, but is there any shrewder way to persuade
them to embrace (with their claws) the new posts, other than with
smearing them with catnip?


Probably not. My cat is 11 now, has abhorred sisal since she was a
kitten. She always has a sisal post on her cat tree, and always ignores it.

I don't think it's an understandable confusion. You just haven't made
it clear yet that there's appropriate, and inappropriate, places to scratch.

I think it'll be easier to just train them not to use the stair risers,
rather than to convince them to use a surface they don't like. I'm not
sure how to do that for an adult cat - for a kitten whenever I caught
her scratching someplace she shouldn't, I'd taker her to the appropriate
post and place her paws on it.

Since about the second week we've had her, I've never caught Meep
scratching anywhere she shouldn't.

Some cats also prefer scratching horizontally, rather than vertical.
You can get scratching 'posts' for this preference too. If you have
trouble finding one, try looking for a scratching board that hangs on a
doornob, and just place that on the floor...

If the type of carpet on your post is very different from the stairs, it
may be that they prefer the feel- try to find posts (or furniture) that
use a similar carpeting, if you can.

For now, I'd consider placing something non-scratchable on the stairs -
plastic runner, or Sticky Paws, which are large strips of double-sided tape.

Good luck!

jmc