cat clawing furniture

I have a kitten, or at least I got her as a kitten), that seems to be much
more inclined to workout her claws on the carpet, or the furnature, or the
corner of the living room than on the scratching post I got her. She is now
about 12-14 weeks old, healthy and much like a rebellous 7 year old human
type person.

I use a water bottle to squirt her when I catch her clawing the things I do
not want her to claw, and reward her with praise and a treat whenever she
does go after her scratching post.

I do not want to have her front claws removed, but that is what I will do
before I let her ruin my furnature or carpet.

I also have a spray to discourage her from clawing at the divan, the
carpet, or the corner of the walls.

Any sound advise will be welcome.

Clyde

"clyde" wrote in message
2...
I have a kitten, or at least I got her as a kitten), that seems to be much
more inclined to workout her claws on the carpet, or the furnature, or the
corner of the living room than on the scratching post I got her. She is
now
about 12-14 weeks old, healthy and much like a rebellous 7 year old human
type person.

I use a water bottle to squirt her when I catch her clawing the things I
do
not want her to claw, and reward her with praise and a treat whenever she
does go after her scratching post.

I do not want to have her front claws removed, but that is what I will do
before I let her ruin my furnature or carpet.

I also have a spray to discourage her from clawing at the divan, the
carpet, or the corner of the walls.

Any sound advise will be welcome.



Give her something she likes to scratch more than your furniture. A scratch
pad or Alpine Scratcher, or a TALL post, not one of those stupid short ones.
By the way, you can't have her claws removed. I tried this. All you can do
is have the ends of her front toes hacked off. I did not understand that
this is what so-called "declawing" was when I did it to my first cat. The
result? She became a biter, since she knew she had no claws to defend
herself with, and she stopped covering her poo. When she got older, she had
arthritis pain in those paws and began pooping on the rug because the litter
hurt her paws. Also--quit with the water bottle. They hate loud sounds much
more. A loud NO and a clap at the same time, or a shake of a coffee can full
of marbles will work better. Good luck.

"clyde" wrote in message
2...
I have a kitten, or at least I got her as a kitten), that seems to be much
more inclined to workout her claws on the carpet, or the furnature, or the
corner of the living room than on the scratching post I got her. She is
now
about 12-14 weeks old, healthy and much like a rebellous 7 year old human
type person.

I use a water bottle to squirt her when I catch her clawing the things I
do
not want her to claw, and reward her with praise and a treat whenever she
does go after her scratching post.

I do not want to have her front claws removed, but that is what I will do
before I let her ruin my furnature or carpet.

P.S.--take her to a shelter asap if your carpet and furniture are really
worth more than she is to you. What an idiotic thing to say.

Several things to comment on:

1. Please do NOT spray her with a water bottle. You are teaching her
to be afraid of you, or to simply be more secretive about her
scratching. Neither is helpful to you or her.

2. What kind of scratcher do you have? How many scratchers do you have
around the house? What material is the scratcher made out of? Does she
scratch vertically or horizontally? You need to adjust what kind of
scratchers you have to what she prefers. A really great scratcher
(that I recently purchased for our five-month old kitten) is the
Ultimate Cat Scratcher. I got the best price on Amazon. It's a tall,
sturdy scratcher that a lot of cats like.

3. Instead of spraying her when she scratches undesirable areas, put a
scratcher near that area and make the other area less desirable. Using
tin foil or a double-sided tape called Sticky Paws works great.

4. Do you trim her nails regularly?

5. To entice her to the scratchers, rub or spray catnip on them, and
rub your nails against them. Drag a toy near or up them so she can get
used to the feel of them. Place them in centrally located areas in the
house, not tucked away in the corner. Cats like to scratch after a nap
or a meal, so have them accessible. Praise her when she scratches on
them.

6. If all else fails, you can buy a product called Soft Paws, which
are plastic caps you glue onto the nails (you can do it at home or
have your vet do this). They stay on 4-6 weeks.

Please do NOT declaw her. It's a cruel, unnecessary procedure that is
illegal in many countries. Here is a good article you should read:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=002

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"clyde" wrote in message
2...
I have a kitten, or at least I got her as a kitten), that seems to be much
more inclined to workout her claws on the carpet, or the furnature, or
the
corner of the living room than on the scratching post I got her. She is
now
about 12-14 weeks old, healthy and much like a rebellous 7 year old human
type person.

I use a water bottle to squirt her when I catch her clawing the things I
do
not want her to claw, and reward her with praise and a treat whenever she
does go after her scratching post.

I do not want to have her front claws removed, but that is what I will do
before I let her ruin my furnature or carpet.

P.S.--take her to a shelter asap if your carpet and furniture are really
worth more than she is to you. What an idiotic thing to say.


Cyber when I looked at his post I saw it was from a remailer So I don't put
too much towards the post when I read his stupid statement.

wrote in news:4b131bf0-7b7d-4ed8-9086-
:

Several things to comment on:

1. Please do NOT spray her with a water bottle. You are teaching her
to be afraid of you, or to simply be more secretive about her
scratching. Neither is helpful to you or her.

I will keep this in mind.


2. What kind of scratcher do you have?

It is a three level structure with a five inch post connecting the three
levels togather. The post is covered with something that looks like the
back of a carpet. The three platforms are covered with a carpet,
similar to what I have in my house except a different color. The top
platform has a large hole in it for kitty to crawl through. Overall it
is about three feet high. It seemed adaquat when our kitten was ten
weeks old, but now she is too big for this scratcher, and she is only
about half grown. She does scratch on this scratcher, but then she also
scratches on the house carpet, some of the furnature, and sometimes on
the corners of the papered walls.


How many scratchers do you have
around the house?

We have only one, but tomorrow that will change.


What material is the scratcher made out of? Does she
scratch vertically or horizontally?

Both.


You need to adjust what kind of
scratchers you have to what she prefers. A really great scratcher
(that I recently purchased for our five-month old kitten) is the
Ultimate Cat Scratcher. I got the best price on Amazon. It's a tall,
sturdy scratcher that a lot of cats like.

Is "Ultimate Cat Scratcher" a trade name?

3. Instead of spraying her when she scratches undesirable areas, put a
scratcher near that area and make the other area less desirable. Using
tin foil or a double-sided tape called Sticky Paws works great.

I will try these also this weekend.

4. Do you trim her nails regularly?

No. We have tried to trim the claws on other cats that we have owned,
and the procedure left the claws so jagged that it was worse than the
un-trimmed claws.

5. To entice her to the scratchers, rub or spray catnip on them,

Havn't tried this yet.

and
rub your nails against them. Drag a toy near or up them so she can get
used to the feel of them. Place them in centrally located areas in the
house, not tucked away in the corner. Cats like to scratch after a nap
or a meal, so have them accessible. Praise her when she scratches on
them.

6. If all else fails, you can buy a product called Soft Paws, which
are plastic caps you glue onto the nails (you can do it at home or
have your vet do this). They stay on 4-6 weeks.



Please do NOT declaw her. It's a cruel, unnecessary procedure that is
illegal in many countries.

I agree 100%. We have had cats that we had de-clawed and one of them
(litter mates) limped from time to time throughout her 14 year life, and
neither of them would ever cover their "poop".


Here is a good article you should read:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=002

B.T.W. I am not responsible for any spelling errors as my kitten is
helping me by sitting on the function keys from time to time and
slapping at the cursor.

Is "Ultimate Cat Scratcher" a trade name?

Yes, it is. It's made by Smart Cat. You can find stores near you that
sell it on their web site. On this page, in the middle is a photo of
the scratcher. It's a nice, sturdy piece of furniture.
http://www.esmartcat.com/index.htm

You might also try a couple of cardboard scratchers. They're
inexpensive and when one side is worn, you can flip to the other side.
There's an angled cardboard version with holes and a toy on one side
that our kitten (five months) loves. It was only $12. One brand is the
Alpine Scratcher, but Petsmart has a similar style in their own brand.


4. Do you trim her nails regularly?

No. *We have tried to trim the claws on other cats that we have owned,
and the procedure left the claws so jagged that it was worse than the
un-trimmed claws.

There's a trimmer that looks like a little scissors. It works better
than the cheaper kind, and a bonus is that it's quiet. I got mine for
about $10 in a pet store.


I hope these tips work for you. Please report back on how things are
going!

Rene

"clyde" wrote
4. Do you trim her nails regularly?

No. We have tried to trim the claws on other cats that we have owned,
and the procedure left the claws so jagged that it was worse than the
un-trimmed claws.


We do it once a month, and it keeps them from being able to scratch at all.

clyde wrote:
wrote in news:4b131bf0-7b7d-4ed8-9086-
:

Several things to comment on:

1. Please do NOT spray her with a water bottle. You are teaching her
to be afraid of you, or to simply be more secretive about her
scratching. Neither is helpful to you or her.

I will keep this in mind.

2. What kind of scratcher do you have?

It is a three level structure with a five inch post connecting the three
levels togather. The post is covered with something that looks like the
back of a carpet. The three platforms are covered with a carpet,
similar to what I have in my house except a different color. The top
platform has a large hole in it for kitty to crawl through. Overall it
is about three feet high. It seemed adaquat when our kitten was ten
weeks old, but now she is too big for this scratcher, and she is only
about half grown. She does scratch on this scratcher, but then she also
scratches on the house carpet, some of the furnature, and sometimes on
the corners of the papered walls.


How many scratchers do you have
around the house?

We have only one, but tomorrow that will change.


What material is the scratcher made out of? Does she
scratch vertically or horizontally?

Both.


You need to adjust what kind of
scratchers you have to what she prefers. A really great scratcher
(that I recently purchased for our five-month old kitten) is the
Ultimate Cat Scratcher. I got the best price on Amazon. It's a tall,
sturdy scratcher that a lot of cats like.

Is "Ultimate Cat Scratcher" a trade name?
3. Instead of spraying her when she scratches undesirable areas, put a
scratcher near that area and make the other area less desirable. Using
tin foil or a double-sided tape called Sticky Paws works great.

I will try these also this weekend.
4. Do you trim her nails regularly?

No. We have tried to trim the claws on other cats that we have owned,
and the procedure left the claws so jagged that it was worse than the
un-trimmed claws.
5. To entice her to the scratchers, rub or spray catnip on them,

Havn't tried this yet.

and
rub your nails against them. Drag a toy near or up them so she can get
used to the feel of them. Place them in centrally located areas in the
house, not tucked away in the corner. Cats like to scratch after a nap
or a meal, so have them accessible. Praise her when she scratches on
them.

6. If all else fails, you can buy a product called Soft Paws, which
are plastic caps you glue onto the nails (you can do it at home or
have your vet do this). They stay on 4-6 weeks.



Please do NOT declaw her. It's a cruel, unnecessary procedure that is
illegal in many countries.

I agree 100%. We have had cats that we had de-clawed and one of them
(litter mates) limped from time to time throughout her 14 year life, and
neither of them would ever cover their "poop".


Here is a good article you should read:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=002

B.T.W. I am not responsible for any spelling errors as my kitten is
helping me by sitting on the function keys from time to time and
slapping at the cursor.



Another thing to try is that two-sided tape to put places you don't want
then scratching. They hate the tacky feeling on their feet and quickly
go elsewhere. After a couple weeks you can remove it completely. I have
broken cats from various areas of the house permanently using it -
certain counters, furniture edges, etc.

On Feb 5, 10:32*am, clyde wrote:
I have a kitten, or at least I got her as a kitten), that seems to be much
more inclined to workout her claws on the carpet, or the furnature, or the
corner of the living room than on the scratching post I got her. She is now
about 12-14 weeks old, healthy and much like a rebellous 7 year old human
type person.

I use a water bottle to squirt her when I catch her clawing the things I do
not want her to claw, and reward her with praise and a treat whenever she
does go after her scratching post.

I do not want to have her front claws removed, but that is what I will do
before I let her ruin my furnature or carpet.

I also have a spray to discourage her from clawing at the divan, the
carpet, or the corner of the walls.

Any sound advise will be welcome.

Clyde

Try putting tin foil over the areas your kitty likes to claw, and then
put a scratching post near the area. As the cat learns to scratch the
post, move the post away from the foil-covered area a foot a day until
it's in a location you prefer. Try spraying catnip spray on the post
too...they love that smell.