[dreadpiratebob101]

I have moved into a new apartment and have no furniture besides an office chair that is extremely scratched up. I am planning on buying a new couch and office chair but I would like to have the means to fortify them to be cat proof. I have clipped her nails before which helps and I have also purchased a small water gun and tested it over the course of a couple months squirting her when she scratches the couch. Both of these work decent but are not 100%. She only scratches the bottom parts of the side and fronts of the couch and top of the office chair. I feel like If I could find a scratch post like material and screw/tape on to the spots I know she will scratch that I might be able to solve the issue. Anyone with any experience/knowledge on the situation please help

 

[marie73]

From Day 1 of having cats, I put scratchers on both ends of my sofa, loveseat, etc.

I don't really need them at this point, 15+ years later, but my girls love their scratchers. I mean, seriously love them, they claim them as soon as they arrive and even sleep on them.

You can also buy scratchers with sisal material, which my girls also love.

Microfiber furniture is easy to clean up messes (hairballs). You can buy double-sided tape and put it on places you know your cat will scratch.

The one thing you really can't protect your furniture from is when cats go into their rocketbutt mode and race around the house, running along the backs of sofas, chairs, etc. This is mostly only bad for leather furniture or office chairs. My girls loved sitting on the back of my office chair, which was leather, but used, so I didn't care. They didn't mean any harm, but their little nails punctured the material simply by them jumping up there.

 

[ahh I aint no pet!]

From Day 1 of having cats, I put scratchers on both ends of my sofa, loveseat, etc.

View attachment 133077
I don't really need them at this point, 15+ years later, but my girls love their scratchers. I mean, seriously love them, they claim them as soon as they arrive and even sleep on them.

You can also buy scratchers with sisal material, which my girls also love.
View attachment 133078
Microfiber furniture is easy to clean up messes (hairballs). You can buy double-sided tape and put it on places you know your cat will scratch.

The one thing you really can't protect your furniture from is when cats go into their rocketbutt mode and race around the house, running along the backs of sofas, chairs, etc. This is mostly only bad for leather furniture or office chairs. My girls loved sitting on the back of my office chair, which was leather, but used, so I didn't care. They didn't mean any harm, but their little nails punctured the material simply by them jumping up there.

Marie's given you pick of the litter advice so the stuff I can add come from Jackson Galaxy How to stop your cat from scratching your furniture -- Just cut and paste that into a search and up you got him. Look at what he says about having lots of cat posts and climbing condos that are the YES for all the scratching a cat MUST do to keep healthy. Scratching isn't a bad habit its a got to do thing for a cat. He suggests rubbing cat nip on the scratching post or dangle your cats fav toy from it. Working as hard on the Yes as on telling the cat no -- will really make a difference. Cats are hunters so --- a cat's gotta cat -- maybe try parking the squirt bottle and point him to that cat nip rich rubbed post.

 

[miscellaneous]

Squirting cats with water may stop them temporarily but can also cause fear, mistrust, and other behavior issues. It also doesn't teach them what is acceptable and what is not, so we need to provide them with alternatives.

We have several different types of scratchers with some flat like the Turbo Scratcher with ball, some upright ones, some made of cardboard and some sisal. I put them in different areas around the house so they always have one nearby, and showed my girls how to use them by scratching my fingers on the posts while they watched, then giving them praise when they did it. Worked for us! Try the very good suggestions from posters above, and if you're still having trouble, remember... throw-blankets are your friend.