<p>Our cats are purebred (Maine Coons and now Ragdolls) so maybe that is why they got the message. It just hasn’t been a problem. The one Ragdoll kitten does scratch the front of these old speakers of H’s, but we really sort of allowed it… We are NOT great disciplinarians and the bigger problem we have is cruising the counters and getting into our food.</p>
<p>We never had this problem with any of our cats until I bought some good quality carpeting for this house. I had wall to wall installed on the stairs and upstairs hallway to mute the thundering hooves of our kids. As the installer was putting down the carpeting, our cat was ripping it into shreds. Fortunately there was enough extra that he was able to redo what she damaged. But for whatever reason, she could not keep her claws off of the carpet and I was constantly watching her. Tried everything. The only thing that worked was putting aluminum foil or bubble wrap over the carpet, but I was not going to live that way.</p>
<p>Then ripped up one of my oriental rugs; just wrecked it. One that we had had with her for years. I guess she was just frustrated that she could not get to the carpet she wanted. </p>
<p>At that point, I decided that the claws had to go. She was not a young cat at that time; in fact nearly 10 years old. The vet was not happy to do the declawing, but I was adament. It was the claws or the cat. Yeah, I wanted to keep my carpets. So she was declawed at that age. Lived another 9 years, and did not have any problems with the declawing procedure. That ended the problem. </p>
<p>We are going to be getting a kitten this year. It will be declawed, as I do not want to deal with my furniture and carpeting being wrecked. They can totally ruin your stuff, and I am not in the postion to replace it.</p>
<p>Certain cats are attracted to certain textures. Some are vertical clawers, and some prefer to scratch at horizontal surfaces. My current cat is a vertical sisal clawer.</p>
<p>We did declaw our previous kitty, but furniture had nothing to do with it. The cat had a habit of sneaking onto D’s pillow at night and, if spooked by some noises, launching into the air then landing on D’s head with all claws out. After two strikes, H said that he was not waiting for the third.</p>
<p>I clip my new cat’s claws on a regular basis. She gets wrapped in a blanket like a mummy, and it takes me just a few moments to finish the job. She can meow and squirm as much as she wants.</p>
<p>I also know someone whose cat suddenly decided to destroy a new sofa after years of never scratching the furniture. She was an strong believer of not declawing, and held fast even after that expensive sofa that she had so coveted for so long was ruined. </p>
<p>The problem is the cat is now on a rampage after the curtains, rugs and other furniture. They are consulting with some vets and behaviorists and I’ll post if they come to any solution. I am thinking those claws are going to go if the cat does not stop the clawing.</p>
<p>We clip our cat’s claws every week or two. As soon as she sees the clippers, she starts to purr, because she got used to having my H rub her tummy while I cut her nails. So spoiled!</p>
<p>Momofwildchild, my cats are Maine Coons too…all came from breeders and I am convinced that is why they don’t claw anything but their scratching post.
I also have two outdoor strays that live in my garage. They have an abundance of trees at their disposal, yet choose to claw the wooden frame of our hot tub.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can depend on animals not to suddenly start scratching or ruining something. I 've heard of too many spontaneous cases in pets that folks have had for years, including my own cat. </p>
<p>I also had a dog who inexpicably chewed up a step one day. He was no longer a pup and had stopped chewing on things for a long time, and for some reason, one day, he ate a piece of my step going down into the mud room. Maybe something tasty spilled on it. He nearly lost his teeth for that one, as the thing he had chewed up before that some years ago had been my sofa as he lay at my feet.</p>
<p>LIght tack double stick tape works pretty well – cats HATE getting their paws stuck. It’s available specifically for cats scratching in the pet store … called Sticky Paws.</p>
<p>I must sound like a horrible pet owner but our 2 cats (brother and sister) were declawed and fixed all in one visit when they were kittens. They are now almost 9 yrs old. The female still ‘claw’s’ away at speaker covers, chair coverings and anything else she finds. The male still ‘claws’ away at every door frame in our home. These were our first pets to ever be declawed. I do not regret the decision.</p>
<p>Six cats own me. We had 3 declawed, 1 came from the shelter already declawed, the evil rotten baby will be getting hers done ASAP (no force on earth is strong enough to overcome her willpower to do whatever she feels like doing!). The only one that will remain clawed is the one that lives in the enclosed patio because she flat refuses to come in the house even though the door is open in the evenings and most of the weekend.</p>
<p>Yes, I know it’s a painful procedure, but furniture is very expensive and needs to last a very long time. My vet sends them home with beef flavored pain liquid and they’re fine in a few days. None of them seem to hold it against me.</p>
<p>cnp55, I second the double-sticky tape. It is the only thing that worked for my friend to keep her cat off her furniture. My cat, bless her heart, is not a jumper, she can’t even jump on the kitchen table! But she can run really fast.</p>
<p>Many destructive cats (and dogs) are bored. It is often a people problem - not an animal problem. Many people seem to think that cats are content just sitting around all day in the house - and that they stay mentally healthy that way. Most young cats need exercise and lots of play. I always recommend that you never get one cat. Two are not much more work than one and they entertain each other and get rid of the excess energy. It is best to get the two together so you don’t have as much chance that they won’t get along.</p>
<p>Another common mistake is providing a scratching post that wobbles or moves in any way. Most cats won’t scratch on one that is not secure - the best ones go from floor to ceiling and have different types of materials on them. A 4x4 from floor to ceiling covered with carpet with little sitting areas at various heights will provide lots of play time and scratching surfaces. They are not hard to make and provide both scratching areas and places for them to both sit on and pounce from. Cats love to sit up above everyone else and observe - especially if they have a view outside. Window seats are also great. </p>
<p>The double sided tape works too. If they even touch a piece of furniture with claws, immediately react with whatever scares them away and then put double sided tape on it - you won’t have to keep it there forever.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. Long ago I took the view that if any one situation causes me too much stress just thinking about it, then I need to step back and let it go, at least for a while. That’s what I’ve decided to do with my cat adoption, I’m going to put it off for a while. Based on what I’m feeling and what I’ve read from you all, declawing is going to be my only option if I do decide to ultimately adopt.</p>
<p>If your preference is declawed, please go to the shelter first, then your local Petsmart or Petco when the local animal rescue groups bring in pets for adoption. You can also go on Petfinder.com.</p>
<p>Many people are transferred, join the military, get deployed, or lose their home, and will bring their declawed, pampered pet to a local rescue group rather than the shelter, because they feel they will less likely be put down. One nationally known no-kill shelter is North Shore Animal League.</p>
<p>Many of these cats have already been vaccinated, spayed or neutered, tested for FeLeuk and FIV.</p>
<p>I have never declawed my cats, and my furniture is all wrecked. Too bad! My husband says we’ll never have anything nice. Too bad! At least I can save money for more important things in life, like tuition!</p>
<p>But seriously, after Katrina, we replaced our sofa and love seat with a futon with matching love seat that had wood framing. They were our beds during the evacuation. They are very nice, and the cats like to sleep on them, because they have our scent. They have not clawed them, and we’ve had them for three years now!</p>
<p>Another vote for the two-sided sticky tape. Put it on the corners of the backs of your chairs or whatever the cat is scratching. They hate it. Unfortunately, my cat just moves on to another target. </p>
<p>Also my dad had great success with a taller-than-normal scratching post with rope wrapped around the middle of it. He has a live catnip plant; every few days he plucks a few leaves and rubs them on the scratching post. He keeps the scratching post near his favorite chair - formerly his cat’s favorite scratching target - and now the cat uses the scratching post instead of the chair.</p>
<p>Bubble wrap and alum foil also work. Heck, I guess we can use those plastic furniture covers to keep the cats from scratching them up.</p>
<p>If all else fails, get an Akita – guaranteed to make your cat disappear . . . just kidding. :-)</p>
<p>We have had pretty good success getting cats to do their scratching on sisal scratching posts. Kittens are a different story. They are like toddlers and it can take a lot of patience and repetition to train them, but it is possible within reason. If you are concerned about perfect cat behavior, I would recommend skipping the kittens and get an adult cat 3 years old or older. They start to mellow out about that age.</p>
<p>We put our 19 year old cat to sleep last May and got two 3 month old shelter kitties in August, including our first ever feral kitty (born in a rabbit hole apparently). That’s been an experience.</p>
<p>We were able to train our adult cats to claw a scratching post instead of the furniture by spraying them with water when they scratched the furniture, but then reinforcing the new desired behavior by giving them one kitty treat every time they scratched the scratching post. It worked and now our cats always use the scratching post. (We call it the kitty vending machine.) Surprisingly, they don’t abuse the priviledge - much.</p>
<p>Is there something more, erm—deterrent that one could add to the water in the spray bottle? A little hot pepper sauce, for instance? I ask this in all seriousness. Of course, I’m not talking about using anything that would actually harm the kitten—but instead, cause a more strongly negative association with the scratching behavior. These stories are starting to spook me. With our nest soon about to be empty, I’ve been seriously thinking about adopting a kitten. (Momofwildchild, I’d be interested in hearing about your experiences with your Ragdoll, as that’s the breed I’ve been looking into getting.) I’m willing to put in the time and patience to diligently train a kitten, but the idea of not being able to stop such destructive behavior is giving me serious second thoughts. I’ve already made up my mind that ours would be a strictly indoor cat. Not only is it extremely dangerous for cats to roam free (dangerous to the cat, I mean), but house cats are responsible for the deaths of more song birds than virtually any other animal—and don’t they always kill the pretty ones? Like the Eastern Blue Bird. It would break my heart if my little tiger were to drop one of those at my feet, thinking it’s done me some kind of favor:(. Nevertheless, I would feel hard pressed to de-claw my cat. That would break my heart, too—not to mention make me feel extremely guilty.</p>