I'm not planning to declaw my cats, so I'm looking for a more behavioral psychology type of approach...

-- ann monroe (monroe@chorus.net), February 16, 2000

Answers

i have an assortment of tricks up my sleeve, depending on the object in question. which is ...?

-- karawynn (eponymous@karawynn.net), February 20, 2000.

well, my fierce and fluffy shelley will chew on anything, but the main problem is computer wires (!!!) and the secondary problem is cardboard - any boxes he finds quickly become shredded heaps of fun to be strewn about the house.

the clawing isn't serious, but i'd like to keep it from becoming so. ada likes to claw the carpeting on the stairs (and my favorite solution to that would be getting rid of the carpet, but that could take a while to accomplish), and shelley likes to stretch on doorframes and drag his claws lightly down them. at least he doesn't dig in...

-- ann monroe (monroe@chorus.net), February 20, 2000.

computer wires: try painting them liberally with tabasco sauce.

cardboard has me at something of a loss. hm. he chews them up completely?

i wouldn't worry about the doorframes; misha does that every once in a while, but he's truly stretching, not scratching. carpet is bad, though. i have no quick and easy answer, only lengthy and systematic training in what is and is not acceptable to scratch upon. uh, if she shows a distinct preference for carpet over furniture or vertical scratching posts, you might try a scratching pad (you may have to make it yourself; wrap a piece of carpet around a square of plywood. helps if the carpet is a different texture and/or color from your house carpet.)

just a thought, might work.

-- karawynn (eponymous@karawynn.net), February 25, 2000.

I just borrowed a book from my mom-in-law entitled: "Think Like a Cat" by Pam Johnson-Bennet. It says that lots of scratching posts aren't tall enough for kitty: he needs to stand on his hind legs and strech his back while scratching. Also the carpet covered posts are often too soft: kitty wants something really tough like rope, to dig his claws on. I've seen posts like this before, but I think I'll have my husband make 1 before I pay $80 for some wood wrapped with rope!! Also needs to be a sturdy post so kitty can lean his weight on it. The book also talks about some behavioral psycology approaches: as well as the implications to declawing you cat. I'm not done with the book but I highly recommend it so far.

-- Amy (joijoijoi@hotmail.com), April 14, 2000.

my sister in law has two cats who tore up her furniture. She bought several spray bottles and filled them with water and placed them in strategic places around the house. After a week or so they stopped scratching the furniture or anything they weren't supposed to be around.

-- jese nicodemus (oneeye@jps.net), June 10, 2000.

So many cats, so few recipes.

-- Terrance Hanrahan (terrance3047@hotmail.com), June 15, 2000.