Over the last 10 years I somehow have adopted 7 kittens that are now cats. These 7...6 girls and 1 boy...all fixed..have in the past 2 years started using my couch and chairs as scratching posts. Needless to say, I find myself now wanting to replace these worn items. However, I am not going to just replace their scratching posts!! Does anyone know of something I can spray on the furniture that won't ruin the furniture (fade or discolor it) and has an odor that the cats find offensive so they won't be interested in scratching??? There must be something I like the smell of that they hate the smell of....???????? Have tried the commercial sprays from Home Depot...but unless I spray the furniture every day they are at it again. I have scratching posts for them and catnip flavored scratching things all over...they prefer the furniture!! They are mostly inside cats..go out on the screen porch some but not out in the yard much. Help...there must be some herb they hate that I like??? lynn@wauka.com

-- Lynn N. Johnson (lynn@wauka.com), January 05, 2001

Answers

Yeah, the odor of a big ole German Shepherd is very offensive to cats. Just position that shepherd's food bowl between the couches. Those cats won't scratch any more.

OK, I couldn't resist having a little fun with you Lynn. Have you considered providing an alternative scratching post for the kitties? You can make a free one from a piece of firewood and some old carpet. You can also buy a nice one for 20 bucks at Wal-Mart.

Hope you come up with a solution.

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), January 05, 2001.

I just read recently the best thing to use is two sided tape [carpet, ect]as they hate tape and wont touch it.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), January 05, 2001.

Hi Lynn, Could you squirt the cats with a water bottle when they scratch? Its supposed to bring about great results. Or, you might try cayenne pepper mixed with water and sprayed on the furniture, I don't know if it would stain, or even if it would smell if it was diluted, but you could try. Its suposed to work great when put in flower beds you want to keep cats out of.

-- Julie (julieamc@excite.com), January 05, 2001.

Lynn: My cats scatch in one spot, a favorite spot. I just pin a piece of carpet in that area and let em go at it!......Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), January 05, 2001.

With one cat this worked, with another it didn't but it's broken every dog that's wanted to get on furniture. Set but don't bait a spring type mouse trap. Put it on the furniture in their favorite spot. Curiosity should do the rest. Suspend it on vertical surfaces.

-- marilyn (marilyn@ktis.net), January 05, 2001.

My wife figured this out, but I'm going to tell you her secret weapon. You know that plastic matting they sell for carpet so you can walk on without getting the carpet dirty? Well get some of this stuff that's made for shag carpets( it has longer spikes on the reverse side). Cut this stuff out and place around your new furniture spike side up. Garanteed to keep them away. Not to worry the spikes are plastic. Make sure you have your slippers on otherwise, Ouch,ouch.

-- hillbilly (internethillbilly@hotmail.com), January 05, 2001.

My sister is out of town or else she'd probably have an answer on this. I do know that she has a split log in the house proper with some cat-appealing bark just for them, as well as a braided rush/fiber type rug on the floor. Her cats like those better than the furniture.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), January 06, 2001.

Lynn,

I confess, I hate my cat. However my husband loves her and the mice fear her. I also sought an effective permanent solution, and found it in a book I borrowed from the library titled "No more Bad Cats", by some lady vet. She really did an analysis on cat behavior, and works with them exclusivly. Her 3 best remedies for permanent retraining (continue for 2 weeks, then once in awhile if they forget)-

1. Aluminum foil. Cats really hate it. Works great for teaching them to stay off couters and tables too. (pin it to the forbidden favorite scratch sites)

2. Ballons - the sudden noise is a permanent lesson. Doesn't hurt them, scares them real bad and they remember, like the cat who stepped on a hot stove once, and never stepped on a hot or cold one after. (Use little ballons really full) Also, ballons set with plants is a problem solver, cats aren't supposed to like unpredicatable motion that explodes when researched. (They think the plants did it)

3. As mentioned before, mouse traps are one hit wonders. I suggest you wrap the snapping end with paper tape to soften it should the paw get snapped. (The author didn't mention how to use them on a couch)

Good luck. (The ballons and foil did it for Jordon the cat)

-- Marty in KS (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), January 06, 2001.

Do you have a real scratching post That has a little hight at least as high as a chair arm. They really seem to enjoy them when wraped with a rope. And they leave the furniture here.

-- Anthony J. DiDonato (didonato@vvm.com), January 06, 2001.

Just a note. Don't try cutting their nails, they will only scratch more to try to get them sharp again. I like that carpet saver upside down idea. In my pet store, they sold something similar. Couldn't keep it in the store when we first got it, it worked so well.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), January 06, 2001.

Thanks to all who answered this.......yes I do have scratching posts and also ones that are flat..they use those too, in addition to the furniture. I even sprinkle them with catnip to make them more enticing. The squirt gun would work except we have a farm and I am outside a good many hours a day..then I do sleep sometimes. Wonder what the pepper/water would do to the fabric? I wish there were an herb of some kind that could be used...one of the scat out of my flower bed things I used was lavender and nicotine...they were suppose to hate that combination of smells...now I can't find it anymore..wonder if I could use just lavender..or lavender oil and water..?? Anyway..thanks again..keep the suggestions coming. I have 5 dogs..however they are all outside dogs. Thanks again. Lynn

-- Lynn N. Johnson (lynn@wauka.com), January 07, 2001.

I've used cologne on my furniture to get the cats to stop using it for a scratching post. BUT, test it first in case of staining. I buy the cheap stuff and use it lightly and often.

-- Ardie in WI (a6203@hotmail.com), January 08, 2001.

Lynn, I forgot to tell you eariler, they do sell a spray at pet stores for cats. I usually tell people to put sheets on the chairs for the spray and remove them for company. People tell me it works. Someone also said that Bitter Apple that they have to keep animals from biting their wounds works. They don't need to taste it, they just don't like the smell.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), January 08, 2001.

I've used mouse traps on the couch to keep the dogs off. They all have done the same thing ~ snapped them twice and then stayed off the couch. The traps never got any part of their bodies.

My solution for the cat clawing ~ DEclawing! They could still climb trees as well as any cat with claws and the few fights they got in, they won!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), January 12, 2001.

Declawing is cruel. Cats use those claws to anchor them as they stretch their muscles out. The best way is to train the cat from the time they are very young. Letting them get away with bad behaviour for long periods makes it that much harder to break. Like people's habits I guess.

A sisal rope wrapped post is excellent. Whatever you do you have got to be consistent for as long as 6 months. That is, EACH time they attempt the bad behaviour you are able to provide the negative stimulus. If they learn that snapping the trap then leaves them free to do what they want they may continue. Try covering the furniture with sheets (not appealing to cats) when you are sleeping or working. Then when you are home you can practice whatever negative reinforcement you choose.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), January 12, 2001.

My cats like to dig in my big potted plants. I have covered them with brown paper cut to fit, but of course they just sort of paw them up and go under. So I sprinkle them with orange oil (an essential oil) and they stay away. This is not cheap however.

One way to keep them from scratching is to put double-faced tape on the furniture. They don't like the sticky feeling. However, this is rather unsightly and may leave adhesive residue on the furniture.

I read an article that said the least appealing texture (for furniture upholstery) is a slick chintz, which sounds logical to me. I had a sofa with wood at the corners, and the cats never found those good for scratching on. The ottoman was another story!

As Julie mentioned, I have a half log with bark on for my cats to scratch, which they like. This does put some debris on the floor that has to be swept or vacuumed up. They also have a sisal rug, which they like to claw better than anything. Its in a complicated braided pattern, not one of the "brushy" ones. Since I got that, they don't seem to look for other things to scratch. It's just laid on the floor. It moves around some, due to their scratching and burrowing under it occasionally. My current furniture is mostly wood framed, and I don't have trouble with them going after it.

Cats find a spot to scratch that have an appealing texture. The urge to scratch there is reinforced by the scent left by their pads. And they do like to use the spots that their buddies/rivals also have used. Once they have started using a particular spot, it's hard to get them to change. Perhaps hanging a paper towel with orange or other citrus scent on it for awhile would help break a habit, but no guarantees!

I agree that declawing is cruel. It is analagous to amputating the tips of fingers. To me, the pleasure of the animals' company outweighs the need to have elegant surroundings. I have avoided buying some things because I know what the cats will do to them. However, I would prefer declawing to disposing of the animal. Of course, some people get their cats declawed, then get rid of them anyway! >:-(

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), January 12, 2001.

In England we do not declaw cats. It is considered cruel and inhumane and quite rightly so. Cats do not exist for our convenience - they live alongside us. If you have cats in the house then it is you (as the supposedly more intelligent human) that has to make the adjustment. My cats use their claws like fingers to hold onto things and to help them open things (like doors). It is bad enough that I have to have them neutered for their own safety (which of course must be done) - I am not going to cut what is the equivalent of the ends of their fingers off just to make sure that my furniture looks nice!

-- Davina (d.m.grant2001@cableinet.co.uk), April 09, 2001.

I have four cats, three that are seven and one that is 15, the younger ones tormented another older cat until she just withered away and died, this was about three years ago, then they started on the remaining older cat. I got the three younger ones declawed on their front paws, and left the older guy intact. I just couldn't stand by and watch another cat tormented. I waited years to do this and only as a last resort. I don't think my younger cats are all that smart because they still swat at the old guy, who just looks at them and swats back. They scatter. I have an old dog too, that has benefited from the younger cats declawing. I guess it was the alpha "dog" thing, but they had no mercy on the older animals. Only the dog goes outside, and it has worked out well. I rescued all of these cats and I'll keep them all til they go whereever they go when they die.

As for furniture, I don't have a sofa because they would ruin it, my sons destroyed five or six sofas through the years, fortunately they are grown now and have to replace their own furniture if they break it up (they have since apologized to me for being so rough with stuff). I'll wait til the old cat is gone to get furnature or not. The three brats are long haired, oh well. I could never bring myself to give them away. Actually it was my sons that brought them home and I begged not to bring them in the house, but it fell on deaf ears. My husband got so frustrated with them a few years ago that he took the three of them to the SPCA. I called around and found them and went immediately to get them back, cost $30 to get my own cats back. DH has promised not to ever do that again.

Good Luck!

-- nomifyle@aol.com (nomifyle@aol.com), April 09, 2001.