Protect your favourite furniture from your cat’s claws with these handy tips.
Give them appropriate places to scratch
Distract your cat from the furniture by giving them lots of scratching opportunities inside your home. Outdoor cats scratch trees, posts, fences and more, so you should recreate this inside with scratching posts or scratch pad. Go for quality, sturdy, strong ones that won’t wobble with your cat’s scratching. The taller the better as this allows your cat to stretch all the way up, giving their muscles that all-important workout.
Offer a variety of scratching surfaces. As well as vertical ones, they might like to scratch horizontally. Try a square of old carpet, a fabric offcut and even old logs on the floor. These will provide far more interesting scratching spots than the furniture.
Place scratching areas carefully
Where you place scratching posts and pads can influence whether your cat chooses to use them or not. Put them near places your cat likes to relax or near to things your cat often scratches, like the arm of the sofa. You can also place them near their sleeping spot as cats love a good scratch and stretch when they wake up. Encourage your cat to use the scratching post and pads by adding dangling toys.
Make scratching the furniture no fun
If your cat has a favourite scratching spot (like the sofa or table leg), you can try making it unappealing by:
-
-
- Cleaning it thoroughly to remove the scent markings. If cats notice their scent fading, they’ll go hard trying to top it up. Use a mild, non-toxic cleaning product and keep your cat away until it’s dry.
- Covering the area so they can’t get a good scratch. Try wrapping the area in bubble wrap, plastic covering, foil, or something smooth that may help to "foil" their scratching.
- Using a scent repellent either directly on your furniture if it’s safe to do so, or spraying it onto a towel or other material that you can lie across the furniture.
Stop boredom scratching
Give your indoor cat plenty to do, including lots of exercise, so they don’t turn to scratching as a form of entertainment. Stock up on a variety of cat toys from wands to balls to interactive feeders. Then schedule in daily play-time together to ward off boredom and strengthen your bond.
Reward them when they scratch the right things
Cover their scratching post or object with catnip. It can boost your cat’s playfulness and entice them to use their scratchers. Most cats love catnip and they’ll soon learn that scratching the ‘right’ things means they get rewarded!
Clip their nails
Clipping your cat’s nails won’t stop scratching, but it can help reduce the damage their sharp nails are doing to the wooden table leg. It’s best not to trim an outdoor cat’s nails as it can stop them from being able to climb away from danger in a hurry.
