How to Stop Scratching Cats Problem

The 7 Effective Methods to Stop Cats from Scratching Up Your Furniture

Cats can sometimes have bad behavior problems, such as scratching up furniture.
In this post we’ll be discussing the 3 popular methods many people use to try and train cats to stop scratching and my 7 humane tips on how to successfully stop cats scratching up your nice furniture.

Stop Cats from Scratching – The 3 Most Common Evil Methods

1. The harsh-hand methods to stop scratching cats
2. The shouting method for stopping scratching cats
3. The nail declawing method to stop cats from scratching furniture

Violence in hand or voice is not advisable. Read this post on [why one should avoid hitting cats->].

The Harsh Hand method is often accompanied by shouting angrily, staring hatefully at cat’s face close up with your eyes popping out in rage, giving it a hearty shaking and so on.
Terror to the little creature’s soul…
Usually cats have no idea what they’ve done so wrong to deserve that.
Most likely the cat brain forgets these trivial things a second after they begin to think of something new.

Declawing the poor cat can cause it insecurity and unhappiness.

• If cat is an indoor/outdoor cat it will be in great risk, as the declawed cat won’t be able to defend itself from danger, such as dogs or aggressive cats outside.
• Cat that are declawed cannot easily (or at all) climb up trees to escape danger, neither climb trees just for fun nor for their hunting.
• Besides, your cat enjoys so much to scratch…
  • Cats mark their territory by scratching (cats have scented oil glands in their nails and scratching produces the scenting effect)
  • They stretch while scratching, thus exercising their bones & muscles.
    For elderly cats this might be the only fun activity left for them.

So what are CatCamille’s 7 Tips to Humanly Stop Cats Scratching Furniture?

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #1: Learn to say NO

Whenever your cat scratches your furniture, simply say “NOOO!!!” real loud, without yelling.
After you say it a few times, exactly when your cat is not behaving, it will learn to stop scratching the furniture. But if you want them to not feel oppressed, give them a substitute to scratch happily.

A good idea is to get your cats a [scratching tree->cat-scratching-trees] or a [cat scratching post->cat-scratching-posts] or at least a [scratching pad->cat-scratching-pads] or carpet, since that will stop your cat from the need to scratch up the furniture, and cat will happily scratch the tree instead.

This is especially so for indoor only house cats, who have no opportunity to go out and scratch a tree instead.

TIP: When you get a cat scratching post or tree, you can train your cats to use the tree, by placing their paws on it whenever it scratches something else and saying: “Good, girl/boy! Goood!!!”
But, when cats scratch somewhere else say: “Bad boy/girl! BAAAAAD!!!!”
But don’t scare it. That is not good for the cat!
While training our kittens, I often noticed my cats were feeling angry inside at being told of. One of my cats, Mia, was an especially spiteful girl… but when I’d tell her off, then, a few seconds later, put her down elsewhere and GIVE HER A SMALL PET she’d feel happy again and much less inclined to spite me. You see, she’d walk away feeling secure I loved her after all.

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #2: Wet the Cat

The water spraying technique to stop cats from scratching furniture or from engaging in other bad cat behavior is a good one, and it’s one of my favored tactics.

Whenever cats scratch something, using a water to spray the naughty cat is a good option to violence. Cats hate getting wet and will eventually learn, especially combined with the “NOOOO” technique.

You can easily prepare your water weapon by reusing an empty spray bottle (after thoroughly washing it from any bad chemicals that might aggravate cat skin or eyes if water hits them there).
Or buy a cheap plastic water gun.
Keep it handy near the furniture your cat usually scratches.

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #3: Use Herbal Deterrents

Herbal cat scratching deterrents you can find at home:

1. Ginger root. Rub this on the places the cat loves to scratch and also on the feet of your furniture. Ginger root will prevent your cat from scratching the place it has been applied and also the smell will keep your cat away from it.
2. Tea tree oil. Some people say that tee tree oil will prevent any cat from scratching up your furniture. They might be right. I certainly would stay away from a stinky sofa if I were a cat. But what about the smell? Wont it stink up the Hall room?
   Warning: Tea tree oil might damage your furniture. If you have expensive pieces, you might consider getting your cat a cat tree instead.

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #4: Use Commercial Cat Deterrents

Anti-cat sprays are a cat deterrent used also aginst neighborhood cats coming around to mark up your home with their stinky smell. So this should work.
Beware: Check if cat deterrent spray is OK for your furniture and won’t damage it, by first spraying a little on a hidden part of it before you go spraying all over.

You can [get some cheap cat deterrents here->cat-deterrent-sprays-to-keep-cats-away].

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #5: Silver Foil

Silver foil. Silver foil or aluminum foil will keep your cat away from anything you tape it on to. However, your home will look ugly and like it’s about to get baked.
No matter if it’s a door or a couch, tape it up with aluminum foil and the cat wont come near it. Cats don’t like the feel of it under there claws… Yet one of my scratching cats ripped it away. So there you go.

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #6: The Popping Baloons & Banging Tins

Tie balloons to the sofa, so when the cat scratches, it will pop and she will be fately scared of the couch! However, you might need to tie baloons to every leg of every piece of furniture in your home, resulting in a very odd birthday party look. The moment baloons are away, cats might scratch again, since the enemy has left.
Others say Tying some tins to the couch or table might scare cats and prevent cats from scratching for a while…

An alternative is to use a soda can with some pennies in it. Tape the top shut. Shake it and say “no” when cat goes for the furniture, maybe the noise will deter your cat from scratching.

Personally I never tried this method and wouldn’t like such a messy looking home full of tins and baloons.

There are some sticky tape solutions around, such as StickyPaws. StickyPaws prevents cats from scratching and is not as ugly as baloons and tins!
[Find cheaper StickyPaws here… ->Get Cheap StickyPaws and Keep Scratching Cats Away from Furniture]

Stop a Scratching Cat Method #7: Clipping Cat Nails

The last method to stop cats scratching is to clipp your cats nails reguarly, so that cat can’t scratch you and your furniture at all. This is one little level more humane than cat declawing, but still a risky thing to do if cat goes outdoors and will make cat very unhappy to not be able to scratch and stretch.

Here is a link to get cheap nail clippers for cats

An alternative to clipping cat nails is to coat  and cover your cat’s claws with [protective plastic cat claw covers->protective-cat-claw-covers].

Fixing Cat Scratching Bad Behavior

3 books you can immediately download, read and use to train your cat for good behavior, or email to a bad-cat-uffering-friend or relative as your loving gift:

1. Kingdom of Pets
2. The Secrets of Cats Exposed
3. No More Bad Cat