Can’t stop your cat from scratching the furniture? Science has some tips

cynyc2

Ars Scholae Palatinae
963
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I take my cats out on the (unprotected) patio with my cup of coffee. They don't go to far, and I rarely have to actually put them back in the house, they go in when it is time. The one piece of furniture they scratched was covered in vinyl. They really like vinyl...

When I was a little one in '69 or '70, we used to take our cat to the park unleashed. It always jumped back in the car. Keep your master happy, and she will be faithful.
 
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Alyeska

Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
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I have a cat scratcher in almost every room of the house and two cat scratchers in the room the cats spend the most time in. Has really helped redirect their scratching behavior.

Scratching posts, cat trees, hiding spots, elevated locations to observe from, and toys. All very valuable enrichment for cats. If you have multiple cats in the house, these are even more important so that cats can feel safe and comfortable when they want alone time.

Next on my agenda is creating a catio on the elevated deck so they can go outside for some fresh air.
 
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ArcaneTourist

Ars Centurion
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Our cat loves her scratching post that's made of sisal rope.

Unfortunately, one of our sofas has sides that are also made mostly of sisal rope ... and the cat loves that too. Things like rosemary spray will deter her for a day or two, but who wants to douse the furniture every other day. Nearby scratching posts didn't help. What did work is wrapping the lower portion of the couch in plastic food wrap. Not the greatest look, but not too horrible either - and it works.
 
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barfa

Smack-Fu Master, in training
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Tigger resting before attacking his cat tree again. I adopted him from the Humane Society as he does get stressed around loud noises, which they said as "loud noises". He does hide from the vacuum and will scratch his tree and cardboard scratching pad once I'm done.

View attachment 84465
What absolute monster downvoted Tigger I cannot fathom, but their shins are certainly in need of a deep scratching.
 
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Fatesrider

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Their loud noises and sudden movements can be distressing for cats. Additionally, children might not always understand how to approach cats properly. Rough handling, in particular, can make cats feel threatened and stressed. Another factor is that children can invade the cat's safe spaces, playing or resting in areas the cat considers its own core territories.
TIL, I'm a cat.
 
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MarkHughes

Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
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We recently adopted a rescue cat, She needs a calm home which we have (I'm autistic and like all the same things, calm, quiet, lack of movement and smells). I found those doormats with the rough bristles on are quite good for her to scratch as a suppliment a post. So I placed a few around the house, We have only had one incident of a scratch elsewhere and that was from her falling from a cabinet in a misjudged jump :)

This is the kind of doormat. https://www.homebase.co.uk/plain-pvc-coir-doormat-large-60-x-90cm/12813625.html
 
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agt499

Ars Tribunus Militum
1,941
So to quote Jackson Galaxy: Play with your cat, play with your cat, play with your cat.
A bit of research into the right sorts of stimulation makes for happy kitties and happy humans.

We're fortunate to have built new 3 years ago, and were able to put in an exterior "catio" with lots of climbing and scratching opportunities.
It's nice that they don't bring us native birds as gifts, and plenty of hunting-type play keeps them stimulated and non-destructive!
 
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limeos

Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
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I see another type of solution. Stop buying/adopting cats (or pets in general) if you don't have a way to keep them outdoor in a large natural garden or country side.

Cat population is growing because of this fashionable trend as, very likely, very few people have problems with mice and small birds.
Growing population also means growing number of diseases cases.

They are sold sterilized so you can only buy them in shops that in turn buy them from breeding farms. Unwanted pets make the pet shelter population (and related problems) grow too with even more people getting more pets to help those animals. Sterilization, moreover, is cause of other problems to solve (for both the animal itself and it's owner) because it is not a natural state for any animal.

Pet food is the main business here that is driving all this money stream. Pets need to eat on-purpose-made food (this wasn't the case 20 - 30 years ago) specific to each race and size.
And while you buy a pet once, you feed it daily for years.

Those animals used to live outdoor since ever and only live indoor as most people live in apartments nowadays. Those animals were either looking for their own food (like cats) or eat the same as it's owner or his leftovers (like dogs).

Those animals used to pee and poo outdoor, within rather large areas, not indoor or in a limited area like a smallish garden or balcony.

I am not saying that there is no pros by having a pet. I simply say that you buy a pet with all it's "side effects". Like babies, but growing babies is a natural thing for humans. Crafting indoor animals is not, IMHO.

So, there is another way to solve those problems and stress: stop creating problems.
So shelters are full and because people buy from breeding farms?
Sure people buy "pure" cats for the looks and I would always recommend getting them from a shelter but this reads as the usual tinfoil hat conspiracy.

Cats are simply cute, a fact that has been part of a lot of our recorded history, way before capitalism was invented. Its often easier

Having pets is unnatural by its very nature, outdoors or not. If you want a companion then keeping it inside will prolong their life and in the case of cats also preserve wildlife populations.
 
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Unwanted pets make the pet shelter population (and related problems) grow too with even more people getting more pets to help those animals.
Which is it?

Sterilization, moreover, is cause of other problems to solve (for both the animal itself and it's owner) because it is not a natural state for any animal.
Any thoughts on other "unnatural" states like vaccination, vision correction, etc?
 
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Frodo Douchebaggins

Account Banned
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Solution: no children. Boom. Done. :D
Never have seen the appeal. Expensive, smelly, loud, and seem to put an end to certain hobbies, based on how consistently I've lost acquaintances who've spawned.

Not to mention the whole "humans are destroying the earth and having kids just makes it worse and you're bringing them into a world that's going the wrong way" thing.
 
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Nah lock them in a small apartment and never let them out and ignore their desperate attempts to see something other than the same 800sq ft every day of their entire lives and say it's for their safety even if it makes them fucking miserable

I'm not necessarily in favor of letting cats loose outside but the way people trap their cats indoors then don't understand why they're not happy, is just insane to me. You know how some people joke that their cats hate them? Some actually do
Oh, you were talking about cats. For a minute I thought it was office workers.
 
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Tigger resting before attacking his cat tree again. I adopted him from the Humane Society as he does get stressed around loud noises, which they said as "loud noises". He does hide from the vacuum and will scratch his tree and cardboard scratching pad once I'm done.

View attachment 84465

Is one of the front legs amputated?

It look like that in the photo.

Edited: Spelling and grammar.
 
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Is one of the front legs amputated?

It look like that in the photo.

Edited: Spelling and grammar.
The left one is just fully retracted while the right one is mostly extended. You can see the wrist level with the jaw and the elbow is folded back into the upper body where the white patch extends into the grey fur. The right one has both the wrist and elbow fully extended.
 
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panton41

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IMG_2705.jpegAbout a year ago I found a kitten while on a delivery for Pizza Hut that looks a lot like Ariel in the article. I named her Pepper short for Pepperoni Cat. The other one is Lilly and was also a stray we adopted soon after moving into a house 11 years ago. My ex's dog broke Lilly's jaw as a kitten and she cost $2,700 in vet bills.

These days they're rarely that friendly because Pepper is too wild for Lilly.
 
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HuntingManatees

Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
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View attachment 84474About a year ago I found a kitten while on a delivery for Pizza Hut that looks a lot like Ariel in the article. I named her Pepper short for Pepperoni Cat. The other one is Lilly and was also a stray we adopted soon after moving into a house 11 years ago. My ex's dog broke Lilly's jaw as a kitten and she cost $2,700 in vet bills.

These days they're rarely that friendly because Pepper is too wild for Lilly.
"You want the WiFi password, you've gotta go through me."

Adorable pair!
 
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sword_9mm

Ars Legatus Legionis
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No one would ever think to do this with dogs, even if they didn't need to go outside to piss and shit.

Heh I call bullshit. Plenty of people keep dogs penned up, tied up, chained up, fenced up, whatever.

You want to let your cat (or dog out)? Leash it. I did see some folks in our neighborhood walking a cat with no leash but I wouldn't trust that.

Or just let em get eaten by the wildlife or hit by a car. Guess that's better eh?

Also both of my cats will not go outside unless you put them there. You can leave the door open all day and they'll ignore it.

What about ferrets? Do they get to go outside?
Hamsters? I'm sure they're not too happy in that cage with that awful wheel we expect them to run on.
Rats?


Either way on topic we clip claws every few weeks to keep ours from tearing anything up. They don't really scratch much as one is 20 and the other doesn't seem to care. There is a 'condo' in a room by the window he goes to and scratches/looks at the birds. No kids or anything so pretty quiet.
 
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