~ The Kitty Thread!! ~ Take 2!

hedonist

I'm so sorry you're going through this. You're right not to declaw (especially as an adult cat). I'm sure you've tried it but since it hasn't been mentioned, have you gotten scratching posts and the like? Ours still get to the furniture but use the many we have around home too.

whispering hands

hedonist said:

I'm so sorry you're going through this. You're right not to declaw (especially as an adult cat). I'm sure you've tried it but since it hasn't been mentioned, have you gotten scratching posts and the like? Ours still get to the furniture but use the many we have around home too.

There's three scratching posts for just the one cat!! He uses all of them AND my mom's gorgeous couches.. :-(

Leezestarr313

Well, this royally sucks :( Our cat, thankfully, was never interested in the vinyl shelf or books or couch. she does have scratchpads made of cardboard. Her nails are trimmed. Are his? I hope you find a solution.

I bet you have read up already, but maybe here are some more thoughts that might help:
http://www.catscratching.com/
How to get Kitty to prefer the post.
Remember that an important part of scratching is the cat's desire to mark a territory, so a scratching post should be in an area that's used by the family, not hidden in a back corner. After a time you can move the post away to the periphery of the room, but you'll need to do this gradually.
Initially, put the post where your cat goes to scratch. This may be by a sofa, a chair or wherever Kitty has chosen as her territiory, and you may need more than one post to cover her favorite spots. Security is a major factor in making the post appealing to your cat. If it topples or shakes, she won't use it. It should either be secured to the floor or have a base wide enough and heavy enough to keep it stable.
Encourage Kitty to use her post with clever enticements. Feed her and play with her by the post. Rub dried catnip leaves or powder into it. Make all the asssociations with the post pleasurable. Reward her with a favorite treat when she uses it. Have her chase a string or a toy around the post or attach toys to it, which will result in her digging her claws into it. Eventually she will learn to love it and regard it as her own. It's also a good idea to put a post where Kitty sleeps. Cats like to scratch when they awaken, especially in the morning and the middle of the night. If space permits, a scratching post in every room of the house is a cat's delight. The most important place is the area of the house in which you and Kitty spend the most time. I have many sisal posts in my house, yet often in the morning my cats line up to use the one in the living room.

If at first Kitty is reluctant to give up her old scratching areas, there are means you can use to discourage her. Covering the area with aluminum foil or double-sided tape is a great deterrent. These surfaces don't have a texture that feels good to scratch.

Remember too that Kitty has marked her favorite spots with her scent as well as her claws. You may need to remove her scent from the areas you want to distract her away from. You will find pet odor removers in pet stores and many supermarkets as well.

Cats have an aversion to citrus odors. Use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make her former scratching sites less agreeable to her.

If Kitty still persists in scratching the furniture, try squirting her with a water gun or a spray bottle set on stream. Another option is a loud whistle or other noise-maker. You must employ these deterrents while she is scratching for them to be effective. The point is to establish an aversion to the spot you don't want her to scratch.

whispering hands

Leezestarr313 said:

Well, this royally sucks :( Our cat, thankfully, was never interested in the vinyl shelf or books or couch. she does have scratchpads made of cardboard. Her nails are trimmed. Are his? I hope you find a solution.

I bet you have read up already, but maybe here are some more thoughts that might help:
http://www.catscratching.com/
How to get Kitty to prefer the post.
Remember that an important part of scratching is the cat's desire to mark a territory, so a scratching post should be in an area that's used by the family, not hidden in a back corner. After a time you can move the post away to the periphery of the room, but you'll need to do this gradually.
Initially, put the post where your cat goes to scratch. This may be by a sofa, a chair or wherever Kitty has chosen as her territiory, and you may need more than one post to cover her favorite spots. Security is a major factor in making the post appealing to your cat. If it topples or shakes, she won't use it. It should either be secured to the floor or have a base wide enough and heavy enough to keep it stable.
Encourage Kitty to use her post with clever enticements. Feed her and play with her by the post. Rub dried catnip leaves or powder into it. Make all the asssociations with the post pleasurable. Reward her with a favorite treat when she uses it. Have her chase a string or a toy around the post or attach toys to it, which will result in her digging her claws into it. Eventually she will learn to love it and regard it as her own. It's also a good idea to put a post where Kitty sleeps. Cats like to scratch when they awaken, especially in the morning and the middle of the night. If space permits, a scratching post in every room of the house is a cat's delight. The most important place is the area of the house in which you and Kitty spend the most time. I have many sisal posts in my house, yet often in the morning my cats line up to use the one in the living room.

If at first Kitty is reluctant to give up her old scratching areas, there are means you can use to discourage her. Covering the area with aluminum foil or double-sided tape is a great deterrent. These surfaces don't have a texture that feels good to scratch.

Remember too that Kitty has marked her favorite spots with her scent as well as her claws. You may need to remove her scent from the areas you want to distract her away from. You will find pet odor removers in pet stores and many supermarkets as well.

Cats have an aversion to citrus odors. Use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make her former scratching sites less agreeable to her.

If Kitty still persists in scratching the furniture, try squirting her with a water gun or a spray bottle set on stream. Another option is a loud whistle or other noise-maker. You must employ these deterrents while she is scratching for them to be effective. The point is to establish an aversion to the spot you don't want her to scratch.

We have gone through all of that... And j do trim
His nails.. Then he just bites ghe furniture. ( which tells me that declawing would be ultra traumatic).. He's a really unique cat.. I really wish there was a way to stop him. But the more we try. The worse he scratches and bites. ( ghe furniture not us.) thinking of emailing Jackson Gskaxy.. I wish it was free to do that.. ( have him come help).

PJ_Soul

That really sucks WH. :( But finding another home for her is a far better option than declawing, which is basically torture to a cat and it has a very high risk for complications, so finding a new home definitely the right decision if trimming doesn't work. Honestly, any vet how would even be willing to declaw a cat should probably have his or her license revoked.
Good luck in finding a new home..... could be hard to find someone willing to take a cat that destroys furniture.

whispering hands

Well I got ahold of the Jackson Galaxy team yesterday.. I was shocked at how quickly they responded! Sent an email with my ph # attached and they called back within three hours! I was at work, and I had to excuse myself to take the call.. But none the less, I have a few more things to try now.. And so after having convinced my step mom that I'm working fervently in this issue, that we can give Scoots some more time to hopefully correct this. But the lady I talked to, was very knowledgeable, even though at times, it seemed she was reading a script. ( made me wonder how many phone calls they field each day?) so if this doesn't work, we may apply for the show!! Lol! Hopefully this works!

hedonist

Great news, WH! Love Jackson - I hope his team's suggestions work.

SD48277

Scooter can stay??? That is awesome!!!!

whispering hands

I do too!! He's a total weirdo! But so am I!! And how the lady explained things made soooo much sense given Scooter's personality. So I am going to try solution one, which is to sequester him into my room when I have to leave. Because when I leave it stresses him out... So he runs ghe borders of his territory marking it, trying to help me find my way home.. ( I swear this cat is a hemorrhoid!! But he's so cute!!) so today is day one of curtailed territory down to home base.. My room. I'll let ya'll know how it's working as we go along..

ldent42

whispering hands said:

I do too!! He's a total weirdo! But so am I!! And how the lady explained things made soooo much sense given Scooter's personality. So I am going to try solution one, which is to sequester him into my room when I have to leave. Because when I leave it stresses him out... So he runs ghe borders of his territory marking it, trying to help me find my way home.. ( I swear this cat is a hemorrhoid!! But he's so cute!!) so today is day one of curtailed territory down to home base.. My room. I'll let ya'll know how it's working as we go along..

Feeling optimistic about this. Hopefully things will work out.

The Waiting Trophy Man

Fantastic news!

Leezestarr313

Good to hear, WH! And thanks for posting the explanation too. Makes sense to me! I hope it works out for you guys.

Hobbes

Great news, WH. Love the fact Galaxy's people called back that quickly. You're right, they probably field a ton of calls daily.

DancedNLaughter

Good news for you and your cat!

whispering hands

So today I got Scooter done self engagement toys go help him not get bored while sequestered away. I don't know how he'll take to them yef.. But he loves his new kitty grass! Lol

SD48277

Was today Day 1 of the sequester?

PJ_Soul

whispering hands said:

So today I got Scooter done self engagement toys go help him not get bored while sequestered away. I don't know how he'll take to them yef.. But he loves his new kitty grass! Lol

Luckily cats sleep 18 hours a day, so that should take up a lot of his time while he's in there.

whispering hands

SD48277 said:

Was today Day 1 of the sequester?

Yesterday was. So far so good.

whispering hands

SD48277

^^