Cat Owners

[Flying Headbutt]

I'm having a predicament. There's a cat in my house. It's not by my choice. But it's here. And it's not going anywhere, at least innocently. I can tolerate it. But I will not tolerate that ****ing feline clawing up my furniture. Outside of getting it de-claweed, which I'm pretty sure isn't an option, what can I do to make that ****ing thing stop? Outside of making it rue the day it started ****ing up my couch? Is there anything that can be done to stop a cat from clawing up your furniture?

 

[YGBFKM]

You could get a dog that hates cats and solve your problem without getting your hands dirty.

 

[imjustagirl]

They have scratch pads and scratching posts, but my cats don't ever use those. They also made some adhesive stuff you're supposed to put on the arms and legs of your couch that's supposed to make them not scratch. My mom put them on the couches at her house, but they were already destroyed.

 

[outofplace]

Sorry, HB. Cats are a ***** to train, especially if it is an adult cat already set in its ways.

If this is a permanent arrangement, I'd push harder for the declawing as a compromise and hope whoever brought the cat into your home doesn't realize how they do it.

 

[YGBFKM]

Kitten mittons?

 

[imjustagirl]

Kitten mittons?

LUFF you.

 

[slytiger]

Squirt Bottle, every time it gets near the furniture blast it.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

You could get a dog that hates cats and solve your problem without getting your hands dirty.

Ohhhhh, from your keyboard to God's ears. Or eyes. Or whatever.

 

[Wenders]

When I first got my cat and he was clawing on my chair, I would hit his claws and say his name really loudly and then "No." Now, any time he goes near that chair and I can tell he wants to claw, I just say his name and he backs away.

 

[Smash Williams]

Two part solution - make sure there are things they are allowed to scratch (carpet-covered or disposable cardboard doesn't really matter) and use a squirt bottle when they start to scratch things they're not allowed to. Most cats hate water and learn fast that if they stick to scratching the appropriate things, they'll be safe.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

The problem with the water bottle is that I don't have the time, nor the willingess to babysit that thing until it starts pulling that ****. It's not my cat, and I'm just not around the room enough when he's ****ing my **** up. So getting busted once in a while ain't going to teach him anything when he'll be getting away with it more often than not.

****ing cats.

 

[BYH]

This thread should have ended with "...are the best people in the world."

But I see Headbutt is a communist jerkface, so it has not.

 

[Football_Bat]

Two part solution - make sure there are things they are allowed to scratch (carpet-covered or disposable cardboard doesn't really matter) and use a squirt bottle when they start to scratch things they're not allowed to. Most cats hate water and learn fast that if they stick to scratching the appropriate things, they'll be safe.

That's all well and good until the cats wise up that you aren't watching them 24-7. One day you'll turn around and find the back of your couch shredded to tatters.

Declawing is worth it.

 

[bagelchick]

Declawing (front claws only!) is worth it, however I don't think most vets recommend that you do it much past one year of age. And you should call around for best price. A lot of vets don't like to do it anymore, so they can gouge you (ha ha). I think the price range I found was from $150 to $800.

First thing Kringle did after he was adopted was get declawed.

 

[JackReacher]

kill it.

 

[BRoth]

kill it with love.

edit

 

[J-School Blue]

I really, really dislike declawing, but it's not something I'll get up on a soapbox about if it's a make-or-break issue with a pet. There are so many cats without homes that, if an owner has to declaw it in order to be able to keep it, that's certainly the lesser evil. If it's a strictly indoor cat, I don't see declawning as quite as bad.

My cat, thankfully, doesn't claw the furniture or walls but he as a thing for clawing the carpet. I got him a scratching post. He is using it. He still claws the carpet. The water bottle idea strikes me as a good one, but the bastards really are hard to train.

 

[crusoes]

Rent a coyote.

 

[JR]

My mother suffered from serious ailurophobia and I think I inherited it from her.

Sneaky ******* animals.

 

[outofplace]

kill it with love.

edit

I do NOT recommend stepping into a shower with a cat that has claws. Hell, even if that person is wearing something over the private parts, he or she is just begging to have his or her legs shredded.

When Mrs. OOP and I got a cat, we tried bathing her. The first time was rough, but we managed it. The second time, the cat panicked and bit me. Hard. Somehow, she managed to get me up under the edge of my fingernail on my thumb. I highly recommend never letting something like that happen to you. The swelling against the nail was not pleasant.

One thing about declawing a cat, it can make them more likely to bite because they feel vulnerable. Though that was the only time our cat bit anybody. (For the record, no, I didn't hurt her. We had her for another four years before having to find her a new home due to little OOP's allergies and my own.)