Cat Owners

[Bad Guy Zero]

Wait till you start discovering that you can never, EVER get rid of the hair covering your clothes. A scratched-up couch will be the least of your concerns.

 

[Armchair_QB]

The tape that was mentioned early in this thread does work, however if your couch is already shredded, it's probably too late.

Blasting it with a water bottle works any time a cat does something you don't want it to do but you can't watch the little ****er 24-7.

Declawing is the best option but a lot of vets will refuse to do it if the cat is more than a year old.

 

[Point of Order]

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.

How do they do it?

 

[Mystery Meat II]

I've been told declawing isn't a good option because a) it's very painful to the cat and b) if it gets out, it has no way of defending itself and will get eaten in short order.

 

[Sleeper]

Declawing is barbaric. There are actually a few cities around the country that are outlawing it.

FH, there is no good solution to this if the owner of the cat does not have the time to train it. It can be done, but it takes more patience and willpower than a lot cat owners don't have. I suggest covering up your good furniture until you're out of this situation.

 

[txsportsscribe]

Kill the cat and blame Not's soon-to-be ex-wife.

 

[BTExpress]

A "scratching post" usually is ignored because it's too small and unstable, and a cat wants to scratch on something that won't move.

If you own a cat, you need to buy it its own piece of furniture. A place to scratch, sleep, play, etc.

 

[Bad Guy Zero]

My ex-wife is turning into a crazy cat lady. She has at least four. She has the biggest friggin' kitty kondo I've ever seen.

 

[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.

How do they do it?

http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/declawing-cats-positives-negatives-alternatives

The bone has to be surgically removed so the claw does not grow back. I still feel bad that I didn't do the research on this one before we had it done to ours. My wife had grown up with cats, so I just let her handle it. If I had known what they actually do, I wouldn't have gone for it.

 

[YGBFKM]

She has the biggest friggin' kitty kondo I've ever seen.

Good chance it's nicer than my apartment.

 

[forever_town]

I wish I could help, but the only thing our cat even wants to scratch is a piece of wood in the foundation of the house that we don't give a **** if she scratches it or not. She has no interest scratching anything else in the house.

After I scolded her once, my dad told me, "she can scratch that if she wants" and told me how insignificant the thing she scratches is. I stopped correcting her that moment.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

You can try the water bottle squirting or the scolding, but you have to sleep sometime.

And it will probably steal your breath.

 

[sportschick]

There is a declawing procedure that does not involve removing the bone. They can cut the tendon that extends the claw, preventing them from scratching with their claws. You will have to file his nails down because they won't wear down from usage any longer.

There are also plastic nail covers you can buy at places like PetSmart and put over their claws. They'll last about six weeks as the claws grow out and cut through the layers of plastic. I would highly recommend having the vet apply those the first time so you can see how it's done and get pointers.

 

[sporting_guista]

Declaw the sucker. My vet had zero problem doing it and that cat is no worse for wear. Granted it stays indoors now, but he's a lot more fun and less destructive.
Barbaric? No. We have thumbs, we make the call.

 

[CitizenTino]

There are also plastic nail covers you can buy at places like PetSmart and put over their claws. They'll last about six weeks as the claws grow out and cut through the layers of plastic. I would highly recommend having the vet apply those the first time so you can see how it's done and get pointers.

Mrs. Tino and I got a cat around Labor Day, and we tried the soft claws (plastic covers). I thought they were a little expensive and hard to apply properly. We gave up on them after about a month and have relied on frequent claw trimmings since then with no problems.

Also, re: scratching posts. Our cat wouldn't go near the one we got for the first few weeks. Sprinkle a little bit of catnip on it and, sweet sassy molassy, she's on it like white on rice.

 

[sportschick]

Catnip can work wonders with getting cats to pay attention to something they're not interested in.

 

[YGBFKM]

Catnip can work wonders with getting cats to pay attention to something they're not interested in.

Like their owners?

 

[ink-stained wretch]

Screw the squirt bottle. Go for a SuperSoaker. You can't be there 24/7. One blast generally keeps the cat away for 24 hours. Simply bringing it into the living room will send said feline running.

Or, should you be less barbaric than I, catnip toys generally bliss out even the most psycho hairball hellions of evil.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Declaw the sucker. My vet had zero problem doing it and that cat is no worse for wear. Granted it stays indoors now, but he's a lot more fun and less destructive.
Barbaric? No. We have thumbs, we make the call.

Sitting at the top of the food chain does have its advantages.

 

[Sleeper]

Declaw the sucker. My vet had zero problem doing it and that cat is no worse for wear. Granted it stays indoors now, but he's a lot more fun and less destructive.
Barbaric? No. We have thumbs, we make the call.

Yes, barbaric. Declawing is illegal in many countries, and for good reason. It is a painful and -- unless there are medical reasons -- completely unnecessary procedure to put your pet your through. Vets have no problem with it because they're making money doing it. But it's pathetic for an owner to go along with mutilating their cat just because they're worried about their furniture. If people can't handle cats' natural instinct and need to scratch, they shouldn't own them.

There are plenty of alternatives to declawing: The caps that SC referenced above, scratch posts (every indoor cat should needs a scratch post or something similar), and training.