One of the most common questions we get at A Cat’s Tale Rescue is how can I stop my cat from scratching my furniture? In this blog we offer some tried and true tips to get kitty to stop scratching your stuff.  Plus we offer a super secret guaranteed to work trick! First and foremost it is important to know that your feline friend is not scratching Aunt Sally’s antique chair just to get your attention.  Behaviorists believe that cats scratch for two main reasons. The first is to mark their territory. When they scratch they leave behind both their scent as well as a visual marker. They also scratch to remove their worn away outer claws.  Because scratching is normal cat behavior it is very important to provide your cat with appropriate objects to scratch.  I know I know you have tried EVERY scratching post out there right?  Have you tried the ones made out of corrugated cardboard, the ones that come with cat-nip to sprinkle on them?  We have found this type of scratcher to be the most popular among our feline residents.   If they aren’t interested at first just sprinkle some of the catnip that is included with the scratcher and it will be sure to get Fluffy’s attention.  Next be sure to let kitty know that it is NOT ok to scratch the furniture.  An appropriate way to do this is by making a loud clapping sound when the kitty starts to scratch something you don’t want them to scratch.  This is also a good time to show them that it IS ok to scratch their new post.  You can do this by scratching the post yourself (yes I am serious) or just moving the kitty over to the new scratching post.  Another safe way to deter them is to use a spray bottle with water in it.  Put the spray bottle on mist, not stream and squirt right as they are about to scratch.  I promise they won’t hate you!  Finally if you have tried all these steps with no luck- here is my secret scratching weapon, double sided tape.  Simply place the double sided tape on any surface that kitty likes to scratch.  Cats hate this sticky feeling on their paws!  So unsuspecting kitty goes to scratch the couch, his paw lands on sticky tape that he hates and voila he will be deterred forever!  Be sure to leave the tape up for a few days.  As we know, cats are persistent, if they are determined scratchers they my try this another few times before giving up forever.  Need more help- feel free to contact us at cathy@acatstale.org

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