Cat won't stop clawing!

[gizmo23]

Hi, this is my first post here.

I have two cats. They both still have their claws. I was not nor am I still interested in declawing them. My one cat, Gizmo never scratches anything.

The other cat is my fiances cat technically and before we moved in together, he didn't really train her (nor does he ever discipline her but thats another story). She would claw at his office chair all she wanted and he never did anything.

When we moved in together, we still had the office chair. I let her keep clawing at that one because I just couldn't get her to stop. Luckily at the time that was the only thing she clawed at. My other cat uses his scratching post and I have never cat him clawing at any of our furniture.

When we moved across the country, we got rid of that chair (Because it was garbage) and we have since got a nice area rug for our living room. Kitty won't stop scratching at it. She also claws at my suitcases in the closet. It drives me insane. I have tried everything I can think of. I spray them with no scratch spray, I get upset with her and show her the scratch post (which she does know how to use because I have seen her use it) and I even spray her with water. She responds by just glaring at me. I've gotten to the point where I have almost called the vet to make an appointment to de-claw her I of course didn't because I don't have the heart do that.

I just don't know what to do anymore....Suggestions?

[Loki Love]

Do you have something for the kitty to scratch at all? A nice scratching post? I'd also keep the nails nice and short - trim them regularly.

[Longblades]

They can be very picky about how they scratch. If the post is vertical try lying it on it's side. If it's carpet then the reverse side might be more appealing. Or a hunk of real wood with bark on might work.

I've had great success with the top 18 inches from an old cedar fence post. Cedar is fairly soft which they seem to like. I put it right beside or on top of where kitty is scratching now, play to get her putting her feet on it and leave it for a couple of weeks so she gets used to it. Then move it to a place more suitable if you must. Mine still lives in our living room and we vacuum up cedar shavings before company comes. Our cedar log has such a big scoop in it from successive cats sharpening on it that it may need to be replaced soon.

Good luck.

[marko]

Yup allow kitty to scratch on something good.
The key is that it's good from the cat's point of view.

In my experience, Whatever they scratch on should be really solid meaning when they press into it they feel secure. A cat tree or large cat scratching post that's placed against a wall will usually do the trick. Placing cat nip on the object you want them to scratch on can sometimes be helpful.

Repellents (get one for cats in a pet store) are great for discouraging your cat from scratching in particular places.

Double sided tape and other sticky materials and tin foil are normally objects that cats hate so placing them on areas you want the cat to avoid is often a good idea.
Hope that may help and good luck!

[Longblades]

To repellants I'll add citrus. I've used orange peel successfully. And citrus scented potpourri.

[sugarcatmom]

A collection of articles for you to read on the subject of scratching posts, etc.:
http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com...re-scratching/

[Koteburo]

I'm having the same problem right now. Bobandy and Scully are destroying the new dinning room chairs. They have plenty of scratching posts but they'll still go to the chairs. After trying deterring sprays, moving around the scratching posts to more convenient locations, etc I had to get nail caps or soft paws.
Just make sure you don't buy them big (they come in small, medium and large)
Bobandit is a medium sized male cat and small are good for him. If you apply them too big it might cause infections or wounds. Aside that they're really good and declawing is absolutely out of the question. Not an option for us.