scratching eh? other cat dont know la, but my babies, once i saw her sratching the sofa, i quickly pick her up and kiss her like mad, she hate being picked coz u knowla, dah berat..dia rasa mcm i nak campak dia...

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...LoveY DuVey...

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"A man of kindness to his beast is kind... A brutal action shows a brutal mind... Remember, He gave thee speech and formed him mute... He can’t complain, but God’s all-seeing eye... Behold the cruelty and hears his cry... He was designed thy servant not thy drudge... Remember thy Creator is thy judge..."

During the day, I let my cats out into the garden. In the evening, I'll collect them (most of the time, they return back to their cages to makan and use litter tray) and place them back into their respective homes. There is more than sufficient scratching posts for them to vent their itchy paws and when they start scratching the doors, window panes and furnishing, I'll place my index finger on their noses and say a very firm "NO!". Look straight into their eyes very seriously when doing this. I am very consistent about this and they never get away with the scratching without me reprimanding them.

They get the hint who's the boss in the house...........

As for poo problem, thank goodness they are very clean and use their toilets on time every time.

[QUOTE=horatio][COLOR=Blue]Well, i hv to discard 1 sofa (fabric) due to excessive scratch by my 2 cats. I guessed it is a choice of ur lifestyle of living and keeping pets. I bought another one and this time i make sure it is well protected. I've put 2 scratching poles on both arm (frontal) of the chair whilst the sides i hv 2 side tables. As for the arm rests, i had put a smooth cloth to prevent them from scratching. Cats do love kasar fabric to scratch but not smooth ones. When I go to work, I used a plastic sheet n cover the entire sofa not just to prevent my cats to scratch but peeing on my sofa!!!

i couldn't bring myself to throw the sofa set out despite it being very scratched up by cats and youngest dog. shld have seen how patchy it was in places where cloth and stuffing ripped out!
had already got a quote for its disposal by alam flora but felt the sofa was still worth saving - deep seats and very comfortable (can also double up as beds for my nieces when they stay over!) - so got the whole set reupholstered and told the company to take its time. however, after 3 weeks, they insisted on delivering it in anticipation of "raya" work flooding in, so sofa came back last saturday.

we left the plastic covering for a while but very uncomfortable to sit in leh ..
quickly stuck double-sided tape on whatever areas the cats flash their claws at but can't be there all the time. the cats love it that they can perch and sleep in their respective fave spots and so far, no mishaps.

will it last? i only have myself to blame if the sofa doesn't remain in current pristine condition for long!

eli,

I really feel for your sofa before the reupholstering. Is it now leather or the fabric kind?

Both to me have their good and bad properties, leather......shredded to bits and fabric, tons and tons of fur stuck on to it. Eh, wait, nothing good la.....eventually. Best of luck with your double sided tapes.

I did use double sided tape on my leather swivel chair but the cats got around it and found another spot on the chair.......where I sit. Oh well..........

wooz....

still fabric and i think i may really be asking for trouble cos it's not the smooth type but the rough type (thot more hardy mah!) that the cats would love run their claws across!

hehehe, i am constantly watching with the tape handy! even my cleaning ladies are having a laugh ahead of what they think will be disaster coming!

can't outsmart your cats - yet!

to stop my cats from scratching i've put up two posts - but they don't use the post much, even though i sprinkle with catnip

i've added an old sisal rug to their area, and they love sharpening their claws there! maybe you could try a mat or rough flooring - might help.

For me very easy... every time they in the process of scratching my sofa.. I will scream on top of my lungs and they will terperanjat beruk and run for cover.I will catch them and jentik the telinga...so they learn their lesson..I'm a fierce daddy but they still want to bermanja with me....give them an empty box.. they love playing with it and scratch on it.

So far after two years, my sofa still save with only a little marks of their scratch.

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my cats, except the latest addition, are free to go in and out of the house as they please. they have two scratching posts in the porch area that they use quite a bit but sometimes while indoors, they want something else

they don't have a dedicated area. tommy loves perching on the balcony wall, coco and jasper will sleep in her basket or the single seater, and the footstool or sofa respectively.

as for afi's suggestion, i do scream at them (and clap my hands loudly) when i am present to see them attempt the scratching. but i'm not at home all the time. best solution is to keep them out of the house when i'm not in or cage them up, tapi i tak sampai hati lah....

garangnya dady diaaaa... hisk hisk...for sure they will remeber for the whole life..am i rite afi?

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Catlover
if you said prevention would cost, wait until you receive the bill