wendya@apollo.UUCP (08/23/84)
The main problem with letting cats get by with scratching anything you don't want them to scratch is that they leave a scent "marker" and soon it becomes virtually impossible for them NOT to scratch there. So, nipping such behaviour in the bud is ESSENTIAL. I'm not sure its possible to totally solve the problem, especially if your cats are alone for significant lengths of time (as my 2 are). However, here are some suggestions: 1) Understand that you cats have GOT to have SOMETHING to scratch, especially if they spend a lot of time (or all the time) indoors. 2) Provide an attractive alternative -e.g., an old, ugly, upholstered chair, placed in some inconspicuous location, which you encourage and praise the cats for scratching. By the way, the proper texture is extremely important - rough, highly-textured fabrics or materials prove irresistable. 3) Get down on the floor and scratch the "approved" item yourself, while the cats are watching. This might seem weird, but it works! 4) If your cats like catnip, rub a little on the approved spot, or hide a bit of it in the upholstery. (Some cats are oblivious to catnip, however - mine are.) 5) Read the book "The Natural Cat" (available in bookstores) - it is full of good suggestions, including the address of a company that makes the "ultimate" in scratching posts. 6) Forget about traditional scratching posts (the overpriced kind in pet shops) - they are worse than useless for many reasons (again, see "The Natural Cat"). 7) Holler like hell at your cats when you catch them scratching anywhere you don't want them to. Cats are sensitive to their humans' approval, and hollering at them gets their attention and embarrasses them. This is quite effective with cats, if used sparingly. 8) Gently bat a cat out of the way when you catch him scratching the sofa. 9) Whatever you do, DO NOT declaw your cats. This is a barbaric practice equivalent to amputation of your fingers. My cats have learned where they can and cannot scratch. However, my sofa (a proscribed place) still shows a bit of damage. This is because the cats are smart and know just as much about my psychology as I know about theirs. When they are upset with me for some reason (late dinner, dirty litterbox, etc.), they wait until they're sure I'm looking, then carefully and quite dramatically scratch the sofa. They deliberately don't do a lot of damage (their claws are only about halfway out), but just enough to train me in proper behaviour. As far as I have been able to tell, they never do any damage when I'm not looking. In any case, I feel that my cats are well worth whatever small amount of inconvenience or furniture damage they cause. W. Christensen
tag@tty3b.UUCP ("Tom Gloger"3974 97320) (08/27/84)
In addition to yelling, I got good results using an old paperback book. When thrown end-over-end (not hard, you don't want to hurt the cat) the pages spread out and start fluttering. When our cat* saw this apparition descending like the angel of death, he was usually far out of reach before it landed. It only took two throws to break him of climbing the stairs (off-limits by reason of allergies). He complained about it, though. I didn't feel too sorry for him; he had other hobbies: inspecting parked cars, rolling in our neighbor's ash pile, shredding old newspapers, etc. * Curie, short for Curiosity. -- Tom Gloger AT&T Teletype Corporation Skokie, Illinois ihnp4!ltuxa!tty3b!tag