How to Keep Your Cat From Scratching Furniture – and Why You Should Avoid Declawing at All Costs

As much as we adore them, it can drive cat lovers crazy to see their beloved feline claw at their furniture. Cats are capable of precious snuggles, amazing acrobatics, and hilarious antics but watching furniture get torn to shreds is not fun! 

Of course, clawing is a completely natural behavior for cats. According to PAWS, cats will scratch at furniture, carpet, and other objects for numerous reasons, such as to remove the dead outer layer of their claws, to mark their territory by leaving a visual mark and scent (cats have scent glands on their paws), as well as to stretch their bodies and paws. Unfortunately, for some inexperienced guardians, a cat’s need to claw might drive them to return or abandon their new feline. 

70 percent of shelter cats end up being killed including strays, feral and surrendered cats, so it’s important we keep cats happy and safe in their home by any means possible, and keep them out of shelters. So, if your cat is scratching at furniture and other items in the house, here are some tips for how to deter them.

To read more on this story, click here: How to Keep Your Cat From Scratching Furniture – and Why You Should Avoid Declawing at All Costs

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Is Your Cat Clawing Up Your Beautiful Furniture?

New furniture already destroyed by your cat? If this scenario sounds familiar, there are things you can do to limit the damage.

Consistent Training

First, even if your cat is an adult when it joins your home, you can still train it not to destroy your best furniture. The key is to start training from day one and be consistent. Discouraging the cat sometimes and turning a blind eye at other times only teaches the cat to keep clawing until you cause a fuss.

Understand that cats need to scratch to keep their claws from growing too long. You cannot discourage this impulse completely, but keeping claws trimmed will reduce the need. Buy a claw clipper at the pet shop and make sure you don’t cut close to the quick.

Your cat may not let you do a whole paw at once, so keep the clippers in your pocket and get a nail or two at a time, and be sure to reward your cat with praise and petting afterwards. If your cat likes to be brushed, follow claw clipping with a good brushing as a reward.

They need to do it

Cats also claw furniture because the stretching, flexing and resistance involved feel good. Since most of our homes don’t have mice to chase, domesticated cats have few opportunities to get natural exercise. Playing with your cat is the only way to ensure it gets the activity it needs. A daily play session or two will keep it from clawing out of boredom.

Because the need to scratch cannot be completely suppressed, you must provide the cat with something it enjoys scratching. This, as most cat owners learn, is seldom the expensive three-tiered gym that takes up most of a room. It is your job to keep trying items until you find something to the cat’s liking.

The inexpensive scratching box of corrugated cardboard is appealing to most cats, but preferred items also include a split log with the bark on and facing up, an old wicker basket, a coir doormat, a discarded leather purse or an old running shoe. Rubbing catnip on the item increases its appeal.

Chairs & Such

For living room chairs, opt for upholstered swivel rockers. Cats don’t like sharpening their claws on things that don’t provide resistance for them to pull against.

To safeguard the couch and other good furniture, invest in attractive, good quality throws and drape them over favorite scratching spots. The cat won’t scratch the throw because it isn’t anchored down, and throws can be quickly whisked aside when company comes.

Make sure your cat has a comfortable place to sleep. Cats often take over furniture because they have no spot of their own. Once a cat adds a piece of furniture to its territory, clawing is likely to follow.

Finally, don’t overlook the power of scent. Cats have a keen sense of smell, and mark furniture with their scent to let others know it’s theirs. You can win the battle for territory by misting your furniture with a fabric-freshening spray or buying a cat-repelling product at a pet store. Smells cats particularly dislike include citrus, mint and pine.

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Kitten Dies in Do-It-Yourself Declawing Operation: Two People Charged

When Carmenza Piedrahita wanted to declaw her kitten Toby, Miami-Dade prosecutors say, she didn’t go to a licensed veterinarian.

Instead, she turned to an elderly Miami man who along with another man performed an illegal do-it-yourself declawing of the cat, police said. Toby fell ill. For two weeks, he lingered in pain and dehydration, vomiting a green substance, the exposed bones on his front paws infected and swollen.

Piedrahita finally took Toby to a Miami animal clinic, where he died. Now, prosecutors have formally charged Piedrahita, 54, and Geronimo Gonzalez, 72, with felony animal cruelty.

“She feels terrible about the whole situation,” said Piedrahita’s lawyer, Christian Dunham. “She really wanted the cat. If not, she wouldn’t have taken him to the clinic.”

Piedrahita was formally charged last week and plans to fight the prosecution. Gonzalez pleaded not guilty Wednesday at arraignment in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. His lawyer declined to comment.

“I can’t imagine the pain and suffering this cat endured. Animals suffer in silence,” said Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Attorney Kathleen Hoague, who is prosecuting the case with Kimberly Archila.

The declawing of cats, while legal when performed by a licensed veterinarian, is frowned upon by many veterinarians and the animal-rights community. It has been banned in some countries.

According to the Humane Society, which opposes declawing, many pet owners falsely believe the operation is akin to trimming nails. In fact, the procedure actually involves amputating the last bone of each toe. “If performed on a human being, declawing would be like cutting off each finger at the last knuckle,” according to Humane Society literature.

Because of the health risks — some cats end up with limps for life — many vets won’t perform the delicate procedure anymore. That includes Miami’s Silver Bluff Animal Clinic, which encourages cat owners to buy a scratching post or try replaceable soft plastic caps for the nails of the felines.

“We also try to teach owners of kittens to trim their nails,” said Silver Bluff vet Melanie Anderson. “We really try to steer them away from the declawing process.”

As for Toby, he was a stray who at 2 months old was adopted through the county’s animal shelter in July 2014. By the time he was 8 months old, Piedrahita decided to get him declawed.

“I thought it was best for him because he had damaged some furniture,” she wrote in her statement to Miami-Dade police. “I had the best intentions. I wanted to keep him in the house because he was our beloved cat.”

Piedrahita admitted that she did not take Toby directly to a clinic because it was too expensive. In September, while at a party at a ranch in Homestead, Piedrahita met Gonzalez.

According to her statement and to her lawyer, Piedrahita honestly believed he was a vet. “She thought he was legit,” Dunham said. “She definitely wouldn’t have gone to him if she thought he wasn’t a vet.”

But Miami-Dade police say Piedrahita “had full knowledge” that Gonzalez was not licensed.

The elderly man picked up Toby from Piedrahita’s West Kendall home on Sept 28 and took him somewhere in South Miami-Dade. Most of the procedure was actually performed by another man identified only as Jose, according to police report. (He has yet to be charged.)

Exactly what cutting tool was used in the operation is unknown. The operation was done for free, although Piedrahita offered to give Gonzalez $100. He declined.

Gonzalez claimed he only assisted by “holding” the sedated animal and “applying crazy glue” to the paws after they were cut, police said. Piedrahita claimed she took the cat to the clinic four days later, although police believed it was longer — he was brought to the Animal Welfare Society of South Florida on Oct. 9, nearly two weeks after the surgery.

Photos in the court file depicted the gruesome wounds. A vet also noted that the animal was “in severe pain due to exposed bones in both front legs.”

Piedrahita, who has no criminal record, is charged with a third-degree felony and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

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Strategically Placed Scratching Posts Could Save Your Furniture

Recently, we got a new couch. We’d had used furniture for a long time, and in a way, it allowed me to get lax — I never worried much about whether the cats scratched the furniture because it was ancient anyway, and not the most beautiful pieces in the furniture universe. I got lucky — I didn’t have a lot of trouble, though Kali (now deceased) loved to scratch a particular corner of an ancient futon. We got a washable cover to place on it, which generally seemed to make the cats want to scratch less, and it made me forget about the previous scratching.

But when we spent a few hundred dollars on a new couch, I started thinking more about providing good scratching options for my cats. I believed that cats would be more tempted to scratch if the fabric on the couch had an obvious nap (a texture that had something for the cats to grab onto and dig claws into), so I chose a microfiber that was smooth.

The saleslady (a cat person) said that when she purchased new furniture, she placed the cat scratching post in a prominent place in the living room. Picture a room with a couch, and a coffee table in front of the couch. The cat scratching post would replace the coffee table.

The saleslady theorized that the cats liked being the center of attention in the room and they would head right to the scratching post and use it. I wondered whether the cats enjoyed being the center of attention or the cat scratching apparatus had simply been placed in an area that was easier for the cats to use. Regardless, we had a few days until the couch actually, so I took the saleslady’s advice. We had a small cat scratching post. I knew it was inadequate (not tall enough, not enough scratching area), though the cats did love the little tube area to play in. I ordered a taller and more sturdy scratching post. We set them both in the center of the room, right in front of the couch.

To read more on this story, click here:

Strategically Placed Scratching Posts Could Save Your Furniture

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Trimming Your Cat's Nails Shouldn’t be Stressful: It Should Be a Pleasant Experience

If your cat becomes Houdini and magically vanishes whenever you even think about trimming her nails, part of the problem might be she has learned to associate the procedure with restraint, discomfort, fear or even pain. Even if you do manage to accomplish the nail trimming procedure, if you’ve had to wrap your cat in a towel, enlist the help of family members to hold her down, restrain her by scruffing or have punished her in any way for being a wiggle worm, then all that just compounds the problem. If she dislikes the process now, she’ll absolutely hate it the next time and then go into full panic mode the time after that.

Nail Trimming Shouldn’t be Stressful

Ok, it may not top the list of your cat’s favorite things to do, but it shouldn’t create a wave of panic and should definitely not result in hissing, growling, biting or scratching (by the cat or by you!). When done correctly, it should be a quick, easy, and dare I say, pleasant experience.

Develop Trust

If you’re dealing with a kitten, don’t waste time – start getting her comfortable with having her paws touched and her nails trimmed. This is the ideal time because if you get her comfortable with it from the very beginning it will be a heck of a lot easier when she’s an adult.

If you’re dealing with a cat who has never had her nails trimmed or has had a less-than-happy experience with the procedure, you’ll have to take it slow and do some trust-building. For this, you won’t even get out the clippers or attempt to trim one nail. Your main objective during this phase is to show your cat having her paws touched is a good thing.

The Velvet Touch

Choose a time to begin the training when your cat is relaxed and maybe even a bit sleepy. Arm yourself with some treats. Gently touch her paw and then offer a treat. If she has never been comfortable with having her paws touched then make sure when you do touch her, it’s for no more than a couple of seconds – just one gentle stroke.

Work up to being able to pet each of her paws and then to being able to lift and hold one paw for a few seconds. When you hold her paw don’t grasp it – just let it sit in your hand for the count of three. Reward your cat with a treat for her tolerance.

The next step is to hold a paw and gently press to allow the nail to extend. Be very gentle. Reward your cat. Do this with all of the paws.

Do the above exercises a couple of times a day until you feel your cat is completely comfortable with having her paws held and gently pressed so the nails are exposed. Remember to always reward your cat with a treat for her acceptance of each move you make.

Choose the Right Nail Clipper

Get a nail clipper meant for cat nails. Don’t use a dog nail clipper (too big) and don’t use clippers meant for human fingernails (they’ll split the nails). The cat’s nails are smaller and thinner so use clippers specifically designed for their size and shape.

Avoid Cutting the Quick

There’s a blood supply running through the nail. If your cat’s nails are light-colored you can see the pink part. That’s called the quick and it contains nerves and the blood supply. If you cut the quick you’ll cause pain to your cat and it’ll also result in bleeding. Cutting the quick, in addition to causing pain, will undo the good behavior work and your cat may develop a fear of the procedure.Only cut the very tip of the nail – don’t go beyond the curve. If your cat’s nails are light-colored, it’s much easier to see the quick, but if they’re dark-colored, you have to be even more careful. Always cut less than you think you should. If you’re at all in doubt about how much to trim, have your veterinarian or one of the clinic’s veterinary technicians show you.

If you do accidentally cut the quick, stop the bleeding with a little cornstarch. Keep a small container of cornstarch with your grooming supplies just to be on the safe side. Hopefully though, you’ll never need it.

Trimming the Nails

If your cat has had negative experiences with nail trimming, you shouldn’t attempt to do more than one or nails during each trimming session. It’s better to have the whole procedure over and done before your cat even realizes what just happened. If you keep the experience quick and positive, she’ll be more relaxed next time around.

Choose a time for nail trimming when your cat is relaxed. Hold the nail trimmer with one hand and take your cat’s paw in the other hand. Gently press to expose a nail and do a quick, but careful snip. If she reacts, don’t attempt to do any more nails. If she’s calm, do another. Always end on a positive note so it’s better to come back and do a couple more nails later, rather than have her struggle and undo all the good behavior modification work you’ve been doing.

It will also help the process if you keep track of which paw you’re working on so you’ll know where you left off when it’s time to do a couple more nails. The less you have to hold a paw while you double-check whether you’ve already cut those nails, the better.

How Often Should You Trim Your Cat’s Nails?

Typically, once a month is sufficient but that will depend on how fast your particular cat’s nails grow.

The Scratching Post

Don’t be surprised if your cat races over to her scratching post after you’ve trimmed her nails. It’s actually a good way for her to complete the manicure. It’s a great way for her to displace any apprehension she may have had about the procedure. In our house, it’s standard behavior for my cat to head directly to her post as soon as the last nail has been trimmed.



What About Declawing?

Declawing is not a humane option and shouldn’t be viewed as a way to avoid nail trimming. Being able to scratch is a vital part of being a cat. Declawing is the equivalent of mini amputations. Scratching behavior serves many vital emotional and physical functions for a cat. If your cat is engaging in furniture scratching, then provide an appealing scratching post, place it near the area where she’s scratching and reward her for using the post. If you’re considering declawing your cat because you are unable to trim her nails, your veterinarian will teach you how to do it or you can bring your cat in to have a veterinary staff member do the nail trim.

You may be interested in reading: Declawing: How This Procedure Affects Cats

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