2 cats one leather sofa HELP?

Question

Hiya recently in the last 3 days me and my boyfriend got a leather sofa its lovely but when i was cleaning it i noticed scratch marks on it then right infront of me the young cat Midnight scratched it :-o my boyfriend was so upset as thats his first ever leather sofa i put on a throw to try cover it up so they would realise not to do that, but then the youngest cat pulled at the throw and then attacked the sofa again she loves the sofa and would curl up on it and fall asleep is there any way to help protect our lovely cream sofa from them? our last sofa was fabric and we had to use tin foil to stop the youngest from pee-ing on it that helped for few months but then she started attacking the tin foil so i dont think tin foil will work now, i have heard of sticking double sided sticky tape on the couch but where do i stick it exactly? please dont suggest declawing them as i would NEVER do that to them here in the uk that is classed as animal cruelty and i couldnt ever do that to my girls there young still and play alot and the sofa is the one is coming out worst lol any advice?

Answer 1

Part of their desire to scratch is to mark territory with the scent glands at the base of their claws. It may be that your cat likes the texture of the leather and thinks it feels good to scratch there, or it may be that because the sofa is new and smells unfamiliar that they want to add their own scent. Leather of course can be also become easily marked. I had two leather sofas and though neither of my cats showed any interest in scratching them, they did make small nicks in the leather simply by jumping on and off them. For this reason I put a couple of heavy weight throws on the sofas to protect them.



Cats will rarely scratch anywhere they rub their face up against, and because Feliway mimics the scent from cats facial glands it can be used to discourage unwanted scratching. You simply spray it on once a day for 21 days. If you want to try this I'd recommend testing the Feliway on an unseen area of the sofa first, just in case it discolours the leather in any way.



This article has lots of helpful suggestions on ways you can protect furniture and discourage your cats from scratching there.



http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20problems/cats/scratching.html



I'm from the UK too and agree that it's unbelievable that some people would resort to maiming their cat for life just because they value their furniture more than their pet's health and happiness. Thank goodness European vets acknowledge that declawing is an act of animal cruelty.

Answer 2

Hi,

I agree with the person above with the spray, its worth a try. Don't let them keep doing it...honestly they can make a total wreck of your furniture.. I'm having the same problem and we cant buy a new sofa because the cat will ruin that one too, she has been scratching it so much shes actually put a hole in it. I have read online that you should have a spray bottle of water beside you and everytime they attempt to scratch the sofa squirt them with water.. we are going to try this also. Sounds cruel but supposedly they get the idea fast. At night keep them in a room/kitchen which hasn't got anything that can be ruined lol!,, As they get older they get worse scratching it. x

Answer 3

Thank god you refuse to go down the de clawing route (has this Barbaric practice not been outlawed yet?). Anyway try Feliway it's not so expensive and within a few weeks it should lessen the scratching. You can also buy the spray aswell as the plug-in diffuser.Perhaps try both.



Buy it offline though there is a good uk site called animal medicines they stock it and it is cheaper than buying it from your vet.



In my local vet I paid £31.40 for the diffuser when I checked online I discovered I could have bought it for £20.00 -so if you can wait a couple of days for delivery it is worth buying from them.

Answer 4

Try Vicks Vaporub or Karvol oil...cats hate these kind of smells and won't go near it! BUT please test it on an unseen area of sofa first as it could stain, I have only ever tried it on a fabric sofa. You will have to reapply it every few days.



If this doesn't work, get a plant sprayer (from the pound shop!) and spray them with water when you see them doing it. This is not cruel, it won't hurt them and should deter them! When you see them using the scratching post give them lots of praise and a treat.



Hope this helps!