Yep.  I’m a cat lover.  We have 5 cats, but their clawing behavior gives me “paws.”   One thing we’ve learned is that kitties sometimes destroy things.  However, I couldn’t imagine our lives without these furry razor balls.  They are our friends, our second children, and my emotional support animals.

I know many of you who read my blog mentioned that you, too, have emotional support animals for mental health reasons.  As much as I love their company, though, these little boogers need lots of care.  Not unlike children, they also need redirection sometimes.

All cats like to scratch.  It’s instinct.  They scratch to sharpen claws, to mark territory, and in play.  You can’t fight instinct.  Cats will scratch.  So how do you protect your furniture, carpets, and other “clawable” surfaces from your kitty companions?

Stop Cat Clawing

1. Spray surfaces with deterrents.

   

   Many products exist, but most of them smell vile, contain harsh chemicals, or damage surfaces. Look for sprays with natural ingredients.  I recommend Claw Withdraw Cat Scratch Spray Deterrent.  I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks, simply spraying furniture and favorite scratching places a few times a day.  It took a few days, but so far, it’s working.  We’ve noticed a significant decrease in undesirable scratching behavior.  Best of all, I don’t have to worry about the ingredients hurting the cats.  It contains deionized water, astragalus-rosemary herbal blend, paraben-free preservative.  The herbal blend has a nice fragrance, too!  The cats don’t like it, but I do!

2. Double-sided sticky tape.

   Put double-sided sticky tape on their favorite places to scratch.  While it’s not the latest home decor fashion, it does deter scratching.  Since it’s clear, it’s not terribly noticeable and the cats really hate the feel on their paws.  Of course, placing double-sided tape on carpet and walkways.

3. Nail Caps

   I had a friend that applied plastic nail caps over her kitties’ claws.  These prevented clawing pretty well for a couple of her cats, but some of her cats simply chewed them off.  They don’t prevent cat’s clawing behavior, but they minimize damage when they do.  Bonus: The colors are like an instant manicure for your kitty 🙂

4. Provide a place to scratch.

   

   Place cat trees and scratch posts or pads near where your cats enjoy scratching.  My cats usually scratched the couch and the carpets next to the couch.  I placed a cat tree in the den and one in the living room.  Since we have 5 cats, we needed two fairly good sized ones. These cat trees have become ratty from use, but the cats enjoy their own scent so we haven’t replaced them.

5. Trim Your Cats Nails

   Keeping kitty’s claws trimmed reduces clawing damage to furniture, as well.  Honestly, though, we rarely trim our cat’s claws unless we see excessive scratching.  We keep an eye on their dew claws to make sure they aren’t turning into our cats’ paws.

Do you have cats?  How do you prevent clawing behavior?

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Alicia Taylor

Blogger at TaylorLife

Happily married to the love of my life. It's just us, our 5 cats, and our beautiful woods. I'm loving living back in the Florida panhandle being close to family. I love cooking, living a healthy lifestyle, taking care of our cozy home, and trying new things.

We enjoy hosting parties and my husband and I are both avid gamers. You can find me on PS4 as SunshineFlaGirl. We also play tabletop RPGs and eurogames.

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