HELP! Cat scratching new sofa !!!!

foreign_correspondent

maybe you should put off the leather sofa for a year, or just live with the fact that the kitten might attack it no matter what toys etc you give it!

If the cat damaging the sofa would be a disaster, then I am not sure its fair on the cat to get them both at the same time, as kittens do tend to go mad scratching some things.

We had hessian wallpaper when I was a kid - god, did the cat love that stuff!!:rotfl:

hethmar

To be honest, do you think a cat would be a good idea? Pets do tend to have a scratch, nibble or poo where you dont want them to.

Yes, of course you can buy or make some covers for the suite, but doesnt that rather spoil the look that you are buying them for?

LADY_A_5

it has happened purely by coincidence!!!

i have been waiting for the right kitten to come along, as well as the right sofa and deal on it too.

it is a bit mad the two will be happening within a few weeks of each other, but i will survive lol

im gonna try maybe some throw overs on the sofa, check out if i can find some arm cover type things and try toys and a post. if all else fails ill put some mittens on him lolol just kiddin

thanks xx

hethmar

Good luck. Unbelievably in the states some cats are declawed because their owners value their furniture more than the animal

LADY_A_5

also they say bengals are quite inteligent and you can command them to fetch etc...so why not no scratching the sofas?

hethmar

Good luck

LADY_A_5

omg really??? is that not illegal?? thats sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

foreign_correspondent

just think about how you will feel of the cat does really damage the sofa - I'm sorry, but it could happen, and better to be a realist now than to be in a quandry later.

I am sure bengals can be trained to an extent - dogs can be trained to do all sorts of stuff (lead blind people, sniff out drugs etc) but you can be sure that even the cleverest of dogs will chew your best shoes and poo on the lightest carpet in the house many times before traning is accomplished!

UKTigerlily

Declawing is illegal here, but not in all states. I won't go into detail but yes it's barbaric. You'll probably find the cat doesn't scratch the arms but lies on it's side, kicks the chair & scratches with front legs, that's what mine does! Down on the floor so they can pull themselves along the bottom lol

You can try citrus smelling things rubbed onto the sofa but idk what, might stain! Or you can get these coloured things that go over claws which are supposed to be good & are ok in the uk, i've never used them tho.

Or you can get sticky tape stuff that stops them but I think that's only for doors etc

Or, you could try training it not to, take it to it's post & praise it when used, spray it if it's at the chairs (Not cruel) mine soon learned not to bug the rats in that way & they don't associate you as the source

But really i'd just accept it probably will! I don't mind any mess my pets make, they're so worth it. I've got two old armchairs tho which i've had years & were secondhand so it doesn't matter.

Hope you sort something x

foreign_correspondent

UKTigerlily wrote: »

But really i'd just accept it probably will! I don't mind any mess my pets make, they're so worth it. I've got two old armchairs tho which i've had years & were secondhand so it doesn't matter.

Yup, us pet owners will probably never make it into 'homes and gardens' magazines, (she says, thinking of time old dog dug a hole in the middle of leather settee overnight, and looking at the tumbleweeds of dog hair under the kitchen table!) but they are worth it - to be honest, having any animal in the house means compromise about what's important.