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#21
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
dgk wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:54 -0800, "Bill Graham" wrote: chaniarts wrote: Rhino wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! soft claws Put a sharpening post covered with carpet at the foot of the bed, and keep the door to the bedroom closed, so the only time the cats can get in there is when you are in there, too. Then, when they try to sharpen their claws on anything except the sharpening post, throw a small pillow at them and scream at them. After a bit, they will start using the sharpening post, and only the sharpening post.... Instead of screaming at them, it's probably best to take them when they scratch something else and bring them to the scratching post. Actually, if you put catnip on the scratching post, they will train themselves to use that. I've always used blankets that overlay the mattress anyway so no part of the mattress is accessible to their claws. In fact, I have one comforter (being full scale winter here) that overlaps the entire bed to the floor (Queen bed, King comforter). Because it's a platform bed, it forms a "secret tunnnel" under the comforter that they love to stay in that goes all around the bed. I like to play "there's a monster under the bed", poking stuff under the comforter that get attacked by the monsters.It is important that no bare feet come too close however. Yeah, I do that too..... But you know, they have found out that a certain amount of stress is actually good for living things. You can spoil your kitties to death. Its good for them to get screamed at once in a while. And "forget" to feed them once or twice every month, too. They really need to learn that life isn't a bowl of cherries..... |
#22
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
Bill Graham wrote:
dgk wrote: On Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:54 -0800, "Bill Graham" wrote: chaniarts wrote: Rhino wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! soft claws Put a sharpening post covered with carpet at the foot of the bed, and keep the door to the bedroom closed, so the only time the cats can get in there is when you are in there, too. Then, when they try to sharpen their claws on anything except the sharpening post, throw a small pillow at them and scream at them. After a bit, they will start using the sharpening post, and only the sharpening post.... Instead of screaming at them, it's probably best to take them when they scratch something else and bring them to the scratching post. Actually, if you put catnip on the scratching post, they will train themselves to use that. I've always used blankets that overlay the mattress anyway so no part of the mattress is accessible to their claws. In fact, I have one comforter (being full scale winter here) that overlaps the entire bed to the floor (Queen bed, King comforter). Because it's a platform bed, it forms a "secret tunnnel" under the comforter that they love to stay in that goes all around the bed. I like to play "there's a monster under the bed", poking stuff under the comforter that get attacked by the monsters.It is important that no bare feet come too close however. Yeah, I do that too..... But you know, they have found out that a certain amount of stress is actually good for living things. You can spoil your kitties to death. Its good for them to get screamed at once in a while. And "forget" to feed them once or twice every month, too. They really need to learn that life isn't a bowl of cherries.... Cherries they can do without, but don't forget the tuna. MLB |
#23
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
MLB wrote:
Bill Graham wrote: dgk wrote: On Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:54 -0800, "Bill Graham" wrote: chaniarts wrote: Rhino wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! soft claws Put a sharpening post covered with carpet at the foot of the bed, and keep the door to the bedroom closed, so the only time the cats can get in there is when you are in there, too. Then, when they try to sharpen their claws on anything except the sharpening post, throw a small pillow at them and scream at them. After a bit, they will start using the sharpening post, and only the sharpening post.... Instead of screaming at them, it's probably best to take them when they scratch something else and bring them to the scratching post. Actually, if you put catnip on the scratching post, they will train themselves to use that. I've always used blankets that overlay the mattress anyway so no part of the mattress is accessible to their claws. In fact, I have one comforter (being full scale winter here) that overlaps the entire bed to the floor (Queen bed, King comforter). Because it's a platform bed, it forms a "secret tunnnel" under the comforter that they love to stay in that goes all around the bed. I like to play "there's a monster under the bed", poking stuff under the comforter that get attacked by the monsters.It is important that no bare feet come too close however. Yeah, I do that too..... But you know, they have found out that a certain amount of stress is actually good for living things. You can spoil your kitties to death. Its good for them to get screamed at once in a while. And "forget" to feed them once or twice every month, too. They really need to learn that life isn't a bowl of cherries.... Cherries they can do without, but don't forget the tuna. MLB Well, I knew one that liked melon balls, but cherries? - No. |
#24
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:47:35 -0800, "Bill Graham"
wrote: dgk wrote: On Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:54 -0800, "Bill Graham" wrote: chaniarts wrote: Rhino wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! soft claws Put a sharpening post covered with carpet at the foot of the bed, and keep the door to the bedroom closed, so the only time the cats can get in there is when you are in there, too. Then, when they try to sharpen their claws on anything except the sharpening post, throw a small pillow at them and scream at them. After a bit, they will start using the sharpening post, and only the sharpening post.... Instead of screaming at them, it's probably best to take them when they scratch something else and bring them to the scratching post. Actually, if you put catnip on the scratching post, they will train themselves to use that. I've always used blankets that overlay the mattress anyway so no part of the mattress is accessible to their claws. In fact, I have one comforter (being full scale winter here) that overlaps the entire bed to the floor (Queen bed, King comforter). Because it's a platform bed, it forms a "secret tunnnel" under the comforter that they love to stay in that goes all around the bed. I like to play "there's a monster under the bed", poking stuff under the comforter that get attacked by the monsters.It is important that no bare feet come too close however. Yeah, I do that too..... But you know, they have found out that a certain amount of stress is actually good for living things. You can spoil your kitties to death. Its good for them to get screamed at once in a while. And "forget" to feed them once or twice every month, too. They really need to learn that life isn't a bowl of cherries..... I don't think that it's humanly possible to never yell at them. But I've read that they really don't understand being yelled at and don't associate it with whatever it is that they've done. They just learn to fear you as unstable. It's also no good to scold a cat after the deed has been done; they do not understand that you're referring to something that happened at an earlier time. |
#25
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
dgk wrote:
On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:47:35 -0800, "Bill Graham" wrote: dgk wrote: On Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:54 -0800, "Bill Graham" wrote: chaniarts wrote: Rhino wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! soft claws Put a sharpening post covered with carpet at the foot of the bed, and keep the door to the bedroom closed, so the only time the cats can get in there is when you are in there, too. Then, when they try to sharpen their claws on anything except the sharpening post, throw a small pillow at them and scream at them. After a bit, they will start using the sharpening post, and only the sharpening post.... Instead of screaming at them, it's probably best to take them when they scratch something else and bring them to the scratching post. Actually, if you put catnip on the scratching post, they will train themselves to use that. I've always used blankets that overlay the mattress anyway so no part of the mattress is accessible to their claws. In fact, I have one comforter (being full scale winter here) that overlaps the entire bed to the floor (Queen bed, King comforter). Because it's a platform bed, it forms a "secret tunnnel" under the comforter that they love to stay in that goes all around the bed. I like to play "there's a monster under the bed", poking stuff under the comforter that get attacked by the monsters.It is important that no bare feet come too close however. Yeah, I do that too..... But you know, they have found out that a certain amount of stress is actually good for living things. You can spoil your kitties to death. Its good for them to get screamed at once in a while. And "forget" to feed them once or twice every month, too. They really need to learn that life isn't a bowl of cherries..... I don't think that it's humanly possible to never yell at them. But I've read that they really don't understand being yelled at and don't associate it with whatever it is that they've done. They just learn to fear you as unstable. It's also no good to scold a cat after the deed has been done; they do not understand that you're referring to something that happened at an earlier time. True. But 3 seconds after is not, "an earlier time". At least, not to a cat. I only scream and throw a pillow at them when they are actually engaged in the act.....Otherwise, I keep the door to the bedroom (or wherever) closed until they learn the main message. |
#26
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:15:10 -0500, "Rhino"
wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Are you still reading this thread. Its simple. I mbought a $15 vinyl matress cove, that zips over the entire mattress top and bottom, enclosing the whole mattress. and on top of that I have a mattress liner and fitted sheets. The claws can't get throgh the mattress liner and nothing can get through the vinyl. The liner makes it comfortable so I can't tell the vinyl is there. |
#27
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
"John Ross Mc Master" wrote in message ... On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:15:10 -0500, "Rhino" wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Are you still reading this thread. The short answer is that I read the first batch of responses, took action, and then went away. But I came back today to report on my results. Its simple. I mbought a $15 vinyl matress cove, that zips over the entire mattress top and bottom, enclosing the whole mattress. and on top of that I have a mattress liner and fitted sheets. The claws can't get throgh the mattress liner and nothing can get through the vinyl. The liner makes it comfortable so I can't tell the vinyl is there. My solution was pretty similar to yours. My initial solution, to put long L-shaped bendable plastic strips over the box spring, protected the box spring but turned out to be problematic in other ways: 1. the cats constantly attacked the package tape that I used to secure the L-shaped strips to the box spring, causing me to have to retape it fairly frequently 2. The L-shaped strips made it harder to make the bed. So I went to Plan B and bought an 8 foot by 10 foot plastic tarp for $10. I centered the tarp on the box spring in all directions and had the excess plastic dangling over the edge of the box spring. I tied the top two corners together underneath the bed, then tied the bottom corners together, also underneath the bed. This resulted in everything but the underside of the box spring being completely covered in plastic. Now, the cats don't even try to scratch at the box spring. I also have a "scratching board" on the floor beside the bed which they can use - and do - use when they want to scratch. There is no "maintenance" involved in this solution - nothing to retape or readjust - and it is just as easy to make the bed as it was when I had nothing to protect the box spring. The only down sides to this solution a it is less attractive to have the box spring covered than to leave it alone; there is a bit of a rustling sound if my legs contact the plastic when I'm getting out of bed. Neither of these is remotely important to me. Plan B was definitely the best solution for my needs! Thanks to all who replied to my question. -- Rhino |
#28
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
Rhino wrote:
"John Ross Mc Master" wrote in message ... On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:15:10 -0500, "Rhino" wrote: I have a conventional box spring and mattress that I am looking to replace because it is just too hard. I'd like to know if anyone knows any ways that I can reliably cat-proof the new mattress so that my two cats, both of which have their claws, don't sharpen their claws on it the way they did with the current mattress. (I say "did" because they don't scratch it a lot any more but I suspect that is because they are out of places that they can scratch on the mattress that aren't already shredded.) While the mattress still works fine, it looks *awful*. They have shredded it so badly that they can literally stick the top half of their bodies into the holes they have made - I saw Bebop, the larger of the two cats, do it once! I will not consider declawing them so please don't even suggest it. I do not want to banish them from my bedroom or bed either. I'm looking for some way to deter them from sharpening their claws on the wood frame of the mattress. In case it makes a difference, they are both 10 years old, one is male and one is female, and they are both neutered. Does anyone have any reliable techniques for protecting the bed from their claw-sharpening? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Are you still reading this thread. The short answer is that I read the first batch of responses, took action, and then went away. But I came back today to report on my results. Its simple. I mbought a $15 vinyl matress cove, that zips over the entire mattress top and bottom, enclosing the whole mattress. and on top of that I have a mattress liner and fitted sheets. The claws can't get throgh the mattress liner and nothing can get through the vinyl. The liner makes it comfortable so I can't tell the vinyl is there. My solution was pretty similar to yours. My initial solution, to put long L-shaped bendable plastic strips over the box spring, protected the box spring but turned out to be problematic in other ways: 1. the cats constantly attacked the package tape that I used to secure the L-shaped strips to the box spring, causing me to have to retape it fairly frequently 2. The L-shaped strips made it harder to make the bed. So I went to Plan B and bought an 8 foot by 10 foot plastic tarp for $10. I centered the tarp on the box spring in all directions and had the excess plastic dangling over the edge of the box spring. I tied the top two corners together underneath the bed, then tied the bottom corners together, also underneath the bed. This resulted in everything but the underside of the box spring being completely covered in plastic. Now, the cats don't even try to scratch at the box spring. I also have a "scratching board" on the floor beside the bed which they can use - and do - use when they want to scratch. There is no "maintenance" involved in this solution - nothing to retape or readjust - and it is just as easy to make the bed as it was when I had nothing to protect the box spring. The only down sides to this solution a it is less attractive to have the box spring covered than to leave it alone; there is a bit of a rustling sound if my legs contact the plastic when I'm getting out of bed. Neither of these is remotely important to me. Plan B was definitely the best solution for my needs! Thanks to all who replied to my question. You may have a problem this Summer because the vynal cover doesn't, Breathe" like a bare mattress does. But you may be able to fix that with a pad over the vynal..... |
#29
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
On 2/20/2011 2:05 PM, Rhino wrote:
So I went to Plan B and bought an 8 foot by 10 foot plastic tarp for $10. I centered the tarp on the box spring in all directions and had the excess plastic dangling over the edge of the box spring. I tied the top two corners together underneath the bed, then tied the bottom corners together, also underneath the bed. This resulted in everything but the underside of the box spring being completely covered in plastic. Now, the cats don't even try to scratch at the box spring. I also have a "scratching board" on the floor beside the bed which they can use - and do - use when they want to scratch. There is no "maintenance" involved in this solution - nothing to retape or readjust - and it is just as easy to make the bed as it was when I had nothing to protect the box spring. The only down sides to this solution a it is less attractive to have the box spring covered than to leave it alone; there is a bit of a rustling sound if my legs contact the plastic when I'm getting out of bed. Neither of these is remotely important to me. Plan B was definitely the best solution for my needs! Late to this thread, but I flip the box spring and put a fitted sheet on it then put it back on the frame. Sometimes you have to readjust it. |
#30
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Cat-proofing my mattress?
If you use a cheap air bed, IMO air beds are by far the most
comfortable mattresses in existence, you can use the shell of mattresses past to cover a new mattress. |
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