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#1
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New Scratcher and a question
Most of you know I've had a fight with Buffy's claws and her tearing up
the chairs in my living room. (Funny, she was so good about letting me clip them the first couple of times.) She ignores the sisal rope scratcher completely. A neighbor gave me a big wide roll of two-sided sticky tape for cat-proofing the chairs. (Thank you!) Works great, but it looks pretty darn tacky! I sure don't want all my furniture covered in double-sided sheets of tape! My SO suggested I drape the chairs with old sheets. Hmmmm. Buffy has a carpeted kitty barrel/cradle piece of furniture (inherited from Persia). She scratches the heck out of the thick cedar support posts, which is what they were designed for. It's like she's scratching a tree. Fine, except it does nothing to trim her nails. I wind up having to vaccuum up small shards of wood! That's pretty annoying. Buffy always did like the cheap Smarty Cat corrugated cardboard scratcher. Not that it did much for her nails. The one she had had gotten worn. I had a spare in the closet. G I got it out, this time set it up as a slanted scratcher. Sprinkled it with a bit of the enclosed catnip. (It smelled pretty potent, and that thing has been in the closet for 6 months!) She found it immediately. Stood on it, ate a bit of the catnip and started scratching. We played for a bit after that (she had sort of the zoomies from da' nip! Tossed the golf ball around. Now she's on her kitty cradle taking a nap. Maybe with the new scratcher she'll forget about the chairs for a while. Do you think if I covered the chairs with old sheets Buffy would stop trying to use them as scratching posts? Jill |
#2
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New Scratcher and a question
On Sun, 5 Mar 2017 13:16:31 -0500, jmcquown wrote:
Do you think if I covered the chairs with old sheets Buffy would stop trying to use them as scratching posts? https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/7824609_f520.jpg I know this has been sitting around awhile and if anybody replied, my Usenet provider's server(s) apparently didn't pick it up, but at the time you posted it I really didn't feel like I had a constructive reply. Minnie doesn't scratch the furniture. I guess I'm lucky. She has three scratching posts in the house, and although she only rarely touches the one, she's at the other two every day. I set them up the day after I got her. She discovered the first one about two minutes later and has used it daily ever since. Yesterday, however, my landlady - who currently has three cats - and I were discussing this same issue in reference to one of hers that was problematic in this respect, and she mentioned that there are cat repellent products on the market designed to discourage cats from using your furniture to facilitate maintenance of those tiny little daggers of theirs. One of these is called Sour Apple or something line that, but the idea is that you just spray them on the furniture and it leaves a scent cats dislike. You can also make your own by mixing a scented essential oil with warm water. If a citrus scent doesn't work for Buffy you can try cinnamon, lavender, eucalyptus oil, or even a combination of two or more scents - you might have to experiment to find a recipe that works on Buffy, but I know you like playing with recipes, so I don't imagine that will constitute a major problem for you. ;-) If you're worried about damaging the furniture you can spray a bit of fabric cut from old clothing or linens you're going to discard anyway, tape it to a piece of plastic with that double-sided tape you mentioned you already have, and secure it to the furniture however you like. Safety pins work, but if you don't want to put pinholes in the chairs - if you wanted more holes in your furniture you could just let Buffy do it, right? - you might prefer to use some more of that double-sided tape instead. Technology offers another avenue you might want to explore - a motion sensor used in combination with something that emits an ultrasonic noise, for example. You hide it somewhere near the chair and when the motion sensor detects her approach it triggers the ultrasonic noisemaker and Buffy hopefully decides she doesn't like the sound of things and heads off in another direction, leaving the chairs and Buffy both unharmed. Some people recommend the squirt gun method. I never had much luck with that myself. My cats never seem to associate the incoming fire from the squirt gun with their behavior. They associate it with me instead, and then it takes months for the cat to stop fleeing in panic whenever I turn water on in a sink because he or she thinks I'm about to lock and load. If you catch her red-pawed at the furniture, you could try grabbing her and taking her over to her scratching post and putting her paws on it - if she'll let you get away with that without using you for a scratching post instead. This is similar to how I got Minnie to stop attacking the drawstrings on my venetian blinds. I'd just go get her and put her back on the floor. Sometimes I had to do it six or seven times in a minute's time because naturally, as soon as I let go of her she's jump right back up there and resume her attack, but eventually she got the message. Now she only does it when the blinds are closed, and that's to get me to open them so she can look outside - once I open them she leaves them alone and is content to just sit there and observe the birds, squirrels, the dog across the street, the mailman or whatever else she finds interesting out there. Hope something here helps. John D. Kasupski Niagara Falls, NY |
#3
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New Scratcher and a question
On 3/12/2017 9:41 AM, John Kasupski wrote:
On Sun, 5 Mar 2017 13:16:31 -0500, jmcquown wrote: Do you think if I covered the chairs with old sheets Buffy would stop trying to use them as scratching posts? I know this has been sitting around awhile and if anybody replied, my Usenet provider's server(s) apparently didn't pick it up, but at the time you posted it I really didn't feel like I had a constructive reply. Minnie doesn't scratch the furniture. I guess I'm lucky. She has three scratching posts in the house, and although she only rarely touches the one, she's at the other two every day. I set them up the day after I got her. She discovered the first one about two minutes later and has used it daily ever since. Yesterday, however, my landlady - who currently has three cats - and I were discussing this same issue in reference to one of hers that was problematic in this respect, and she mentioned that there are cat repellent products on the market designed to discourage cats from using your furniture to facilitate maintenance of those tiny little daggers of theirs. One of these is called Sour Apple or something line that, but the idea is that you just spray them on the furniture and it leaves a scent cats dislike. You can also make your own by mixing a scented essential oil with warm water. If a citrus scent doesn't work for Buffy you can try cinnamon, lavender, eucalyptus oil, or even a combination of two or more scents - you might have to experiment to find a recipe that works on Buffy, but I know you like playing with recipes, so I don't imagine that will constitute a major problem for you. ;-) If you're worried about damaging the furniture you can spray a bit of fabric cut from old clothing or linens you're going to discard anyway, tape it to a piece of plastic with that double-sided tape you mentioned you already have, and secure it to the furniture however you like. Safety pins work, but if you don't want to put pinholes in the chairs - if you wanted more holes in your furniture you could just let Buffy do it, right? - you might prefer to use some more of that double-sided tape instead. Technology offers another avenue you might want to explore - a motion sensor used in combination with something that emits an ultrasonic noise, for example. You hide it somewhere near the chair and when the motion sensor detects her approach it triggers the ultrasonic noisemaker and Buffy hopefully decides she doesn't like the sound of things and heads off in another direction, leaving the chairs and Buffy both unharmed. Some people recommend the squirt gun method. I never had much luck with that myself. My cats never seem to associate the incoming fire from the squirt gun with their behavior. They associate it with me instead, and then it takes months for the cat to stop fleeing in panic whenever I turn water on in a sink because he or she thinks I'm about to lock and load. If you catch her red-pawed at the furniture, you could try grabbing her and taking her over to her scratching post and putting her paws on it - if she'll let you get away with that without using you for a scratching post instead. This is similar to how I got Minnie to stop attacking the drawstrings on my venetian blinds. I'd just go get her and put her back on the floor. Sometimes I had to do it six or seven times in a minute's time because naturally, as soon as I let go of her she's jump right back up there and resume her attack, but eventually she got the message. Now she only does it when the blinds are closed, and that's to get me to open them so she can look outside - once I open them she leaves them alone and is content to just sit there and observe the birds, squirrels, the dog across the street, the mailman or whatever else she finds interesting out there. Hope something here helps. John D. Kasupski Niagara Falls, NY Thanks, John. I've strategically placed the sisal rope scratcher next to the chair she has been ripping to shreds. I've rubbed catnip on it in hopes she'll use that instead of the sides and back of the chair. We'll see. The double sided wide sticky tape works really well but it looks like crap. Not that I have company that often but it bugs me to see the chairs covered in sheaths of tape. I guess I'll have to give the citrus oil/eucalyptus water blend a try. I already know lavender won't work because I spritz my pillow cases with lavender water (very soothing, helps me sleep) and it doesn't stop her from curling up next to me at night. It would be so much easier if she'd just let me clip her claws. The first few times I did she was just fine with it. She'd sit on my lap, clip, clip. I thought wow, who knew it would be this easy? Now? You'd think I was trying to pull her teeth without the benefit of anesthesia. She sees the clippers and puts those claws to use, scrambling to get away from me! I've even tried rolling her up in a towel, burrito style (heh) so she can't wiggle around. She finds a way! And yes, I know not to cut down to the quick. She just won't let me clip them anymore. Someone here once said they take their cat to the vet to get their claws clipped. I can't afford to take her to the vet every few weeks. Those claws grow fast! Jill |
#4
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New Scratcher and a question
On Sun, 12 Mar 2017 22:03:36 -0400, jmcquown wrote:
I already know lavender won't work because I spritz my pillow cases with lavender water (very soothing, helps me sleep) and it doesn't stop her from curling up next to me at night. I was just about to request an update since this was a week ago, and then my mind went..."Pillowcases? Wait a minute..." Jill...no pun intended, but there's your solution. I once had an aunt who used to make sheets and blankets into slip-on covers that fit her chairs and sofa. She had a few different complete sets of them, and when needed she'd change them and run the ones she'd just taken off through the washer and dryer and put them away for next time. She didn't have cats, but as she liked to say, it was easier than putting furniture in the washer and dryer. It seems all you need is a sewing machine and some expertise, or barring that, someone who can make them for you. Then you can also treat the slip-on covers with some kind of Buffy repellant without worrying about marring your furniture. John D. Kasupski Niagara Falls, NY |
#5
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New Scratcher and a question
On 3/17/2017 2:26 PM, John Kasupski wrote:
It seems all you need is a sewing machine and some expertise, or barring that, someone who can make them for you. Then you can also treat the slip-on covers with some kind of Buffy repellant without worrying about marring your furniture. John D. Kasupski Niagara Falls, NY LOL! Thanks for the suggestion but no, I sold my sewing machine some 30 years ago. I'm certainly not going to pay someone to make slipcovers. And I'm not giving up my wonderful vintage cotton pillow cases. (Thanks Mom!) Buffy doesn't scratch those at all. She simply curls up next to me on the bed when we go to sleep. She never scratches on the bed. In the last couple of days she has used the sisal rope scratcher. I moved it closer to the corner of the chair with all the tape on it. Jill |
#6
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New Scratcher and a question
On Fri, 17 Mar 2017 14:58:43 -0400, jmcquown wrote:
In the last couple of days she has used the sisal rope scratcher. I moved it closer to the corner of the chair with all the tape on it. Very good! Problem solved, then. Be careful when walking around barefooted near those sisal rope ones. I often find detached shells from Minnie's nails imbedded in them, or occasionally right in front of them on the rug. Vacuum cleaners think they're delicious, but feet would probably just as soon avoid them. John D. Kasupski Niagara Falls, NY |
#7
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New Scratcher and a question
On 3/17/2017 5:26 PM, John Kasupski wrote:
On Fri, 17 Mar 2017 14:58:43 -0400, jmcquown wrote: In the last couple of days she has used the sisal rope scratcher. I moved it closer to the corner of the chair with all the tape on it. Very good! Problem solved, then. Be careful when walking around barefooted near those sisal rope ones. I often find detached shells from Minnie's nails imbedded in them, or occasionally right in front of them on the rug. Vacuum cleaners think they're delicious, but feet would probably just as soon avoid them. John D. Kasupski Niagara Falls, NY I never walk around barefoot. Jill |
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