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New Scratcher and a question



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 5th 17, 07:16 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
jmcquown[_2_]
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Posts: 8,008
Default 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  
Old March 12th 17, 02:41 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
John Kasupski
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Posts: 112
Default 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  
Old March 13th 17, 03:03 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
jmcquown[_2_]
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Posts: 8,008
Default 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  
Old March 17th 17, 07:26 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
John Kasupski
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Posts: 112
Default 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  
Old March 17th 17, 07:58 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
jmcquown[_2_]
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Posts: 8,008
Default 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  
Old March 17th 17, 10:26 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
John Kasupski
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Posts: 112
Default 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  
Old March 17th 17, 10:47 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
jmcquown[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,008
Default 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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