You love your cat, but you love your furniture too. Can your cat and your furniture peacefully coexist? Absolutely! It just takes some understanding and a little bit of your time. To understand why cats claw up the furniture, you have to understand why cats scratch. Scratching is a combination of exercise, stretching, sharpening of claws, and marking of territory. To a cat, the corner of the sofa is the perfect spot to do what comes naturally; it's high, sturdy, and scratch -able. In short, your cat scratches your furniture because it doesn't have any furniture of its own to scratch.

To go about its work, your cat needs a scratching post that is acceptable to her, she has to know that the scratching post belongs to her, and she has to know that using the scratching post pleases you. Merely providing a scratching post isn’t enough to save your sofa. An acceptable scratching post is tall and sturdy. Just like the corner of the couch, the post should be tall enough to let your cat get a full stretch and sturdy enough to withstand those really vigorous scratching sessions.

A barrel-type post covered in sisal rope is just what the kitty needs. Place it in an area that your entire family congregates with plenty of room to maneuver. Believe it or not, your cat tries to emulate your behavior. To let your cat know that the scratching post is the preferred scratching place, you need to use it! When you catch your cat examining the scratching post, extend your own claws and give it a few scratches. She’ll quickly get the idea. If your cat responds to catnip, you can rub it on the sisal rope and set up a cardboard scratching post right next to the sturdy one. The cardboard posts can be messy, but they are inexpensive and come already infused with catnip.

Cats typically don’t respond well to punishment, but they will bend over backwards to please you. Use that to your advantage – give them a sharp “No!” when you catch them scratching the furniture, and heap praise on them when you catch them using the scratching post. Before long, your cat will use the scratching post just to get the attention from you! As soon as your cat shows the first sign of interest in the scratching post, take away her old scratching areas by covering them with acrylic shields. She’ll go looking for a new, permanent scratching spot; your time and energy will be rewarded when she chooses her scratching post instead of another corner of the furniture.

You can have your cat and nice furniture. Just make sure your kitty has furniture of her own to abuse!

Copyright 2007 by Brock Lorber

Brock Lorber -- investor, aviation coach, and author -- provides helpful tips for the http://myotherkids.com/cats.htm