My GF cats are destroying our apartment and IDK what to about it,

K' Dash · Dec 15, 2020

I just want a tip or two from this thread.

This is a delicate situation, my GF is pregnant and gets very sick in the mornings and is usually in bad shape and moody through the day, so any subject is sensitive for her.

She has 3 cats, they're adorable and I really like them, I've had cats before so this is a non issue for me, the thing is the little monsters love to scratch the walls and furniture, even thou we have spent a lot of money on scratch posts that we put all over the apartment.

This morning I noticed the lower part of our couch is scratched to hell and back, what grinds my gears is that they have scratch posts next to it on both sides and they use them too!

Also been noticing scratch marks on some of the walls and other furniture and this situation is driving me crazy, I never had to deal with this before, my previous cats scratched just the scratch posts and nothing else.

I don't know what to do and don't want to bring the issue to her cause she's dealing with so much with the pregnancy and work.

Any real advice would be greatly appreciated.

rafox · Dec 15, 2020

Been through a similar situation... The best thing to do is to sort things out with her, I can't see any other way!
Have a honest talk about it and decide what to do, I'm sure you won't have to get rid of the cats, there are cat trainers and stuff to help with their behaviour.
Cats are simutaneously the best and the worst pets.

Euler007 · Dec 15, 2020

How often do you cut their nails?

Fliesen · Dec 15, 2020

They're not "destroying your apartment"
They're damaging your furniture.

If you have 3 cats, your furniture is gonna look like you have 3 cats 🤷‍♂️
It's just aesthetic flaws, they're not breaking shit, are they?

My advice would be to accept the fact that your furniture is going to look like shit because you have three cats 🤷‍♂️

RecRoulette · Dec 15, 2020

Seriously though, do you move the cats to the scratching posts whenever they try to claw the couch? That what we did for our cats and eventually they got the idea.

A friend of mine had success with double sided tape on the furniture to keep their kitten from clawing it. But I'm not sure if this would work for older cats

Surakian · Dec 15, 2020

You are going to have to talk to her at some point about it since you're going to both have to pay for the repairs or new furniture.

Look into cat trainers if you can.

If all else fails, buy covers for your furniture that they can scratch on instead and live with the walls being a mess.

Deleted member 511 · Dec 15, 2020

I agree that you should try talking to your GF about it. I would try to approach it as delicately as possible.

Fliesen said:
They're not "destroying your apartment"
They're damaging your furniture.

If you have 3 cats, your furniture is gonna look like you have 3 cats 🤷‍♂️
It's just aesthetic flaws, they're not breaking shit, are they?

My advice would be to accept the fact that your furniture is going to look like shit because you have three cats 🤷‍♂️

I would assume if they continue to scratch at the walls, they're eventually going to cause noticeable damage that the OP and his gf will have to pay for??

rafox · Dec 15, 2020

Fliesen said:
They're not "destroying your apartment"
They're damaging your furniture.

If you have 3 cats, your furniture is gonna look like you have 3 cats 🤷‍♂️
It's just aesthetic flaws, they're not breaking shit, are they?

My advice would be to accept the fact that your furniture is going to look like shit because you have three cats 🤷‍♂️

Dude, you entered his thread to dismiss his feelings?
The guy doens't like the fact that the cats are damaging his furniture, that's reasonable and there are ways he can keep it from happening: cutting their nails, hiring a trainer ou trying to educate them himself etc

Carn · Dec 15, 2020

In my experience, cats don't care much about what you buy for them.. they either like and use it, or they dont. We also have a scratching pole which they use for.. just sitting on.

Scratching might be a sign of them being bored tho; maybe introduce some new toys; or just try a simple scratch mat?

Sunster · Dec 15, 2020

Cat trees, scratching posts are good you should have those things along with cat shelves which will keep them from hanging out on the furniture too much.

Sheepinator · Dec 15, 2020

What Fliesen said.

Is this a new place for them? Even if not, it sounds like your pregnant gf obviously being stressed is probably contributing to their stress. Perhaps they are bored too. You said "apartment" so I wonder how big it is for three cats.

You can buy covers for furniture. We've accepted that one of our kitchen chairs is a lost cause, c'est la vie. The good far outweighs the bad.

It might also be that cats want different things to scratch on. One maybe likes the sisal rope often found on cat trees. Another may prefer carpet. You can try those disposable cardboard scratchers too.

Deleted member 13328 · Dec 15, 2020

Cats don't give a fuck, good luck OP.

K' Dash · Dec 15, 2020

They rarely do it when we're around and when we catch them they immediately stop and run away.

I'm sure they do it at night.

Bakercat · Dec 15, 2020

Destroy their shit in front of them. Establish dominance.

For real though, give treats when they use tower posts, spray water at them when clawing at furniture. Reinforce good behavior, punish bad behavior.

kambaybolongo · Dec 15, 2020

The solution is to not have 3 cats

Lurcharound · Dec 15, 2020

Unless they're fairly old and set in their ways consistent training should resolve this fairly quickly (this means investing time into it).

Step 1 - agree with your GF you're doing this and get her to agree on following steps
Step 2 - agree your negative reinforcement strategy - DON'T try and punish cats though other than using repeated vocal command - something like "No! No scratching" whenever they start to scratch something, stop them scratching along with command and put them out room if necessary
Step 3 - agree your positive reinforcement strategy - basically after a pause for the negative command to register take them to nearest scratch post and encourage them to scratch it - to begin with, even if you're just holding their paws up to it yourself, reward them with some treats and a clear vocal command - something like "good cat. well done".
Step 4 - put time and consistent effort into this and soon enough the cats will stop scratching other stuff (they may regress on occasion of course) and will use scratch posts instead - you may want to keep up rewards but reduce amount to tidbit and mix it up just with giving them attention - if they're regressing more than you'd like increase reward amount a bit (do watch not to make the buggers fat though)
Step 5 - pat yourself on the back

Unless you're unlucky this should work pretty quickly. Like most animals they learn quickly and will soon see scratching the post is a much better option than scratching anything else.

I'd avoid trimming nails BTW unless the cats are 100% indoors and they need it. I'm on side of vets, etc who discourage it and have never had to trim a cat's nails. They should take care of themselves. As noted for 100% indoors cats if they have very pampered lifestyle with little other use of their claws it may be necessary then.

Weebos · Dec 15, 2020

How big is your apartment? Might just be too small for three cats.

Cutting their nails more often should help with the damage.

Shadybiz · Dec 15, 2020

You can clip their claws (note: not de-claw...clipping with nail clippers), which may help somewhat.

Someone mentioned double sided tape on the surfaces they like to scratch. That may help as well, apparently it doesn't feel good on their claws.

Sunster said:
Cat trees, scratching posts are good you should have those things along with cat shelves which will keep them from hanging out on the furniture too much.

Says in the OP that there are multiple scratching posts.

MrHedin · Dec 15, 2020

Our cat used to really go after door frames but I put some double sided tape on both sides where she had been scratching and started going to the actual scratchers that we have, took the tape down after about 6 months and haven't noticed her going back to the frames at all. For furniture we just put some packing tape around the corners and that also worked.

Ensorcell · Dec 15, 2020

You can get them claw caps that will stop it, just don't under any circumstance get them declawed.

Shokunin · Dec 15, 2020

If the scratching posts don't work I'd take them to get kitty claw caps at a local grooming place. You'll have to do it every month or so but it will save you the headache of seeing your nice stuff destroyed.

EssBeeVee · Dec 15, 2020

tear their shit up in retaliation. but id just get their nails trimmed a bit. but it sure does grow back super fast. for my cats at least.

Putzballs · Dec 15, 2020

I'm in the same situation as you. My now wife's cats shred the furniture even though we have several scratch things for them to use and as much as I love the cats it pisses me off.

The only path forward that doesn't end in breaking up is to accept that your future will look like shit. It hurts the most when you buy brand new stuff but learn to live with it is my advice.

Indy in the Fridge · Dec 15, 2020

Try using a synthetic pheromone spray or diffuser around your furniture and use a cat nip spray on the scratching posts to lure your cats away from using the furniture so much.

It's not a 100% effective remedy but it can help. Cats will scratch on fabric that is comfortable on their paws as well as help sharpen their claws. It's hard to curb what is a natural instinct to them.

Tahnit · Dec 15, 2020

K' Dash said:
I just want a tip or two from this thread.

This is a delicate situation, my GF is pregnant and gets very sick in the mornings and is usually in bad shape and moody through the day, so any subject is sensitive for her.

She has 3 cats, they're adorable and I really like them, I've had cats before so this is a non issue for me, the thing is the little monsters love to scratch the walls and furniture, even thou we have spent a lot of money on scratch posts that we put all over the apartment.

This morning I noticed the lower part of our couch is scratched to hell and back, what grinds my gears is that they have scratch posts next to it on both sides and they use them too!

Also been noticing scratch marks on some of the walls and other furniture and this situation is driving me crazy, I never had to deal with this before, my previous cats scratched just the scratch posts and nothing else.

I don't know what to do and don't want to bring the issue to her cause she's dealing with so much with the pregnancy and work.

Any real advice would be greatly appreciated.

have you looked into softpaws?

Deadly Cyclone · Dec 15, 2020

Get the scratching tape. It's basically double sided tape you put on the places they scratch until they learn not to.

Also install some feliway diffusers.

Sunster · Dec 15, 2020

Shadybiz said:
You can clip their claws (note: not de-claw...clipping with nail clippers), which may help somewhat.

Someone mentioned double sided tape on the surfaces they like to scratch. That may help as well, apparently it doesn't feel good on their claws.

Says in the OP that there are multiple scratching posts.

Yeah I saw. They are good to have. You need shelves too though. Cats wanna traverse their environment above the ground.

Sheepinator · Dec 15, 2020

Hmmm, I had never heard of nail caps before and I don't like the sound of those. Two big issues:

Cats that go outdoors
Owners that are not able to maintain a 4-6 week nail trim/nail cap replacement schedule

If your cat escapes or gets lost, it's going to need a way to climb and defend itself, and to hunt. And the nails still grow. If you forget the schedule that sounds like it would be painful.

K' Dash · Dec 15, 2020

Lurcharound said:
Unless they're fairly old and set in their ways consistent training should resolve this fairly quickly (this means investing time into it).

Step 1 - agree with your GF you're doing this and get her to agree on following steps

Step 2 - agree your negative reinforcement strategy - DON'T try and punish cats though other than using repeated vocal command - something like "No! No scratching" whenever they start to scratch something, stop them scratching along with command and put them out room if necessary

Step 3 - agree your positive reinforcement strategy - basically after a pause for the negative command to register take them to nearest scratch post and encourage them to scratch it - to begin with, even if you're just holding their paws up to it yourself, reward them with some treats and a clear vocal command - something like "good cat. well done".

Step 4 - put time and consistent effort into this and soon enough the cats will stop scratching other stuff (they may regress on occasion of course) and will use scratch posts instead - you may want to keep up rewards but reduce amount to tidbit and mix it up just with giving them attention - if they're regressing more than you'd like increase reward amount a bit (do watch not to make the buggers fat though)

Step 5 - pat yourself on the back

Unless you're unlucky this should work pretty quickly. Like most animals they learn quickly and will soon see scratching the post is a much better option than scratching anything else.

I'd avoid trimming nails BTW unless the cats are 100% indoors and they need it. I'm on side of vets, etc who discourage it and have never had to trim a cat's nails. They should take care of themselves. As noted for 100% indoors cats if they have very pampered lifestyle with little other use of their claws it may be necessary then.

I'll try this and some other advice from this thread.

Thank you so much.

They have multiple scratch posts and a cat tree next to a big window.

wrowa · Dec 15, 2020

Do they have enough space to climb, jump, run, hunt? A lot of people are putting up a cat post or two and a small cat tree in some corner where it doesn't annoy the humans in the appartment, but the truth is: if you have cats, you need to design your appartment with the needs of cats in mind. Otherwise they'll get bored and start doing shit.

Fliesen · Dec 15, 2020

yunbuns said:
I agree that you should try talking to your GF about it. I would try to approach it as delicately as possible.

I would assume if they continue to scratch at the walls, they're eventually going to cause noticeable damage that the OP and his gf will have to pay for??

Hmmm, i assume you're talking about drywall? 🤔
because i don't see why a cat would scratch a "proper" wall to a degree where it'd cause damage.

rafox said:
Dude, you entered his thread to dismiss his feelings?
The guy doens't like the fact that the cats are damaging his furniture, that's reasonable and there are ways he can keep it from happening: cutting their nails, hiring a trainer ou trying to educate them himself etc

I'm not dismissing their feelings, i'm just trying to put things into perspective.
If you live with 3 cats, it's illusionary to expect that your furniture won't experience a degree of wear beyond what's caused by regular usage in a non-cat household.
Similarly, they're not breaking things, they're causing damage that makes your furniture less pretty to look at.

The easiest way to deal with this is to accept the fact that "cats + pristine furniture" is a very unlikely combination, even if you have scratching posts and all that shit. And unless they actually cause irreversible damage to your apartment (even scratches in walls can be easily covered up when moving out), it's all just cosmetic flaws, that should be outweighed by the emotional support you get from living with three animals.

It'd be a huge difference if they were to pee all over the place, because that causes lasting damage to the apartment and is detrimental to you, future tenants and your guests alike.

Shinoblee · Dec 15, 2020

For my girlfriend's cat, when she was young we made sure there was a scratching post on every floor of the house. Also we have a bunch of the cheap square carpets that the cat can scratch on and got rewards when using those.

Another thing was using bitter spray on some of the furniture and calming spray/catnip on the stuff she was allowed to scratch.

But this was done when she was young. Not sure how well it would work on an adult.

Fliesen · Dec 15, 2020

Ensorcell said:
You can get them claw caps that will stop it, just don't under any circumstance get them declawed.

haha wtf is this?!
I love it and i hate it.

Brandino · Dec 15, 2020

Fliesen said:
haha wtf is this?!
I love it and i hate it.

We tried to use those with our cats. They hated them, and would always chew them off.

Try getting something like Feliway op. It's facial pheromone diffuser that will help distress them and settle them down.

SomeOneInaHat · Dec 15, 2020

Cats fucking hate citrus. So if you only need to repel them from certain areas, some tactical placement of some citrus can help. Add 10 drops of lemon- or orange-scented essential oil to water (dilute). Then apply it to small inconspicuous areas on the couch. I have a friend use this to keep her cats from shitting in her laundry hamper. Also, if the cats are scratching the sides of the furniture, there are some sticky no-scratch pads you can apply to the legs of the furniture. If there have been any changes in your cats environment, a pheramone scent diffuser can help a whole lot with scratching and marking.

CatAssTrophy · Dec 15, 2020

Do not under any circumstances squirt your cats with water to deter them. This causes them a ton of anxiety, they don't know why they're being sprayed, and they will eventually fear YOU and not whatever area/activity they're doing. It's abuse.

If you MUST go with a deterrent, get some of those "ssscat" compressed air devices from Amazon. It automatically sprays air when something passes in front of it so the cats won't connect you with whatever scary thing is happening. Get some CARDBOARD scratcher boards to put in the areas where they scratch.

Scratching up that one corner of the couch? Put one right next to that so that they have a much better option next time they go to scratch. You may end up having to put those all over the house but at least they'll start preferring cardboard over your furniture. Eventually you can reduce the number of scratchers once they are weened off of furniture.

Also: unfortunately, depending on how long they've been scratching things, there may not be a way to break the habit. once they've been doing that long enough it just becomes ingrained into their behavior.

Sec0nd · Dec 15, 2020

Our cats usually start fucking shit up when they are bored and/or getting little attention. I can imagine that with your gf being pregnant they get less attention than they are used to. So playing with them more could help or getting toys that they can use on their own. Though getting suitable toys might be more of an time commitment than just playing with them lol.

The Climaxan · Dec 15, 2020

Spray bottle works at my house.

ParanormalFupa · Dec 15, 2020

You're about to have a kid. I wouldn't even worry about it.

Fliesen · Dec 15, 2020

ParanormalFupa said:
You're about to have a kid. I wouldn't even worry about it.

Well, unless, of course, the cats start scratching your baby 🤔

Grouch Douglass · Dec 15, 2020

My cat has two levels of scratches. The 100% effort of ripping our scratching posts to shreds and sort of a soft paw gentle scratch she uses when she wants inside a closed door in or to get our attention so we can fetch her treats. Thankfully the latter doesn't really leave any scratch marks

K' Dash · Dec 15, 2020

ParanormalFupa said:
You're about to have a kid. I wouldn't even worry about it.

I'm also about to buy a house and all your advice is going to help me to set a better environment for them.

I don't want my stuff being scratched to hell, I understand some scratches here and there, but I'm seeing excessive scratching, I like the little monsters, I'll take some of your advice and try to apply it.

Zeshakag · Dec 15, 2020

I have two cats in an apt, and i have a lot of vertical furniture:

Cat tree by the back patio
Window shelf
Cat hammock (wall mounted, may violate lease) A boujee scratching post ( https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Premium-Cat-Scratching-Post/dp/B07G3SLKQ8 )

I spent time in rewarding the cats for using these things using clickers, catnip and treats. I also spend about 20 minutes a day playing with them and rotating in different toys, as well as with a laser pointer.

It is a lot of work but it has saved my roommate's furniture, we don't even need the furniture covers at this point. I see it as my duty as the cat owner to tire them out and not let them destroy stuff. If they're destroying stuff, there is something missing in their routine and potential unhappiness/anxiety.

Tigress · Dec 15, 2020

kambaybolongo said:
The solution is to not have 3 cats

This is not a good solution at all.

Some one pointed out they could be picking up on your gf's stress. One of the reasons cats scratch is to relieve stress. One of the things you can try is a plug in called feliway that uses cat hormones to try to calm them down.

Also clip their nails every two weeks. That way you can keep the nails dull and they can't do as much damage. You could also buy these plastic nail caps called soft paws but according to their own instructions it says they stay on for about three weeks and you still have to clip the claws to put them on so it's more hassle for maybe a week of not having to clip their nails.

Also as some one pointed out try different scratching surfaces (and definitely try the cardboard scratchers, cats love those).

If you buy new furniture while expensive and not a gaurentee I find most cats don't like scratching on leather (they prefer a surface that their claws catch on cause they are trying to remove the outer sheath, they shed their claws like snakes she'd skin, it's how they keep them so sharp). I have had 8 cats (11 really but three were childhood cats with my parents who never had leather couches) and only now have I had one that likes scratching on the leather couch (and he doesn't do it much).

DrBillRiverman · Dec 15, 2020

Tigress · Dec 15, 2020

ParanormalFupa said:
You're about to have a kid. I wouldn't even worry about it.

Very true. My freind's kid has done way more damage to her stuff than any of my pets have to mine.

Weltall Zero · Dec 15, 2020

RecRoulette said:
Seriously though, do you move the cats to the scratching posts whenever they try to claw the couch? That what we did for our cats and eventually they got the idea.

A friend of mine had success with double sided tape on the furniture to keep their kitten from clawing it. But I'm not sure if this would work for older cats

Surakian said:
If all else fails, buy covers for your furniture that they can scratch on instead and live with the walls being a mess.

All of these are good tips, but, K' Dash, you don't just need to move them to the scratching post, you need to make them scratch it. To do this you have to gently grab their paws, press lightly to make the claws pop out, and make a scratching motion on the surface. You also need that to trim your cat's claws, which is also a good way to prevent most of the damage to furniture, so this video can serve as a tutorial for both:

Further, get them a proper, tall, 2m+ cat tree. Cats like to be in high places so a nice scratching post that is high above the ground will be more attractive to them, plus since they have to actually use their claws to climb they notice they're good places to do so. Scratching is also a way to scent mark a place as "theirs" and "safe", and again they're more likely to stay in high places if they're available. You can get fantastic cat trees for around $70 nowadays.

Also consider asking for advice in our official cat thread, it will probably get more visibility for the regulars.

CatEra |OT| Share your pics, read our tips, ask any questions OT

This is a thread by and for cat lovers! You can also find its sister, dog-themed thread here. CAT TIPS: Keep food and water as separate from each other as possible, because cats associate proximity of food with the fact that the water may be tainted (dead animals rotting in it), and tend to...

www.resetera.com

super-famicom · Dec 15, 2020

If you want to keep the cats away from a specific piece of furniture, canned air with motion sensor is a humane way to deter them

https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Deterrent-Activated-Repellent-Environmentally/dp/B0721735K9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=360STF924P3C3&dchild=1&keywords=motion+sensor+canned+air&qid=1608047458&sprefix=canned+air+motion+sen%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-1

tapedeck · Dec 15, 2020

My wife has a cat, we had the same problem that was 100% solved by..

1. Cat scratchers, we have 3 for one cat equally spaced through our apt.

2. Cut their nails, my wife does it and the cat doesn't mind he lets her with no problem, but definitely watch some YouTube tutorials first.

New002 · Dec 15, 2020

super-famicom said:
If you want to keep the cats away from a specific piece of furniture, canned air with motion sensor is a humane way to deter them

https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Deterrent-Activated-Repellent-Environmentally/dp/B0721735K9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=360STF924P3C3&dchild=1&keywords=motion+sensor+canned+air&qid=1608047458&sprefix=canned+air+motion+sen%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-1

Just want to chime in and say that I can't recommend these.

They are absolutely amazing...until the air runs out and you need a replacement air canister. Every replacement canister has been faulty and hit or miss. We've got a few of these devices with even more replacement canisters and it's all essentially useless/worthless. Based on reviews it's a known issue. Proceed with caution.

My GF cats are destroying our apartment and IDK what to about it,

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