Oh, okay. The thing is many people who live with cats complain they scratch their furniture but give them no alternatives and then get annoyed at them for normal behaviour, so we want to stop that attitude, that’s all.
We used to have a rather large sisal fibre mat/rug at home, that Siegfrieda (my cat) used to scratch. However my mum got some hate boner against that mat, and replaced it with an actual rug. That’s when Frieda decided she’d hop onto the sofa and chairs and scratch them.
We bought her a scratching post - and she simply ignored it. I solved the issue by buying two smaller sisal mats, and placing them strategically in places Frieda hangs around. And then slapping her butt every time she used them, for positive behaviour reinforcement (“I’m pet when I scratch it! I should scratch it more!”)
I’m sharing this to highlight it’s also important to recognise each individual cat has preferences, that might not apply to other cats. She wanted a horizontal surface to scratch; so no amount of scratching posts would solve it.
And my cat says scratching furniture doesn’t damage it.
Just put scratching posts next to the furniture instead.
…she doesn’t actually scratch it any more, but I still use this analogy because it’s a light-hearted way to say “bullshit”.
Oh, okay. The thing is many people who live with cats complain they scratch their furniture but give them no alternatives and then get annoyed at them for normal behaviour, so we want to stop that attitude, that’s all.
Thanks for explaining though, we appreciate it.
It’s completely off-topic, but:
We used to have a rather large sisal fibre mat/rug at home, that Siegfrieda (my cat) used to scratch. However my mum got some hate boner against that mat, and replaced it with an actual rug. That’s when Frieda decided she’d hop onto the sofa and chairs and scratch them.
We bought her a scratching post - and she simply ignored it. I solved the issue by buying two smaller sisal mats, and placing them strategically in places Frieda hangs around. And then slapping her butt every time she used them, for positive behaviour reinforcement (“I’m pet when I scratch it! I should scratch it more!”)
I’m sharing this to highlight it’s also important to recognise each individual cat has preferences, that might not apply to other cats. She wanted a horizontal surface to scratch; so no amount of scratching posts would solve it.
Oooo, good point. Thanks for the advice and correction, we appreciate it!