Without declawing a cat, are there any surefire ways to keep them from scratching and clawing at new furniture?

My friends have a kitten that's only a few months old. They just bought new furniture and was wondering if there was any surefire way to keep her from scratching and clawing at the furniture?I know a vet once recommended moth balls for dogs to keep them off furniture. Any suggestions?

You can buy plastic caps at most pet stores or order them online. You slide them over your cats nails and they stay on for a few weeks

I would get them a scratching post, and then play with the cat around the scratching post. I don't think there really is a way to stop a cat from doing it, because cats aren't really trainable.

There are these things you can buy at the pet store called Soft Paws. You trim the cat's nails, apply, and then it'll keep the furniture safe.

Soft paws, they are caps that you can apply to the kitties nails, I heard that they work very well.also if the kitty has a problem with scratching a certain piece of furniture you can buy sticky paw, you apply it to the furniture, when the kitty goes to scratch the furniture his paws will get sticky and that should discourage him from scratching there.those 2 ideas are much more humane and also if the cat would get declawed and would happen to get out, the kitty would have no way of protecting itself from other cats or predators.You can get sticky paws from your local pet store.I would get the soft paws over the sticky paws.http://www.softpaws.com/Moth balls might work, but they smell really bad and I am not sure if that would negatively effect the animal, also I personally would not want to sit on a sofa that smells like moth balls.

There is no 100%, absolutely guaranteed method. There are ways to greatly reduce the risk of furniture being ruined. I have never had any furniture scratched up, other than a garage sale couch that I didn't care about. Have plenty of scratching posts/pads and TRAIN the cat to use them. Rub fresh catnip on them, and play with the kitten around the scratch posts. Don't have them in out of the way places where the cat has to hunt to find them. Cats like to scratch when they wake up, so put a post near where the cat sleeps. Trim the nails on a regular basis, and try Soft Paws nail caps if necessary. Apply wide double-stick tape to the corners of furniture.Bottom line...decide that a living, feeling creature (the kitty) is more important than an inanimate object.

We taught Cleo as soon as we got her that scratching on furniture is a big no. When she tried to do it we would clap our hands very loudly and shout "no!" and then pick her up and put her by her scratching post.Your friends family needs to introduce the kitten while it is still young to a scratching post because when they're older, they will not learn as easily.You can also try a spray bottle but this doesn't work with all cats.Please don't let them consider de-clawing. It's cruel. If they can't handle an animal with claws, then they shouldn't have on in the first place.Soft paws should work but it's different with every cat.Don't let your friends family apply it themselves. Have a vet do it so it's sure to last.

Cats claw for only one reason... to sharpen their claws..or take the sheath off the claws.Get something that your cat Loves..to claw... like a log./ back side of carpet/ or sisal ropeI give them something that is LEGAL to scratch... I have a foot stool that has a box bottom ... I covered that in commercial carpet and my cat loves it.I also took a board and covered it in sisal rope and that is a hit too.Water spray works/// I was fostering a cat once and the cat would scratch even if squirted... so I Picked her up and gave her one spank (I know a lot of people on this site are offended... I dont' mean HIT HARD ... I mean about as hard as you would slap your own arm.) Anyway this cat NEVER scratched the couch again... so it was effective. and only had to be once. good luck on this.

I would also recommend getting a scratching post. To make the post seem familiar to the cat, rub the cat with a cloth or paper towel, especially around the face (cheek area) and then rub it on the scratching post. The post should be heavy enough not to fall over when the cat scratches on it otherwise the cat will not take to it. It should be covered with the type of material that the cat obviously like to scratch on. If the cat does use the scratching post, then praise the cat and give it a treat. If the cat scratches on the furniture, say a loud 'no' and remove the cat from the room for a few minutes.Try covering the parts of the furniture that the cat scratches on with aluminium foil as cats don't like the feel of it. They also don't like citrus smells, so you could try taping some orange peel near where it is scratching.Finally, please tell your friends not to declaw their cat. It is very cruel and painful. It is equivalent to chopping off a person's fingers at the first joint. It leaves the cat disabled and with no defences.