Having a pet at home can be a rewarding experience, but it can also lead to some unwanted behavior. One of the most common issues faced by pet owners is cats ruining furniture in the house. Siamese cats and British Shorthairs are especially prone to separation anxiety and can resort to scratching while their owners are away.
Cats might scratch furniture, urinate on it, or even chew on it. This can lead to costly repairs and replacements, as well as a lot of frustration.
Fortunately, there are steps pet owners can take to prevent cats from ruining furniture, such as providing proper scratching posts and using deterrents. With the right approach, pet owners can enjoy the companionship of their cats while keeping their furniture looking its best.
Why do Cats Ruin Furniture?
There are numerous reasons why cats ruin furniture, and knowing them can help owners understand the behavior and find constructive solutions.
Scratching is a natural behavior in cats and can be used to alleviate anxiety, mark their territory, or groom their claws. However, sometimes, they do it simply because they find comfort in scratching a particular spot or because they have nothing better to do.
They may also find certain textures, such as suede and velvet, or the smell of certain fabrics, such as leather, interesting to scratch.
This scratching can become very destructive over time, with couches and drapes getting shredded to pieces and hard wooden pieces completely ruined.
Prevention
In this section, we’ll enumerate some tried and tested methods to prevent your cat from ruining furniture in your house:
Scratching Posts
Investing in scratching posts and placing them in areas where cats frequent can help prevent cats from ruining your furniture. Cats have an instinctive need to scratch, so providing them with an acceptable outlet for this behavior can help to satisfy their urge and keep them from destroying your furniture.
Scratching posts and areas also provide a visual cue to cats that this is an acceptable place to scratch, rather than on furniture. Cats can also use scratching posts as a place to leave their scent and mark their territory, which can also reduce annoying territorial behaviors such as urine spraying.
Trimming claws
Trimming your cat’s claws can help reduce the amount of furniture they scratch and can help keep their claws healthy. When trimming your cat’s claws, it is important to make sure that you do not cut too far down the claw. You want to cut the sharp tip of the nail, not the pink area of the nail, as this is where the nerve and blood vessels are located.
Make sure you have a pair of cat nail clippers and that you are comfortable and gentle with your cat. It is also important to reward your cat with treats or praise after the trimming is complete.
Using deterrents
Using deterrents can help prevent cats from scratching furniture by making the furniture less appealing to scratch. Certain smells and textures can be used as natural deterrents such as citrus, lavender, or eucalyptus.
Spraying these scents on furniture or using double-sided tape can make the furniture less attractive for scratching.
Additionally, putting a protective cover over pieces that your cat especially enjoys scratching can help prevent them from ruining them while you employ training techniques to redirect their behavior.
Training techniques
Positive reinforcement is a form of training that rewards desired behavior and ignores undesired behavior.
When it comes to training cats to stop ruining furniture, positive reinforcement can be used to reward cats when they display behaviors that are desirable, such as scratching posts or other appropriate objects.
Rewards can be in the form of treats, petting, or verbal praise. This type of reinforcement will help teach the cat that desirable behaviors will be rewarded and undesirable behaviors will not.
Over time, the cat will learn that it is more beneficial to exhibit the desired behaviors than the undesired ones.
Summary:
In conclusion, it is possible to keep your furniture safe from cats with a few simple steps. Provide your cat with scratching posts and other items to satisfy their need to scratch and climb. Make sure to cover furniture with a protective cover that is cat-proof. Also, deter cats from climbing onto furniture by using a spray deterrent or double-sided tape. Use positive reinforcement to reward them when they scratch the right things so that they get the right idea.

With these measures in place, cats and their owners can happily coexist with their furniture intact.