# Teaching them to use their scratching post?



## RetroLemons (Nov 11, 2010)

Okay I know this is going to sound like a really daft question  but is there anyway to teach a cat to use their scratching post rather than the sofa? :lol:

Thank you!


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## Cloudygirl (Jan 9, 2011)

my naughty boys have attempted to scratch the sofa a couple of times and i've just put the guilty one down by the scratching post and played with the ball on it and then after a couple of mins they have scratched the post instead.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

As soon as you catch the culprit move them to the post, scratch their paws on it to show them or scratch it yourself. They soon get the message but it doesn't mean that they will never touch the sofa again 
you can spray catnip on the post to attract them or as Cloudygirl suggests, have a dangly toy on there for them to play with.


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## RetroLemons (Nov 11, 2010)

Fantastic thank you! Now to see if she gets the point and follows my lead


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

lymorelynn said:


> As soon as you catch the culprit move them to the post, scratch their paws on it to show them or scratch it yourself. They soon get the message but it doesn't mean that they will never touch the sofa again
> you can spray catnip on the post to attract them or as Cloudygirl suggests, have a dangly toy on there for them to play with.


thats what i do, i move them to the post and get their claws out and moe them up and down!! and look at me like 'what the hell!!' :lol:

ive never had any problems with sofas but they all seems to like my new sofa  just tell them no and they wander off the post!


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## MaryA (Oct 8, 2010)

RetroLemons said:


> Okay I know this is going to sound like a really daft question  but is there anyway to teach a cat to use their scratching post rather than the sofa? :lol:
> 
> Thank you!


A member here gave me great advice. It was suggested to put double sided sticky tape on the scratching point of the sofa. Cats hate the sticky on their paws. We also put treats on the top of the pole, to encourage our kitten to use it.


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## Kiwi (Nov 18, 2010)

I sprayed ours with Feliway too, although I'm not sure it made the difference. I think it was more that I put the post in front of one of her favourite scratching spots on the sofa. She will only use really tall ones too.


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## Petloversdigest (Dec 10, 2010)

Kiwi said:


> She will only use really tall ones too.


If I remeber rightly the key figure is at least 1 metre high for a perfect scratching post to be more attractive than the furniture! :thumbup:


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## Lil Dee (Dec 7, 2010)

I rub a little catnip onto my posts periodically, that way they are naturally attracted to them, and quite quickly get used to using them. 

I also have stratigically placed boxes at the moment, so they can't reach their preferred scratching point on my furniture, which I will move in a few weeks.


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## RetroLemons (Nov 11, 2010)

thank you! :thumbup: Hopefully in some time the post will be what she uses the most :lol:

Although I doubt I will stop her sliding along on the laminate using my bed to drag herself along... :arf:


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## Drewa (Dec 26, 2010)

One thing I've read on here which I thought was a bit odd at the time was that where the scratching post is situated can make all the difference. My new cat ignored his until I moved it to fill a spot where my standard lamp had been before the cat knocked it over and broke it! Now he uses the post regularly, especially when I put a few treats on the top!


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## Woo Woo (Oct 16, 2010)

Drewa said:


> One thing I've read on here which I thought was a bit odd at the time was that where the scratching post is situated can make all the difference. My new cat ignored his until I moved it to fill a spot where my standard lamp had been before the cat knocked it over and broke it! Now he uses the post regularly, especially when I put a few treats on the top!


When we first had Whiskers she would not use the scratching post that we got for her. We put it in the corner of the dining room and tried to encourage her to use it but she showed no interest.
I then read an article that said you should position the scratch post in a more prominent position - so I moved it into the lounge infront of where we sit in the evenings and she started to use it straight away.

The location definately made a difference in our case :thumbup:


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## Drewa (Dec 26, 2010)

Woo Woo said:


> When we first had Whiskers she would not use the scratching post that we got for her. We put it in the corner of the dining room and tried to encourage her to use it but she showed no interest.
> I then read an article that said you should position the scratch post in a more prominent position - so I moved it into the lounge infront of where we sit in the evenings and she started to use it straight away.
> 
> The location definately made a difference in our case :thumbup:


LOL! They are certainly all different. Mine was in a prominent position when he ignored it and now it's in a corner he can't leave it alone!


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## Sparkles87 (Aug 30, 2010)

Williams has a dangly toy on the end of it so that gets him quite interested. I don't think he would ever show much interest in it if it was just plain and didn't have that. 
He doesn't scratch the sofa, but we have one of those kind of hammock material washing baskets and he loves to scratch on that. I don't really mind as it's easily replaced, and he isn't doing it on the sofa! 
Sparkles
xx


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