# Scratching curtains



## chloe12345 (Jul 31, 2019)

Hi.

I have heard that if you spray lemon/any citrus essential oils on curtains/furniture your kitten will not go near them. I was wondering if anyone knew if you had to mix with water/if essential oils are bad for cats? 

Thanks!


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## Bertie'sMum (Mar 27, 2017)

Yes do mix it with water - you only need a few drops as cats noses are far more sensitive to smells than ours ! 

I've used this method quite successfully in the past to deter cats from scratching furniture and/or climbing curtains.

Bu the way ddi you know that kittens don't climb curtains to be naughty, but because the view from high up is better


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## chloe12345 (Jul 31, 2019)

Great thanks so much! Do you think it would be worthwhile putting the liquid into a spray bottle?

And I thought that may be why he was trying to climb up! :') We have bought him a cat tower which will be arriving today so hopefully this helps too!


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## Bertie'sMum (Mar 27, 2017)

Yes - use a spray bottle, you only need a few drops of Oil of Citronella well shaken up with the water (too much and the oil will leave a mark on the curtain !)


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## chloe12345 (Jul 31, 2019)

Thank you for the help! I will try this sometime this week and let you know how it goes


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## KMillie (Sep 13, 2018)

Hope it works better for you than it did me. I have tried both citrus and lavender spray. My kitten takes one sniff,decides they smell delightful and carries on scratching the sette!


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## chloe12345 (Jul 31, 2019)

KMillie said:


> Hope it works better for you than it did me. I have tried both citrus and lavender spray. My kitten takes one sniff,decides they smell delightful and carries on scratching the sette!


Oh god haha, what a naughty little kitten! :Angelic I mixed lemon juice and water together and this seemed to work! However, the scent doesn't seem to last too long on the furniture, but I think he has now learned not to scratch anything as he has stopped!

We saw that if you make a loud noise and say no they get scared and associate the naughty scratching with being scared. We tried with Leo and he seems to have stopped. Maybe it was a mix of the loud noises and lemon!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

chloe12345 said:


> Oh god haha, what a naughty little kitten! :Angelic I mixed lemon juice and water together and this seemed to work! However, the scent doesn't seem to last too long on the furniture, but I think he has now learned not to scratch anything as he has stopped!
> We saw that if you make a loud noise and say no they get scared and associate the naughty scratching with being scared. We tried with Leo and he seems to have stopped. Maybe it was a mix of the loud noises and lemon!


A loud noise may indeed scare him, and also he may hate the smell of the lemon, but you need to redirect his attention to his scratch posts and scratch pads to train him properly. If he is not properly trained he may revert to using your furniture when you are not in the room to make a bang.

Ensure you have in every room lots of scratch posts and scratch pads of different textures to give your kitty a choice (e.g. sisal covered posts, compressed cardboard pads, plain soft wood planks, and poles or planks covered with carpet off cuts). Upright posts, including some fixed to the wall, and horizontal pads.


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## chloe12345 (Jul 31, 2019)

chillminx said:


> A loud noise may indeed scare him, and also he may hate the smell of the lemon, but you need to redirect his attention to his scratch posts and scratch pads to train him properly. If he is not properly trained he may revert to using your furniture when you are not in the room to make a bang.
> 
> Ensure you have in every room lots of scratch posts and scratch pads of different textures to give your kitty a choice (e.g. sisal covered posts, compressed cardboard pads, plain soft wood planks, and poles or planks covered with carpet off cuts). Upright posts, including some fixed to the wall, and horizontal pads.


Oh yes don't worry he was scratch post trained before we got him, we've also tried redirecting his attention to scratch posts after he has been told 'no' so he knows to scratch the post and not the furniture  you've been such a great help thanks for all your advice!!!


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## Ottery (Jun 14, 2019)

Glad he has stopped pestering your curtains!
We have floor to ceiling curtains on the french windows, and every single kitten has run up them. Those curtains have seen a lot of action. Obviously, if you look closely they're ruined, good thing they weren't expensive  

I find it is a time limited activity. Eventually they get too heavy to do it  Hopefully by that point, the curtain rail is still attached to the wall...


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## SbanR (Jun 16, 2017)

Ottery said:


> Glad he has stopped pestering your curtains!
> We have floor to ceiling curtains on the french windows, and every single kitten has run up them. Those curtains have seen a lot of action. Obviously, if you look closely they're ruined, good thing they weren't expensive
> 
> I find it is a time limited activity. Eventually they get too heavy to do it  Hopefully by that point, the curtain rail is still attached to the wall...


My 16month MC will still occasionally jump up and hang from the door curtain. Did it only a few nights ago too


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## Ottery (Jun 14, 2019)

SbanR said:


> My 16month MC will still occasionally jump up and hang from the door curtain. Did it only a few nights ago too


Ooh, challenging for your curtain!
My curtains are getting less attention now as the kittens are 9/10 months old, but it hasn't completely stopped...


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## BarneyBobCat (Feb 22, 2019)

Barneys curtain climbing had calmed right down but this last week has been mental climbing everything in sight. Don't know what the heck is up with him. He has destroyed three pairs of curtains, we only just put some new blackout curtains up in our bedroom and he has put holes in them already


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

BarneyBobCat said:


> Barneys curtain climbing had calmed right down but this last week has been mental climbing everything in sight. Don't know what the heck is up with him. He has destroyed three pairs of curtains, we only just put some new blackout curtains up in our bedroom and he has put holes in them already


What a little monkey he is!!  Years ago I had a cat like that and in the end I took down all the curtains and replaced them with roller blinds (blackout blinds at the bedroom windows).


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## BarneyBobCat (Feb 22, 2019)

chillminx said:


> What a little monkey he is!!  Years ago I had a cat like that and in the end I took down all the curtains and replaced them with roller blinds (blackout blinds at the bedroom windows).


He has also scaled a blackout blind - now broken


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## SbanR (Jun 16, 2017)

BarneyBobCat said:


> He has also scaled a blackout blind - now broken


:Hilarious:Hilarious:Hilarious

Ollie gets shouted at if he goes near my blackout blind


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