# My sofa's are getting ruined...please help



## Weeze (Feb 10, 2009)

Hey guys

Hope you can help with some advice

I got three kittens (yes three, some say I'm mad) back in November. They are now coming up six months. I've had kittens before but I'm having real trouble disciplining mine. My main concerns are the way the run over and clawl the furniture, luckily its an old suite but I need to stop this as soon as because I was hoping to get a new leather one and I want them to respect it more. I've tried squirting them with a water pistol when they do it but its mainly when they are playing and as you can imagine, three playful kittens are quite quick and quite a handful.

My cats I had previously with my former partner were kept indoors as we lived on a main road, I feel happy to let my little guys out and I've been told six months is a good age to start. I'm just so worried they'll get out of the garden and not get back again, I let them out at the weekend with me and I've got trelass on one of the fences, which they all promptly climbed and were walking along next doors fence, if they fell or jumped, they wouldn't be able to get back. 

Sorry for the really long message but I'm having a handful of a time and would be most grateful for some advice

Many thanks

Louise


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## trigger (Jan 25, 2009)

I can help over the sofa - I exchanged a fabric one for a leather one because it was being ruined - pulled threads and muddy paw marks - the leather sofa has got a lot of surface scratching from where my two run across it, but leather restorer removes the worst of them

I think if I had bought a more squishy one I would not have had any scratch marks, as they only show on the rounded arms, where the leather is pulled tight - there are some sofas with flat soft ends and they would be more pratical with cats, I think


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## bluechip (Dec 26, 2008)

it is down to you to discipline your kittens, you would not let a child be naughty so don't let your kittys be naughty.

cats can jump big heights and they are fine, the only thing you need to worry about is if they return to you, are they pedigree, if so i would never let mine be out door cats, but i would a moggy and the reason i say this is a lot of pedigree cats go missing as people want them but cannot afford them.


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## raggs (Aug 3, 2008)

keeping all their nails trimmed short will help too and a few scratching posts around the house always helps, we have a leather suite here and havent had any probs with the cats claws getting into it and we have 4 ragdolls here, i hope you manage to sort the prob out best wishes CHRIS


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

I would only clip their claws if they are going to be indoor cats. If indoor/outdoor they need their claws for climbing and defence.

As to sofas, (and carpets) there are two strategies: 

1. Protect

2. Divert

Protection: throws; not letting them in room unsupervised

Divertion: scratching posts - vertical and horizontal; catnip to rub into desired scratching post; sisal cheap mat such as a door mat for horizontal scratching.


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## Midnight (Jan 17, 2009)

I"ve got this problem with my kids and our beds ! they all love to use them to sharpen their claws :001_rolleyes: all our beds are new i"ve tried discipline and trimming their claws but the claw trimming makes it worse they just want to sharpen them again  we have 3 big scratching posts which rarely get used and they are outdoor cats


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## trigger (Jan 25, 2009)

I guess the bottom line is if you keep cats you have to make sacrifices somewhere - and it's often the furntiture

but you won't get head buts and nose rubs from the sofa


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## Midnight (Jan 17, 2009)

trigger said:


> I guess the bottom line is if you keep cats you have to make sacrifices somewhere - and it's often the furntiture
> 
> but you won't get head buts and nose rubs from the sofa


That's True !  kind of makes up for it really !


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## Kathryn1 (Jan 30, 2009)

Well i only have the cat and she has scratched my green leather sofa so now all white marks over it!!!

But i got her a scratching post and she loves it and never claws my sofa!!! 

I understand you have 3 though so it is much harder, i hope you can sort them out before you get a new sofa xxx


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## Amie (Oct 25, 2008)

Our 6 months old, very expensive leather sofa is slowly being ruined 

she doesnt claw at it or anything but she likes to use them as an assult course.. running around the lounge and up over the furniture - shes so quick that by the time you tell her off shes jumped off 

Dont know what to do really  otherhalf is very pissed off about it, but i dont know what to do - i could try spraying her with water if she goes up there, but as i said.. shes so quick hehe


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Put a cover over it until she's past the kitten stage when she will be less boisterous - we deliberately DIDN'T get a leather sofa because of teh cats. It doesn't notice as much on fabric.


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## Biawhiska (Mar 28, 2008)

just get them all neutered b4 letting them out 

also i have 6 neuter boys, they run all over my sofa, gave up trying to stop them, lol, it's leather and scratched to hell but never mind. :sosp:


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## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

Dust sheets make good throws at around ten quid and you can dye them with dylon if you want a colour you need to get the natural material ones and there farelly thick . They helped protect mine.


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

Our very much loved (rescue) late moggie was a furniture scratcher and we went through 3 or four suites with him as he would use them as scratcher posts despite the fact that a) he went out and b) we had huge whacking great big climbers in the house but we both would willingly have every piece of furniture scratched to hell if we could have him back for just 24 hours.


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## Beadell (Jan 15, 2008)

We have three cats and a nice new brown leather sofa, so yes their "cute" little claw marks show up lovely!

We have put a couple of throws over the top....and on the arms...the main assault areas. That said if you are constant and keep at it EVEN cats get the message in the end...the throws are really only there for when we are not.

As somebody else said....leather is actually quite hardy...get some good restorer....it takes them out a treat!


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## turkeylad (Mar 1, 2009)

:confused5: Okay I am new to site - so sorry if I offend anyone but why would anyone who alledgedly loves amimals buy a LEATHER SOFA, A bit of a< contradiction.


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

turkeylad said:


> :confused5: Okay I am new to site - so sorry if I offend anyone but why would anyone who alledgedly loves amimals buy a LEATHER SOFA, A bit of a< contradiction.


whoops - its a dichtomy. Your heart and your head sometimes don't listen to each other. :frown2:


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