Hi! 

My cat, Joey, is 9.  He has a scratching post, one of the good ones made with sisal.  He uses it, but the past couple of years he has also been scratching the carpet on the stairs.  I would like to find some kind of repellent that I can put on the stairs to discourage this behavior.  Does anyone know about any repellents that can safely be used on carpet?

Thanks!

We just adopted a cat from the humane society a couple months ago and we got a DVD that told us a lot about cats.  One of the things it talked about was cats stretch different muscles by scratching things like a scratch post that is verticle or something that is horizontal, so maybe try something like a scratching post made of cardboard or sisel that lays on the floor?  good luck. 

The only thing that i can think of is buying caps for your cat's nails. They are these little plasic caps that go over their nails, so you don't have to de-claw them. This allows the cat to keep its claws, and they can still scratch things without it being torn apart, LOL. Ask your vet about them, or most petsotre's carry them now. They even come in colors, which i thought was silly and funny. I saw someone that put bright pink caps on their cats claws, and it just looked so silly. I recommend the clear ones, LOL. Putting the caps on isnt that hard, depending on your cats feelings at the time. But most vets will put them on for you with no charge, if you bring the caps into their office.

Wow, thank both of you for your great suggestions.  I will try getting a horizontal scratching pad and will ask the vet about caps at Joey's next checkup in a couple of months.

paty--my cat was scratching my stereo speakers, so before she could totally destroy them i covered them with aluminum foil...she moved on to her kitty scratching posts (one vertical and one horizontal, as snugglebear said...i give her plenty of options)...i removed the aluminum foil from the speakers after several months and she hasn't bothered them since...i suppose aluminum foil would be very hazardous on the stairs, though...

I bought a little sisal scatching mat and put it on the landing.  Joey really likes it.  I haven't seen him scratch the carpet since then.  Of course, he could still be doing it behind my back.  

We saw the vet last month, but I forgot to ask about the caps.  He is supposed to do a phone check at the end of this week, so hopefully I will remember to ask him then.

Those soft paws (caps for the nails) look like a fabulous idea and it comes in pretty colors.

I found a website:

http://www.softpaws.com/about.html

My kitty has been clawing everything lately...and I am at my wits end.

So I just might have to look into this option!

Thanks for the idea.

"Putting the caps on isnt that hard, depending on your cats feelings at the time. But most vets will put them on for you with no charge, if you bring the caps into their office."

are they permanent or do they come off??? ...and wouldn't your cat try to take them off??  I'm EXTREMELY fortunate because Sampson  doesn't really scratch anything but his posts...which is good cuz he's got some wildcat size nails on him.... he does chew his nails though...I find that a bit odd

LMAO UBS!

They fall off by themselves when the nail grows.

I am ordered some and will let you know how it goes. And they come in BRIGHT pretty colors. 

well then I guess even if Sampson needed them, it would be pointless cuz he'd chew them right off!

I have a friend who used the caps on his cat;s claws for years and swears by them.  I clip my cats' nails regularly and that minimizes the damage they doi to the rug.  I have the same thing - nice big sisal scatching posts as well as horizontal ones and even a big 45 degree one.  But there is one rug that Sadie just INSISTS on scratching...aleways the same rug, but because cats never make anything easy  it's never in the same spot.  But keeping their nails clipped hasn't been that difficult.  Btw I use a dog clipper because like so many things the quality of the things made for dogs is better than the same items supposedly made for cats.

Michele

Ok kids...I bought the Soft Paws in hot pink. My kitty tried to lick them off for five minutes and then just gave up. She is fine with it and looks adorable with her "painted" nails and I was able to leave for awhile and there was NO scratches on the furniture. WHEW! YEAAAAAAAAAA!

She walks fine and doesn't even realize they are there now. But I will monitor her for the next couple of days to see if she can really stand them.

Ok so since I added the Soft Paws...only two have fallen off. (and been replaced since)

Although I did notice that a Berber carpet is dangerous since she likes to paw the carpet and the nails got stuck in it. Although it would happen with her real nails and luckily the soft paw nail came off and not the real one. So maybe that is a good thing???

But they are still working beautifully. 

No scratches on the furniture!

Thanks for the update - I may have to break down and try them on my two....I hope they come in jumbo

I have a few suggestions for cats who scratch up your funiture:  These are some suggestions from Tara at this company.

1)  Choose an angled scratcher.  Cats like to stretch and scratch at the same time and angled scratchers give them this opportunity. I know countless cats that love the Alpine Scratcher.  It's very inexpensive, recyclable, and a portion of the proceeds go to preventing the horrible practice of declawing.

3) Look for a scratcher that is made from cardboard or covered in sisal. Outdoor cats love to use trees as their scratching post and sisal and cardboard provide a similar feel; as well both surfaces also help cats to shed their outer layer of their claws - one of the reasons cats scratch in the first place).

4) Keep your cat's nails trimmed to help reduce damage to the furniture.

5) Use a harmless deterrent like Sticky Paws on your furniture. (Similar to a double sided tape)