How do I stop my new kitten from climbing and scratching furniture?

Hello, sorry to hear about your cat. She is very young still, so managing her scratching and biting will be crucial in this stages of life before she gets bigger and her scratching could become more damaging. Here are some tips you can follow to decrease the incidence of scratching. Hope this helps and best of luck. Why do cats scratch? Scratching is a normal behavior that aids cats in the marking of their territories in the form of scratch marks. Scent glands in their paws leave olfactory clues for other cats to alert them to their presence. Cats also find it pleasurable as a means of exercise and stretching. Scratching also allows cats to keep their claws healthy and shortened. Unlike dogs, a cats’ claws do not exfoliate evenly from the end; rather they peel off in layers like an onion. What is inappropriate scratching? Inappropriate scratching is ultimately determined by the owner, but is generally directed at furniture, screens, carpets and rugs and other items that the cats finds suitable. What can I do to prevent this? The easiest way to prevent severe damage is to trim your cats nails every 2-4 weeks. It is best to begin this process when the cat is very young, as they will become more accustomed to this procedure. However, older cats can learn to tolerate it as well. Another excellent method is to provide them with a suitable scratching substrate. As with nail trimming, this is also best started at an early age before the scratching behavior begins, but older cats will also generally accept such items as carpet or sisal fiber scratching posts or corrugated cardboard. For more options, you can visit your local pet store or make your own from their preferred scratching material and a supporting board of wood. My cat is ignoring the scratching post. How do I get him/her to use it? Place the item in the areas that your cat(s) enjoys scratching. You can entice the cat to use the item by rubbing or sprinkling with catnip. If your cat insists on using the wrong scratching surface, guide your cat to the correct site. Once at the post, you can start petting and scratching your cat while placing their feet on the surface for encouragement and stimulation of the natural kneading motion. Remember to reward your cat for its good behavior!

Hi there! It’s not recommend to try and “discipline” cats in this way (scruffiness, yelling, squirt bottles, etc) because it generally isn’t effective and can make your cats stressed and afraid of you. Instead, focus on providing her with other things to scratch and claw that are more effective than your rug. This is a normal behavior for cats, so she needs appropriate options to meet her needs. Try a tall, sturdy cat tree or scratching post, or a horizontal scratching tray if she prefers this. You may also need to take up the rug temporarily until she is reliably scratching more appropriate things.

Kittens can be challenging to manage when they're young! Scratching and biting at this age is normal play behavior, so it's up to us to be patient and provide lots of appropriate outlets for this behavior. Make sure that your kitten has a variety of different toys to play with - things like fishing-pole type toys to chase and pounce on, large plush toys to grab and kick, and smaller toys for chasing and batting around. If he tries to bite or scratch, just redirect him to one of his toys and use that to play with him instead. If you're petting him and he bites or scratches your hands, calmly stop petting and ignore him until he calms down. You may only be able to pet him when he's calm and sleepy at this age, which is okay - he will become calmer as he gets older. I don't normally recommend a spray bottle for training cats or kittens, as it often increases their frustration and isn't very effective at stopping problem behaviors. Instead, try redirecting him to something else. If there are specific behaviors that you are trying to stop or change, feel free to post again with more details - we would be happy to provide more specific suggestions if possible.

You can try putting double-sided sticky tape on the walls where she tends to scratch - most cats don't like the feel of this on their paws, so it helps to discourage scratching in unwanted places like this. It's also important to make sure that Tabby has lots of other things she can scratch and climb, such as cat trees, cat condos, and tall, sturdy scratching posts - these things will help to provide an appropriate outlet for this behavior.

This is such a frustrating battle. Here are a few suggestions that may or may not work. You can try giving him something else to scratch on like a tall scratching post or a piece of wood from outside. The scratching post needs to be tall because they like to stretch while scratching. Feliway also make a product now called feliscratch to help redirect the scratching to the scratching post. You can also apply soft paws to their nails so that even if they try to scratch, they won't do any damage. I hope this helps!

Cats will scratch where ever they see the opportunity. Unfortunately, it is not always where we want them scratching. I would encourage him scratching appropriate areas by attracting him with food, treats and/or catnip on/near his posts. Cats hate if sticky things touch their feet. Often just a piece of tape (made into a loop with the sticky side out) placed in the corners will stop them from scratching the carpeted stairs. Some stores sell specially made double sided sticky strips as well. I would recommend giving those a try.

Kittens this age can be challenging to live with! You can try spraying your mom's plant with Bitter Apple spray - this is a bitter-tasting substance that often works well to deter chewing on plants, electrical cords, and other inappropriate items in the house. I also think it's a great idea to get some cat-friendly plants for your room and other areas in the house, if possible, since she seems to enjoy chewing on them. The most appropriate things she has to chew on, the less likely she will be to seek out your mom's plant. For the kitchen table, I would suggest placing double-sided sticky tape on it whenever you're not using it to eat on - most cats don't like the feel of this on their paws, so she will learn on her own to avoid the table if it's always uncomfortable to walk on. Once she is no longer trying to get on it at all anymore, you can slowly fade out using the tape.