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?

Thank you!

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From Rowan and the fur-kids
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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.

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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How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven. - Robert A. Heinlein
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Fantastic thank you! Now to see if she gets the point and follows my lead

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From Rowan and the fur-kids
Visit RatPad Hammocks! 10% of your order helping a fuzzy rescue!

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!!'

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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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.

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.

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!

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First aid and homecare 4 pets

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.

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

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

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From Rowan and the fur-kids
Visit RatPad Hammocks! 10% of your order helping a fuzzy rescue!