My cat sharpens his claws on my sofa !

Gargamel is the cat of a nice woman in Laurenan.

I was speaking with her when I had the idea to share my experience with you.

Indeed she explained to me that she was desesperate because Gargamel appreciates a lot her sofa and her mattress to sharpen his claws.

Gargamel uses to live outdoor or into the house.

So he has so many supports outside to sharpen them!

But he prefers sofa...

Moreover she installed a scratching post in the hallway of her house and she doesn't really understand why her furball continues to sharpen on sofa or mattress...

So I shared with her what I use to do to avoid this small problem...

Indeed, with my large cats family, you can imagine I have already had destroyed sofa, chairs...

So what I do now seems to be on the good way because I meet less and less unappropriated claws sharpenings.

1- Don't forget that cats are wild animals and they need to sharpen theirs claws. It is a normal behaviour for them.

2- Find and locate all favorite places in the house where  your cat choose to sharpen his claws;

3- Put a scratching post everywhere he uses to sharpen them (near the sofa, near the matress)

4- Show him that scratching posts are here for him and that he can use them when he wants...put his paws on the scratching post to help him to feel it and understand it is especially for him

5- If the cat refuses to use them, don't hesitate to change them or to put them somewhere else, as you know, you don't decide where the scratching post has to be, but the cat does...

6- If, in spite of all that, he refuses to use it, try the lethal arms... Catnip of course !!! Be generous with catnip on the scatching post...sure your furwall will scratch it.

7- To reasume, sharpening is not a fatality. You can change that with patience and some small modifications in your house. Try different scratching posts, at different place, don't give up.

8- Of course, you can cut a little the claws but don't forget that your cat needs them if he uses to go outdoor (to hunt, to defend him self, to climb the trees...)