Depending on your views concerning the matter of the declawing of cats (many say it changes the animals personality and there’s no doubt is leaves them defenseless while others say it’s the only way to keep your furniture and family safe) you may be wondering just what you can do to keep that new kitty you love so dearly from ripping the house to shreds.

Of course the first thing you should try are scratching posts. It’s better to start out getting kitty used to scratching posts as early as possible and if at first he/she doesn’t take to it try sprinkling it with some catnip. Another trick on getting kitty used to a scratching post is to gently grab it’s front paws and run them over the scratch pad so that they have an idea of what you are wanting them to do. If you have a large home or if your pet is allowed to roam freely from room to room, you may want to consider purchasing multiple scratch pads so that kitty will always be close to one should it get the urge  to scratch.

A second option you may want to consider is using double sided tape. If your kitty already has a favorite corner of the couch or bed that it just loves to tear into, cover it with a few pieces of double sided tape. Cats hate the way it feels and can’t stand for their paws to be stuck to anything.

Finally you may want to consider a pet repellent spray such as No Scratch. No Scratch can be sprayed on furniture multiple times a day if needed and promises not to stain the fabric (though you may want to test it out on a small square of fabric that stays out of site). The cats smells the repellent and immediately goes the opposite direction leaving the item you want them off just like new.