What kind of carpet was ruined? Maybe try a berber or log shag carpet. Or get cats declawed

There is a spray available at the pet stores, cannot remember the name of it, supposed to keep cats away. Don't know if it works or not. I know how upsetting it is to have animals you love destroy expensive property. Our kitty wrecked my brand new, expensive sofa. I feel like crying everytime I look at the work she did.

We finally put those claw tips on our cat. That slowed her down, and I do not think she is clawing the sofa any more. It would be expensive and difficult to do the claw tips to 6 cats. Is there one who is the worst? It's possible they will leave new carpet alone. Try spraying it.

socks12345, thank you for your suggestion.
Two of my cats are very destructive and one is rescued by my daughter on highway.
He was only about 5 weeks old black and white male kitten but now he is about 3 years old.
Another extra large black cat is offspring of stray female cat and when my daughter rescued her, she was in heavy rain on the street.
Oh, my these two cats damaged my brandnew back door by scrathing and made great big holes on carpet in bed room and steps.
These are not all damage caused by my cats.
One of my cat dropped printer and broke it.
Despite all these damages I have responsibility to take care of all my cats until they die of old age because they have right to live and they also have right to live in natural environment as much as possible.
Who is going to take full grown cats when animal shelters are killing many perfectly healthy kittens because of over population of our companion animals?
One of my cat is diabetic and urinate gallon(my way of saying lots of.)and eats 5 cans of food every day but he wants more!
I don't want my cats to end up in hand of irresponsible pet owners.
Needless to say, I want to live clean neatly organized nice house like everybody else but I choose animals over my desire.
We cannot have every thing.
Sorry for little out of the subject.

Sakura, I hope all of your cats have been neutered. What do you mean by a natural environment? Is it natural for six cats to live together?

I suggest that you pull up your carpets and get sheet linoleum. It is not as pretty, but will all those cats, it will be much easier to keep clean. Stray cats need to be trained. Some people spray water at the cats every time they start to scratch anything other than their scratching post.

They would not need to be able to "defend themselves" if you did not let them outside. Cats kill songbirds and are a factor in the reduction/loss of these lovely birds. A cat that never goes outside lives much longer than one who goes out and is exposed to other animals, fleas, etc.

Sakura, if your diabetic cat is urinating and eating that much you need to get to the vet and gain control of his diabetes RIGHT NOW. He'll die, painfully, if you let it go on like this.

Pets destroy things - I know because I have a lot of them. You don't have to declaw your cats but if you decide not to, you'll just have to live with the consequences.

Indoor kitties do last much longer, BTW. I'll never understand why people bother to get pets if they're just going to leave them out like that.

Anyway, back to the diabetic cat - please be a responsible pet owner and get him to the vet!! I can't bear to think of that poor thing suffering the way he is now! :(

Do you trim their claws? IME, if the claws are kept trimmed they "pick" much less. I know it isn't easy. My boy cat is very tolerant, he'd let me do anything to him. Girl cat, on the other hand, is not a fan of having her claws trimmed (or being brushed, for that matter). I do it when she is in a sleepy, lovey mood. I praise them like crazy when they use their scratching pad or post. If the do anything bad (scratching, on counter, etc.), I say *psssstttt* and say "down" or "stop". They learn.

See if you can find something your cats prefer to scratch on.

My cats also love to scratch on my stair carpet. I have other things for them to scratch on, but that is what they have prefered.

We have been doing major work in the house and I've noticed the cats always liked when we had the old studs (like 100 years) bared. They are rough sawn and the cats would claw up a storm on them. But when the sheetrock went up they went back to the old favorites (couch and stairs).

A week ago we brought the old, work 2x4 sawhorses in the house to lay plywood on. These things are very worn with lots of roughness, and all three cats LOVE them. When they claw on them it sounds like they are ripping them to shreds, but they aren't doing any real damage. But I've not heard one clawing on the couch or stairs since.

I'm set on getting some old weathered 2x4's out of the pile by the shop and making them a few cat scratching/climbing posts. I plan on putting some resting platforms on them to encourage use - cats seem to love getting just as high up as they can.

Cathy

Just a case people don't know, I was one who is encouraging people to spay/neuter cats and dogs on pet lovers forums but sadly pet breeders turn against me and banned me from their forums and nobody was brave and educated enough to speak about importance of spaying and neutering.
Why people are so selfish and keep breeding more cats and dogs knowing every day million of our companion animals are killed in animal shelters!
Many animals are gased or sold in hospitals and testing laboratories to be torture to death but pet breeders don't care as long as they can keep breeding more animals and getting $$$$$$$$$.

Yes of course All my cats are spayed and neutered because of

http://www.petloverstips.com/Dog_Writings,Philosophy&_Poetry/A_Message_from_a_Gas_Chamber_Man_in_a_Shelter.html

My intention of posting link above is to understand why people must stop breeding companion animals and I have no intention to make people sad.
Sometimes people need something shocking to understand preventable tragedy of pet population explosion problems.

If people feel their funitures are more important than happiness of animals, these people have no business of having animals because some animals (specially cats) do destroy furniture and ruin house.

My husband get angry to see cats in house when weather is nice and animals can enjoy outdoor but because my cats torture to death song birds and many other small creatures, I get angry when he put my cats out without watching them.
Oh, I don't know which is cruel.
Keeping cats indoor all year around and never let them feel warm sunshine, nibbling tasty grass, climbing on trees and chase after butterflies OR let cats to live in natural environment as much as possible to live naturally.
I don't like to keep cats in unnatural environment all year around. I much rather for them to enjoy outdoor and indoor because ALL my cats never go out of our yard.

Speaking about natural food for cats, feeding commercial pet food is very unhealty because rendering plant products are part of ingredient of commercial pet food.
Type 'Dark side of rendering plant' on search engine.
I am sure operation of rendering plant is unchanged today and processing same disgusting things.
You don't want to believe your cat is eating grind up euthanised cats and dogs from animal shelters and rotten road kills with thousand of maggot, animal blood and waste, decayed farm animals from live stock farms, used grease from restaurants, plastic wrapping, etc, all boiled down and grind up and mixed with other thing to make pet food.
If you don't beleive me, type 'unhealthy pet food' on search engine to learn truth about commercial pet food.

Just a case people think I am liar about commercial pet food, here is one of hundreds of articles to expose reality of commercial pet food.
http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/petfood.html

There is nothing natural about a cat being run over by a car.

My cats are very happy indoors, thank you. Not one of them has ever shown the least bit of interest in going out. They love to lie in sunny windowsills and curl up in fluffy beds. No predators, no fleas, no fighting with the neighbors' cats and zero chance of being mowed down by a speeder.

You are entitled to your opinion but not everyone with balanced, happy pets will agree with you.

Have you taken your diabetic cat to the vet yet?

I agree with you about spaying and neutering. There is no good reason in the world for everyday folks to breed their animals, intentionally or accidentally. I'm not wild about breeder practices either, but that's a topic for a different day. :) We've only ever had one pet who was not spayed - a cat, who had several deformities that made general anesthesia extremely risky. But, since she only ever went outside to go to the vet it wasn't an issue.

Meanwhile, you'll laugh - we just replaced our chenille family room furniture with "fake leather" poly sofas. Easier to clean up a) pet hair, and b) accidents from one of our geriatric beagles. Slaves to the decorating we are not. :)

By the way, everyone in the house currently is declawed in front. One cat came to us that way (he also has no back claws), and the other two were beating the hell out of each other, the other cats and the dogs. After several months of injuries and trips to the vet for stitches, antibiotics, etc., enough was enough. There are reasons other than vanity to declaw, and none of my declawed cats have ever had problems with it. My house is a lot more peaceful for everyone now, and those two cats haven't had a serious row in ages.

As for my cats with all their claws, I've never had a cat who scratched the furniture or carpet. Which is very weird, now that I think about it...

Wait, what is the topic again? LOL

julietspeaking, please read many articles written about declawing by checking links below.
alturl.com/94yj
I am sure you have better understanding of English language than I do.
Did you know English is not my native language but second language?

I know you don't think declawing is not cruel but declawing is not what you think.
If cats don't need claw, God never made cats with claws.
You say indoor cats don't need claw but I found declawed starving cats on the street and many declawed cats end up in animal shelters because some of them stop using litter pan to relieve themselves and do their business on the floor.
Don't you think cats have right to keep their claws?
Like I said before GOOD VETERINARIANS DON'T DECLAW CATS.
Why many European countries have law against declawing do you think?
I am glad knowing you and I have something in common.
We believe in spaying and neutering to reduce heart breaking reality of execution of unwanted kittens, cats, puppies and dogs.

In my opinion, many European coutries are much advanced when we speak about humane treatment of animals.
Of course worst countries are Asian countries where cats are boiled alive and live dogs are tied and put on fire to barbecue(I couldn't believe it!) suffocated and beaten to death. China, Korea, vietnam and many other Asian countries are real hell for animals.
Do you know some Koreans seriously believe that more they torture animals, more they can enjoy meat of animals?
It is truth.
When I was in Chinese restaurant ordering vegan food, Chinese man came with dog in his arm.
Dog wasn't friendly and had no expresion but alive.
I was wondering if he brought dog to be killed and eaten or not.

Also, Latin countries have many barbarities going on.
Needless to say, there are many people who are fighting to abolish shameful barbarities in Asian countries and Latin countries.

I know I need to stay on subject of cat proof carpet.
Sorry for little out of the subject.

I know exactly what declawing is, and as a responsible pet owner I have to make the decisions that are best for the pets in my care. Good vets make decisions the same way.

You don't seem to be understanding that I'm not talking about vanity or spraying or furniture damage here.

Cats refuse the litterbox for many reasons, as I'm sure you know. Most of them are unrelated to declawing, as I've experienced with fully clawed cats many times over the years.

Psst - you don't find indoor cats on the streets. You WILL find fully clawed cats in the shelter because they won't stop destroying furniture, though.

My gallbladder made me sick. They took it out, and now I'm healthy. These cats' claws made my household miserable and dangerous for months. The claws are gone, and now my household is healthy and happy. If you insist on going with your "god" theory then shame on you for spaying and neutering your pets!!

I ask again - have you taken your diabetic cat to the vet yet? It is inhumane to refuse him medical treatment when he is so clearly sick!

julietspeaks, this is declawing.
Despite growing knowledge that declawing a cat can be far more dangerous and painful than owners are often led to believe, the procedure continues to be offered and accepted.

Some new surgical ideas are currently being tested that promise less pain and fewer post-surgical complications. Until those methods are commonplace and proven safer, however, most veterinary clinics continue using the same old method.

Declawing is Amputation, and it's Painful
Current surgical methods involve not just removal of the claws but complete amputation of the tip of each toe including bone, ligament and tendons.

Nicholas Dodman, DVM, author of The Cat Who Cried For Help, wrote: "The inhumanity of the (declawing) procedure is clearly demonstrated by the nature of the cat's recovery following surgery. (We) see cats bouncing off walls of the recovery cage because of excrutiating pain. Declawing fits the dictionary definition of mutilation. Words such as deform, disfigure, disjoint and dismember all apply to this surgery."

Nobody doubts that cats feel pain. It's in its inherent nature, however, to avoid displays of distress in order to prevent attack by predators that sense the cat's weakened state of defense. Felines are magicians at hiding pain so many owners may erroneously regard absence of symptoms as proof that declawing surgery was uneventful, successful, and trauma-free.

Cats Need Intact Paws for Healthy Body Balance and Alignment
A cat's paws are a crucial component to its overall body design which is built for agility and grace. It depends on its natural paws to absorb and properly distribute body weight as the cat walks, climbs, jumps and stretches. Partial amputation of a cat's toes can be compared to the removal of a human's finger at the last joint of each digit. Bad for a human who depends on a full set of fingers for everyday use; worse for a cat that depends on intact paws to provide complete body balance and alignment.

Problems During and After Surgery
The rate of complication during surgery and post-surgery is relatively high compared with many other types of "routine" procedures. Problems can include damage to the radial nerve, bone chips that prevent healing, deformed regrowth, infection, hemorrhage, and life-long sensitivity and pain.

In addition, according to AVAR (Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights), "General anesthesia is used for this surgery which always has a certain degree of disability or death associated with it. Because declawing provides no medical benefits to cats, even slight risk can be considered unaccceptable. In addition, the recovery from declawing can be painful and lengthy and may involve complications requiring additional surgery."

Declawed Cats Can Experience Changes in Personality
Some people report that their declawed cats experience changes in personality. Felines who were previously friendly and happy can become withdrawn and skittish and may bite due to deprivation of their main source of defense. Litterbox problems can also become a factor when a cat's sore feet are further aggravated by the harshness of litter material and urine. The association of pain with litterbox activity can reverse a previously fastidious feline.

Other behavioural issues following declawing may include territorial urination, and spending its time in high places (such as atop the refrigerator, kitchen counter, or bookcase) in an attempt to avoid real or imagined predators, plus a host of other physical and psychological issues.

Read more at Suite101: Declawing a Cat: Cruel, Complicated, Dangerous, and Unnecessary http://cats.suite101.com/article.cfm/declawing_a_cat#ixzz0by1GnEU3

If I am not mistaken, I already answered about my neutered black male cat.
Needless to say, ALL my cats are fixed even one who never goes outside.

Sakura, I know exactly what declawing is. Telling me over and over what you think about it doesn't actually change a darned thing. It's just irritating.

BTW, cats don't climb up high because they're declawed. Cats arrange themselves vertically by their place in the hierarchy. Did you not know that?

My cats with claws and those without have shown no differences. None. They have litter issues in the same proportion (no one has ever flat-out refused to use the box, BTW), have behavioral issues just the same, and they all behave like cats are just plain going to behave. My 18-year-old Lucy just passed away last fall from a stroke but was otherwise in excellent health all her life - with no claws at all (she came to us that way). 17-year-old Skeezix is in perfect condition - with no claws (he also came that way). Lucy was top cat and liked the top of the fridge (it's warmer up there, too, in case you didn't realize that heat rises). Skeezix is NOT top cat, so now someone else (who has back claws) sits up on the fridge. Before Lucy, Thomas had the fridge, and he had all his claws.

So go fish, lady. Educate yourself a little more about cat behavior and you might be a lot less freaked out when responsible pet owners act in the best interests of their own furbabies.

Random surgery for no good reason is never a good idea, that much is true. If you want to rail at someone, why not go after vets who neuter/spay extremely young animals? How about breeders who inbreed their animals until horrible, fatal diseases come standard with the breed? Did you know the Rhodesian Ridgeback's distinctive back is actually a terrible deformity? And how about clipped ears and docked tails? What did ears and tails ever do to anybody?

I didn't ask about a random black cat, I asked about your diabetic cat, the very sick one. Have you taken him to the vet yet?

julietspeaking, here is your imagination.
My cats with claws and those without have shown no differences.

I am going to ask you a question.
Can you read mind of your mutilated cat?
Keep believing you did nothing wrong by mutilating your cat if that is what you want to do but what you did is very cruel and anybody who respect right of animals never do such thing to animals unless person is blind about declawing.
Please don't mix declawing and spay/neutering because spaying/neutering is something we must to do to reduce execution of unwanted animals and other animals who end up in vivisection labs or testing labs to be tortured to death.
Didn't you read confession of animal control officer?
That article is one of saddest article and broke my heart.
EX Price is Right host Bob Barker always said to people "Spay/Neuter your pet."
I am strongly against docking tail and cropping ear of animals and it should be against law to mutilate animals for human selfishness.
Why unthinking selfish people mutilate their animals and pretend they love animals??
I guess only way for them to learn is if they experience same pain and suffering they are causing to animals on themselves.

Ok, black extra large male cat I was speaking about is one we took to vet because I was so sure he is diabetic knowing the way he urinate and amount of food he eats.
Vet tested his blood and urine and result was negative.
Vet told me to reduce food I am feeding him because he is too fat.
He is almost 30 pound cat.

My name is julietspeaks, not julietspeaking. Obviously you aren't much for details...or for making sure what you say is true.

Yes, spaying and neutering is indeed mutilation that we've all been conditioned to accept because of the heartache caused by people who don't take care of their animals properly. Automatic sterilization is just considered to be the lesser of the two evils. I'm not sure I will always spay/neuter in the future. I have always waited until my pets were older to castrate them (those were were not castrated before I adopted them), because it is detrimental to their health to do so before they reach full maturity - and there are definite benefits to leaving them intact. All of my pets were sterilized for a reason, and not "just because". And if you're honest with yourself, you'll realize that your pets were neutered for YOUR convenience, NOT their health or well-being.

When I mentioned spay/neutering before I was trying to be nice to you so we could have some common ground. I'm over that.

Bob Barker was the host of a game show. This does not qualify him to be anything but a game show host. Pardon me if I don't run out and buy Rice a Roni because he talked about it on TV.

So now the diabetic cat you were boasting about earlier isn't actually diabetic? Were you lying, being overly dramatic trying to make yourself look better, or are you lying now so I won't push you anymore to do right by your sick cat?

Your radical reaction to declawing is unreasonable and a whole, whole lot of untrue.

Can my cat tell me how he's feeling? Yes. Are you so out of tune with your own pets that YOU CAN'T TELL?

You remind me of those awful PETA people who show up to cattle auctions to save animals from slaughter, shove them in the backs of rickety trucks not safe for animal transport, then dump them off in a field somewhere to fend for themselves because that's what's "natural". Unfortunately, these cows die from disease because they are not routinely seen by a vet, are not tended properly when they are sick, are lamed because their hooves are not maintained, or are malnourished and emaciated because nobody did the work to know how domesticated cattle should be fed...

You think you're doing the right thing. But no. And you refuse to listen to reason.

We all do what we must to make the best possible decisions about our pets' health and welfare. Nobody reading this thread should believe that spaying and neutering is always a horrible thing. Nobody should believe that declawing is always a horrible thing, either. Except for you, I guess. Because even when declawing would save a cat's life I'm pretty sure you'd just let it die.

julietspeaks you are becoming offensive and loosing the moral ground of your argument

sakura2006 With 6 cats, odds are they all scratching in the same place as a dominance issue? One marks then the other marks etc?

Wait on the new carpet. Live without carpet for a few weeks until the cats take to posts. Buy some plywood for a base and 4x4's and build a few scratching posts. Take the section of carpet the cats already ruined up and cover the new posts with it, it has their scents on it. Also have yourself a spray bottle of water, if they keep trying to scratch where they use to, without new carpet squirt and make a noise. Don't say NO or any word that you would use in everyday conversation for discipline.

Cant say sounds on-line, I use a cross between AHH and ARGH, maybe it is AGH in a loud voice. My furry kid being corrected (usually the puppy) knows who they are and the others look at me as if to say, not my fault this time Mom. lol

For your question about carpet. Someone suggested Berber. Don't get Berber, it is gorgeous but it is like a sweater, pull a thread and it unravels. A short plush would work.

usgirl, thank you for pointing out MORAL consideration!
Yes, declawing, docking tail, cropping ear, etc are reflection of human selfishness and causing so much pain and suffering to innocent voiceless animals.
I used to have spasm when I was swimming and sometimes when I was sleeping.
I am sure anybody who experienced awful pain of having spasm wish they can avoid this kind of torture.
Can you imagine pain and suffering of declawed cats?
Unfortunate part of animal is they are TOO SENSITIVE to pain and suffering yet they cannot escape from abuse and torture caused by people. Intentionally or unintentionally.
There is no way for true animal lover to declaw their cats AFTER THEY LEARN WHAT IS DECLAWING.
I know a man who found out about cruel mutilation of his cat after he took his cat to vet to declaw.
He wept and expressed his remorse on our local forum.

julietspeaks thinks PETA is stealing farm animals from slaughterhouses and releasing in wildness but what she said is all her imagination because there are many farm animal sanctuaries exist in our country.
PETA rescue farm animals who are thrown away and slowly dying.

julietspeaks, you don't know anything about Bob Barker other than he was host of The Price is Right but he is a man of dignity and Animal Rights activist.
He donated 5 million to Sea Sheperd organization to help Paul Watson to save whales because Japanese whalers tried to kill Americans who are risking their own lives to protect whales.
Bob Barkers is involved in many other things to save/protect all sentient creatures because of his love for animals.
He is my true hero and we need many more people like him.

I am not lying about vet examined my male black cat(his name is Bear) and result was negative.
He only gave me special cans of cat food to make Bear to lose weight.
Please stop your imagination.

I appreciate good suggestions of people about cat proof carpet.
Yes, vinyl floor is very good idea because it is so easy to keep clean and if my cats make mess, I can quickly wash and wipe.

Gammyt, your suggestion is very good.
Actually, I have pole wrapped with carpet in basement because sometimes my cats get in basement and stay on warm heater.
I also have scratching post and cat toys with scratching pad inside.
My most destructive cat is one my daughter rescued in highway in Harrisburgh PA and named Dexter.
He was only about 5 month old male kitten and lived with my daughter for several years in apartment but when she moved to new apartment where pet isn't allowed, I became guardian of Dexter.
Dexter never socialized with people other than my daughter that is why he was almost like wild cat and I even couldn't get near him but now he is biggest boss in our house.

wow,,i never knew there are cat proof carpets,,i would like to have one,,my dog wets them all..n he is beyond training and manners

Here is a link that might be useful: modern furniture

Ha! Sakura, you are an ill-educated idiot whose ignorance kills innocent animals. I wish your local social services organizations well dealing with the likes of you.

Jerk.

Get off the game show network and live in the real world. Then you might have a chance at actual animal welfare advocacy.

Peace out.

So far all anyone wants to do is spout off on cat behavior and declawing. The topic is CARPET!! Does anyone know of a cat proof (or at least a cat resistant carpet)? I don't want to spray the carpet. I don't want vinyl. I don't want to declaw. I don't want info on scratching posts. I just want CARPET INFO. If you don't know of such a carpet, I guess there's no need for you to respond to the question.

definately don't do Berber. And don't even think of sisal. Textures like that are like catnip to cats, they love it. I've had 5 cat roommates at one time. I'd go for a short pile carpet. Mine even loved the rubber back area rugs with a loop type pile, not fun for me.So look for a cut loop.

I only have one cat, but she's never used the carpet as a scratching area. The FR, LR, and all the bedrooms are carpet and she has access to all of it. So........my suggestion would be to try one of the frieze carpets.
But, be sure your cat has posts they enjoy, along with some flat scratching areas such as the cardboard scratchers. The post below is the best I've found......

Here is a link that might be useful: post