Furniture upholstered with leather is the most luxurious and comfortable option for seating and home styling. But if this luxurious investment gets damaged by your pet scratching, you will feel apprehensive. Scratching is the basic instinctive behavior of the feline family and they need a specific thing for scratching to express their emotions (excitement or stress).
Furthermore, they usually scratch for multiple other purposes such as scent marking and maintaining the sharpness of their claws or nails. In this article, Dubai Carpenter has mentioned multiple humane techniques to stop cats from scratching leather furniture surfaces. By following these valuable tips, you will be successful in stopping your cat from scratching your costly leather upholstery.
Best Tips To Keep Cats From Scratching Leather Furniture
To keep leather furniture durable and shiny, we have enlisted the best possible techniques that should be followed by all cat owners.
- Get A Scratcher For Your Cat
- Deter Your Cat From Furniture
- Keep Cat Nails Trimmed
- Use Verbal Cues For Training
- Use A Feline Repellent Spray
- Cover Cat’s Favorite Scratching Places
- Remove Pleasurable Aspect
- Give Huge Enrichment To Your Cat
1- Find A Scratcher For Your Cat
The foremost and simplest tip is to get an alternative scratcher for your loving cat. Because you can’t stop the instinctive nature of any animal but you can present them with an alternative option. Place the scratcher in any prominent place and encourage your pet to scratch it instead of scratching the furniture surface. In addition, you might need to run your nails over the scratcher to show and develop the right habit in your cat.
2- Deter Your Cat From Furniture
Another useful practice is to deter your cat from furniture leather by making alternative scratchers more appealing and delightful. Moreover, you may also need to make furniture surfaces more irritating or less appealing for your cat to avoid scratching them. You can do this by spraying citrus liquids or applying double-sided tape on desired furniture surfaces.
3- Keep Cat Nails Trimmed
Make it a habit to trim your cat’s nails or claws regularly to avoid physical injury and furniture damage due to scratching. While cutting, you can draw the attention of your cat towards any other activity to overcome stress. The trimming technique can’t stop the scratching behavior of cats but it can minimize the risk of damage. If your cat is more aggressive and doesn’t allow you to trim its claws, you can also cover them.
4- Use Verbal Cues For Training
Cats are one of those creatures that can be easily trained by applying human practices. You need to be firm, consistent and gentle to train your pet cat. Unlike humans, they don’t have developed minds to judge the outcomes of any behavior. But your signs of “yes” or “no” in a gentle tone can create an instructive pathway and make them learn.
5- Use A Feline Repellent Spray
A cat is 15 times more sensitive to smell than humans. A wide range of materials can be used to avoid cat scratching such as lavender, citrus, mint, cinnamon, and rosemary. You can also utilize the easily available medically proven sprays. However, keep the spray away from cats; it can cause a lot of harm.
6- Cover Cat’s Favorite Scratching Places
You can also cover your leather furniture with plastic covers, fabric slipcovers, or adhesive protective covers to avoid scratching. These waterproof and transparent covers not only stop cats from scratching furniture but also protect the leather surface from vomit, urine, or other accidental secretions. If your cat is addicted to scratching, you should utilize durable and high-quality protective covering for more longevity and satisfactory outcomes.
7- Remove Pleasurable Aspects
Aside from sharpening their claws or nails, cats also get pleasure from scratching anything. You can remove that pleasurable aspect by covering the leather surface with pieces of tin foil or vinyl carpet. Moreover, you can also place some non-sticky plastic protectors on the desired furniture surfaces. By doing this, you can reduce the pleasure effect for cats and divert their attention.
8- Give Huge Enrichment To Your Cat
Sometimes cats scratch obsessively, hence they require extra enrichment to prevent them from this activity. You need to provide more elements of entertainment to your cat to distract its aggressive or innate behavior of scratching. For huge enrichment, you can use cat perches, cat trees, puzzle feeders, or interactive toys.
Practices That Must Be Discouraged
1- Declawing Your Cats
2- Punishing Your Cats
3- Forcing Cats To Use a Scratcher
Conclusion!
To wrap up this guide, we can say that stopping cats from scratching leather furniture is not an easy task. It requires proper knowledge and understanding of cats’ behavior and their nature. Dubai Carpenter has enlisted multiple effective tips to prevent your cat from scratching your furniture’s leather surface. By following these well-analyzed practices, you can protect your costly leather furniture upholstery from damage and also keep your cats happy.
