cat habits

Question
Hello, I have 2 cats, male & female 9&10 yrs old. How can I stop them from clawing up the carpet and furniture. I will not get them declawed. Is there any type of odor product that they find offensive and will leave the furnishings alone. Also the cat hair is driving me nuts, any suggestions would be helpfull.

Answer
Lois,

The best thing to do is keep their claws trimmed. Here is a link to a site that has photo instructions on how to do it:
http://www.cat-world.com.au/catclaws.htm
That is great that you are not considering getting them declawed! That is a horrible and painful procedure for a cat to go through.

Another thing that I would suggest is a kitty condo that has sissel rope on it. Or even a sissel rope scratching pad that you can attach to a wall. Check PetSmart, Petco, etc.). The first time you can rub catnip on it to attract them to it and play with them around it (like a shoestring, etc. that they can climb to chase. The scratching will come natural. Then when they claw the carpet or furniture tell them NO! and take them to the scratching post. Get firmer each time you catch them doing it. Make the scratching post a happy place but use a rolled up newspaper or raise your voice when they use any other place to scratch. They will catch on soon enough...but they will still 'test' you too.

About the cat hair: it's shedding season and there is not much you can do about it except to brush them once or twice a day until they lose their winter coat. Also get some Petromalt hairball paste so they aren't coughing up hairballs from licking the loose fur.

I hope this helps.
Tabbi