When you are trying to get your cat to stop scratching up your precious furniture, you must learn one thing - that you can never get your cat to do something that she wants to do, so, do not try to get your cat to stop scratching by using punishment or force, as she will not associate the punishment with scratching, and will associate it with being picked up, causing further bad behaviour. Continued punishment will break the bond of trust between you and your cat and will make for difficult times as cats hold grudges and have very long memories.
How then, to stop scratching? Well, you must first provide your cat with an appropriate scratching post. By an appropriate post, we mean one that suits your cat and not one that suits you, like a space saving, double layered bed that doubles as a scratching post. NEVER use these, as they just provide something that your cat will sleep in, so if you have one you need to get a scratching post as well. Cats like a post they can really shred, so avoid ones made of any sort of rope as these do not tear easily enough for your cat. Use a heavy, sturdy, strong post made of sisal material, not the rope. The post should be about 28 inches tall for a fully grown cat, as cats like to extend their bodies to the full extent.
When placing the post, make sure it is in a good, position near the centre of the room, and not hidden in a dark corner. Cats scratch to mark territory and this makes your cat feel that the post is her own, and not yours. It is also a good thing to put the post near either the food dish (not too close) or the cat's basket, as these are spots that are good for territory.
To get your cat to prefer the post, make all experiences with the post pleasurable. Use food while she is scratching, rub catnip into the post, give her treats, dangle a toy mouse or a ball on top of the post, play with her, pet her, and love her near the post. She will know that this is a good place to be and feel how good it feels to scratch on the post. If your cat still scratches the old spots where she used to scratch then use lemon spray on the patches where you don't want her to scratch. Cats hate lemon, especially the peel and juice. You can also hang aluminium foil on the places you don't want her to scratch.
For the complete guide on looking after your cat, visit http://www.mjsquare.com/catcare.html
