Is there anything I can do to repair my leather couch and keep my kitty from scratching it?

Put a thick blanket (bedspread) over your furniture. You shouldn’t have to leave it there for more than 13 years tops.

:) hehehehe. No hope huh? @DWW25921

@Emmy1234 There’s always hope! Do you have a storage space somewhere that the cat doesn’t have access to?

No very cramped house with limited storage and rural area with no storage garages I guess I could drive a couple hours to store the furniture but if I get a replacement will he mark it up too?

Zap him with a spray bottle of water when you see him scratching. It has to be done when he is in the act. Confine him to a separate room at night if he is doing bad kitty things while you’re sleeping, play with him a lot to wear him out, and neuter him ASAP, like next week!
Your 8 yr. old cat deserves to not be forced from his home and if the new cat does not stop terrorizing the old cat after he is spayed I think your older kitty deserves seniority and if that means the new cat needs to be re-homes so your older cat regains his turf and peace, so be it.

He’s not neutered yet because my vet does not do it till 6 months and I think he is close to that now. I’ll try the spray bottle. I wonder if it will work on him because if you don’t get the bathroom door closed the silly cat climbs in the shower while you are showering. Imagine my surprise the first time that happened! He loves water maybe its brain damage from the dog attack but a startling shot of water might scare him. I hope he settles down I love them both and don’t want to make any tough decisions but yes my other cat does have priority. I say I won’t get rid of him (it would be a very hard choice) but I don’t want my other cat tormented. @Coloma

I’ve found duct tape works really well. Yea, it looks tacky as shit for a while, but once kitty learns that touching that object feels like sticky hell they tend to stay away from it.

@Emmy1234 I tried to adopt a stray female cat a few years ago that my daughter found.
It just didn’t work out, at all. The new cat was psycho and attacked my sweet little female siamese repeatedly until, same thing, she wouldn’t even come in the house. I gave the cat back to my daughter and it worked out, she is 3 now. Cat issues can be such a PITA! lol
Good luck!

There’s no hope. I have a cat that is 18. She was given to me at about 8 months. She was declawed. All I can say is that she still scratches the furniture even though she has no claws, so I’m guessing if she had claws I’d be living in 18 years of hell, but there is one good thing about it, she can scratch away whenever and wherever without consequences and she does. If I was in your situation I would not declaw because I also do not agree with that so I’d think the blanket idea sounds good.

I also personally wouldn’t spray water because afaik that has something to do with negative reinforcement training which I think if I remember is not nice.

Good luck whatever you choose.

Soft Paws work for my folks.

If you’re lucky the cat will mellow out with age, but not necessarily. It’s easy to forget that a cat is actually a rather exquisite killing machine, and the machine is programed to keep itself tuned for its purpose. I suppose you might distract the cat from honing its claws on the hide of the dead animal by providing it with a live one, but it would be idiocy to bother with restoring your furniture until the cat has outgrown what comes naturally to it. The sensible thing to do is to choose between the killer and your furniture.

Try Claw Caps for Cats: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4033287
and here’s a video on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLnvmZCZiKs

OOps, It’s a similar product as posted above, but you do get the video.

Here’s another vote for nail caps. It doesn’t harm them at all. I know that there are some pet stores with a groomer on premises who will do it for you.

The other thing you really need to do on a DAILY basis (and perhaps twice a day) is to get a toy called a cat teaser. It’s basically like a fishing pole with a moveable toy attached and enables you to play with him without getting damaged yourself.

This comes the closest to mimicking his behavior in the wild as he’s basically hunting and “killing” it.

He needs to burn off all that excess energy and this is the best way to do it; plus playing with him regularly reinforces bonding between you two.

But you need to do it long enough to where he’s lying there exhausted. So keep on going until that happens.

I’m going to try to find a link to some videos by Jackson Galaxy, a cat behaviorist. He also has a show on Animal Planet called “My Cat From Hell”.

Believe me, he has dealt with worse cases than your kitty.

I’m very glad that you will not even consider declawing. It’s a cruel and painful procedure and many declawed cats end up with worse behaviors and/or litterbox problems.

When your cat is scratching something you don’t want her to scratch, just pick her up gently and carry her over to the scratching post. Normally cats enjoy a scratch after a nap, so try placing the scratching post close to your cat’s sleeping location. A firm “no” and a spray with the water spray also helps. You can try spraying furniture, rugs or drapes with a citrus deodorizer as cats hate citrus smells. For covering the scratch marks use shoe wax matching the color as closely as possible to the furniture. Apply with a Q-tip, and then buff with a soft cloth.

Those nail covers actually work? I always assumed that right after I put them on my cat would freak out and chew on them till they fell off.

@uberbatman Some cats do. Most don’t really notice them, after you get them on.

I had pretty good luck trimming my kittens’ nails- I just used a human nail clipper. It definitely minimized the damage. If you put stuff on the furniture(blanket or whatever) it needs to be thick enough, or he will just launch it off the furniture as he sticks his claws clear through it because he feels it moving. I kept their nails short and it really helped. My husband found some leather restorer liquid online; I don’t know the name and I couldn’t find the container just now… it doesn’t repair the scratches but it really camouflages them well.

@wildpotato hmmm I’ll have to give it a shot sometime then.

@ccrow I usually cut kitties nails too but sometimes that can be more dangerous than just letting him keep the long nails :P

@wildpotato, @snowberry, @Buttonstc the claw caps are pure genius. I didn’t know such a thing existed! I’ve watch “My Cat from Hell” a few times Buttonstc. I made sure I got him things to deter bad behavior but it wasn’t enough. @Smitha abd @ccrow I’ll try the wax and see if that helps with the scratch marks or look for restorer online. Thanks