Preventing cats from kneading a rug

ANewHue · ‎11-21-2011

I just purchased a new wool rug that I plan on putting in as soon as the room is painted. I have one cat that loves to use rugs as a scratch pad even though they have numerous ones around the house. I heard to spray citrus on the rug, does anyone know what I can use?

homedecor1 · ‎03-09-2010

@ANewHue

if you get a good answer let me know!

I am sick over i got new rugs put thru my house 2 years ago & they are literally a mess! In fact, at my front tile area it's all shredded.

It makes me crazy & worse yet I bought new LR chairs and these 2 "angels" have destroyed them.

My husband trimmed their nails every Sunday. My one kitty passed in June but the other one is still "scratching". I have cat scratching poles, boxes, etc. but he still does it!

I can't watch him 24 hours but when I see him "scratching" I just clap my hands & he stops!

Good luck!

jannabelle1 · ‎09-12-2010

It's frustrating - I know. I haven't heard of trying a citrus spray, but I'd go for it. Also, there are anti-scratch sprays available in pet sections of the larger stores like Walmart or Petco. I've also used a small spray bottle with just water in it and have sprayed a stream at him when he starts scratching - but of course I have to be keeping an eye on him. I have one bad boy who was scratching on the bottom of a sofa, so I taped wide packing tape on that area and he totally stopped - the tape was too slick to get his claws in. After awhile I took the tape off and he's left the sofa alone. Of course you can't do that with a rug, but it does seem to work for furniture. Sometimes you just have to keep trying things to figure out what will stop him/her.

ANewHue · ‎11-21-2011

@homedecor1. Well here's hoping someone out there has an answer, I'm also going to do some research and maybe even contact that cat guru Jackson Galaxy. I am determined not to have this rug ruined one bit. I too trim their nails every week but it's just this one that I catch in the act. Uggh, I also had a beautiful ottoman with an animal print tapestry on it that she ruined. I plan on re-upholstering that as well.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

Buy a set of Soft Claws, and put them over your cat’s nails. The cat will not be able to damage anything.

they are available from Chewy and other pet store retailers and are safe and humane. They are supposed to last up to six weeks, but I think that is a big stretch. It keep dogs from ruining hardwood floors too.

They come in clear and really cute colors. Doesn’t this kitty look adorable in Red. I love the pink too.

RainCityWoman · ‎06-16-2015

Cats will be cats. When you have one in your life, you have to face the fact that the cat owns you and pretty much molds you to his or her needs. You live with the cat, not vice versa. My New Zealand wool area rug gets a thorough loving by my cats no matter how much I try to watch over it. I simply sweep the little balls of wool on top that either Lennie or Sheldon have pulled up and wait for another day that I will do the same thing. I'm not happy that it occurs, but I'll tell you one thing: my life without kitties would be far worse than my life without that rug. I would never ever declaw a cat, and the little soft paws don't stay on the cat. So I'll just live with it because my kitties bring me so much beyond that rug.

cottoncandi · ‎03-29-2012

We had a similar problem when we first got our two kitties and our vet suggested we put packing take on the edges, sides and back of our fabric living room furniture, which we did, and it worked great. Looked awful as you can imagine it would and after 3 weeks I tested our kitties and took off the packing tape and now 8 years later the kitties have never scratched on the furiture again. During our remodel several years ago we put in wood floors and several jute rugs which cats LOVE. The kitties started using our dining room jute rug. I called the vet and she suggested we get a tall scratching post with sisal rope and place it in the area we are the most. The vet said cats need to stretch their bodies completely so the height of a scratching post matters. If the scratching posts are too short, she said, cats may not use it. The sisal post we have is 32 inches tall ( on a two inch carpeted covered base) and both our kitties use it. We've never had anther probelm with either kitty using the rug or furniture so these two things worked for us. Good luck - I know it can be expensive and frustrating.

Drythe · ‎07-09-2011

Two sided stickey tape has been a blessing for me, having 5 of the wonderful darlin’s.

Good luck !

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@RainCityWoman wrote:
Cats will be cats. When you have one in your life, you have to face the fact that the cat owns you and pretty much molds you to his or her needs. You live with the cat, not vice versa. My New Zealand wool area rug gets a thorough loving by my cats no matter how much I try to watch over it. I simply sweep the little balls of wool on top that either Lennie or Sheldon have pulled up and wait for another day that I will do the same thing. I'm not happy that it occurs, but I'll tell you one thing: my life without kitties would be far worse than my life without that rug. I would never ever declaw a cat, and the little soft paws don't stay on the cat. So I'll just live with it because my kitties bring me so much beyond that rug.

@RainCityWoman- AMEN! I have four beautiful cats and no thing in my home is more precious to me than they are. (Won't even get into the barbaric practice of declawing a cat, which is banned in many other countries.)