The Oak Court Cats are considerate, sort of.  The back corners of the living room sofa have been shredded by the daily stretch and scratch routine.  They are considerate in that they decided to use the back corners.  Unfortunately the sofa is not against the  wall; it sits in the away from the wall where all who pass through the house see it…

Shredded Sofa

I’ve tried all the tricks to stop their scratching.  One person suggested using a strip of clear packing tape; the tabby figured how to pull it off.  At the pet store they suggested this spray.  Well, it slowed them down a bit but did not stop them.  A third suggestion was also useless; I attached a piece of denim material to the corner and, once again, the tabby pulled the material off.

So I went out and bought a scratching post, a cat tower with carpeting.  It seems that the Oak Court Pride likes the sofa more than the $200 cat tower for scratching.  The tower is a great place to play or sleep but not for scratching.

Another suggestion was to buy those door knob hangers that are essentially carpet with a loop for hanging.  You’re supposed to “season” them with cat nip. Nope.  The tabby “marked” it….

Not a lot of success in the battle; the pride decided that the sofa was the best place for claw cleaning and it wasn’t open to negotiation.

So I tried one last thing.  In the cat store I found these corrugated cardboard blocks.  Like the door hangers, they are “seasoned” with cat nip and tossed on the floor (cats will not be interested in anything that is purchase for their use).

Cardboard Scratch Blocks

These cardboard blocks cost around $5 and last about 6 months.  The cats (well, most of the cats) love them and shred layers of  on a daily basis.  I toss a handful of cat nip on them every few days and clean the area up with the vacuum a few times a week (they tend to get messy).  Precious the Predator rolls around the floor, tosses them into the air and, in general, trashes the area by the time she’s done.  The Tabby and the Big Guy spend a few minutes on the blocks, usually just after I’ve freshened up the catnip.

So, while the sofa gets torn up more every daily, they tease me by shredding card board and rolling around in catnip.    I’m going to live with shredded furniture for a while longer and, in the mean time I’ll keep buying cardboard and catnip.

Time to vacuuum things again, later.

John