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How to stop my cat from scratching walls and use a scratching post?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered

My cat refuses to use a scratching post, instead preferring to shred the walls, corners, and door faces to pieces. Catnip doesn't help.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on June 29th, 2016

This can be a tough problem - I can sympathize! There are a few things you can do to help. First, make sure that you are providing really good, attractive scratching posts in the areas that your cat wants to scratch - many of the small, carpet-covered ones in pet stores aren't very good. A good scratching post should be at least 3-4 feet tall so that the cat can stretch all the way out when scratching. It should also be heavy and solid - if the post feels flimsy or tips over when the cat scratches, he won't want to use it. Finally, most cats prefer rough coverings like sisal rope or something similar rather than carpet. I would try to get several really good scratching posts and ideally also a few cat trees/climbing structures so that you can have at least one in every room where Pepper spends time. To help discourage scratching on furniture and door faces, you can use double-sided scotch tape over these areas - the tape sticks to their paws when they try to scratch, so they normally choose to go elsewhere. If you would like more specific suggestions for your situation, feel free to consult with me - I'd be glad to try and help out.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on January 7th, 2017

    You can try double-sided sticky tape on surfaces that you don't want her to scratch or climb on - most cats don't like the feel of it on their paws, and will avoid these areas. But, it's also very important to provide her with alternatives for scratching and climbing or else she will continually try to use your furniture and countertops, as these are both normal behaviors for cats. She needs tall cat trees and high ledges or other resting places to climb up to and lay on, as well as a variety of good surfaces for scratching - scratching posts should be tall and sturdy, ideally with a rough texture such as sisal rope rather than carpet. Most cats will readily leave your things alone if you are providing appropriate alternatives :)

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Related Questions

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Their very first cat scratcher post&they don't like it. How can I get them to like it&scratch the post vs. the side of my bed/sofa.Catnip doesnt work.
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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I am looking for a spray or something to keep my cat from climbing and scratching on certain places/ furniture in the house. What do you recommend and know that really works?
You can try double-sided sticky tape on surfaces that you don't want her to scratch or climb on - most cats don't like the feel of it on their paws, and will avoid these areas. But, it's also very important to provide her with alternatives for scratching and climbing or else she will continually try to use your furniture and countertops, as these are both normal behaviors for cats. She needs tall cat trees and high ledges or other resting places to climb up to and lay on, as well as a variety of good surfaces for scratching - scratching posts should be tall and sturdy, ideally with a rough texture such as sisal rope rather than carpet. Most cats will readily leave your things alone if you are providing appropriate alternatives :)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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my cats keeo scratching the couch even though i gave them something to scratch it , but they keep running to th couch and scratch it , it there any way to avoid that ?
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! Cats scratching your furniture can be the worst! You can consider putting nail caps on your cats while training them: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYGODXH/ref=asc_df_B01MYGODXH5167683/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01MYGODXH&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198073792559&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=740752911514439939&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007368&hvtargid=pla-318807050319 Purchase several different types of scratching posts and have some that are vertically oriented like your couch. Place them where your cats mostly sleep so when they wake up and want to scratch it is there. Also place them front and center in your house so they can do it where you mostly relax. Place one near the couch. Get your cat interested in the scratching posts by sprinkling them with catnip or spraying them with honeysuckle. Learn more about catnip and honeysuckle. Get your cat even more interested in the post(s) by using a wand toy. St
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How can i stop my kitten from scratching the wall when i am not around? I have wallpaper and they keep pealing it down and off
You can try putting double-sided sticky tape on the walls where she tends to scratch - most cats don't like the feel of this on their paws, so it helps to discourage scratching in unwanted places like this. It's also important to make sure that Tabby has lots of other things she can scratch and climb, such as cat trees, cat condos, and tall, sturdy scratching posts - these things will help to provide an appropriate outlet for this behavior.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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My cat will not stop scratching our new stair carpet. He did it with the old ine too. We have posts and mats for him but he prefers the stairs. Anything we can do to stop him?
Cats will scratch where ever they see the opportunity. Unfortunately, it is not always where we want them scratching. I would encourage him scratching appropriate areas by attracting him with food, treats and/or catnip on/near his posts. Cats hate if sticky things touch their feet. Often just a piece of tape (made into a loop with the sticky side out) placed in the corners will stop them from scratching the carpeted stairs. Some stores sell specially made double sided sticky strips as well. I would recommend giving those a try.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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What can i do to keep my cats from scratching on leather furniture?
This is such a frustrating battle. Here are a few suggestions that may or may not work. You can try giving him something else to scratch on like a tall scratching post or a piece of wood from outside. The scratching post needs to be tall because they like to stretch while scratching. Feliway also make a product now called feliscratch to help redirect the scratching to the scratching post. You can also apply soft paws to their nails so that even if they try to scratch, they won't do any damage. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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My kitten likes to scratch my wooden chair, doors,and occasionally the door frames. I bought her a wooden cat scratcher with catnip and all she does is bite, sleeps, and lays on it. Do you have any recommendations on what would be a good scratching
Hello, actually the more variety you give her, the more chances you will have to get her to use one or more of the scratching posts. Different substrates, sizes & dimensions are necessary. I have curved, upright & horizontal ones made of carpet, jute & sisal. Keep her nails trimmed ( just take off the sharp point ) or put on glue-on nail caps & your furniture & sanity will be preserved. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
New Pet
My 6 month old kitten is tearing up the carpet in front of my son's and my room. She is scratching at the carpet and pulling it up off the pad. She has a two scratching posts but I have never seen her use them for scratching. How do I solve this pr
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
My cat will not stop obsessively scratching the carpet no matter what I do. She is neutered, she will remove caps, she will rip up aluminum foil, I put scratching posts on every single area she scratches and she moves them. I am hopeless right now an
I am sorry to hear about your problem with Nala! I would consider trying the product Feliway Scratch, which encourages your cat to scratch on a desired location via use of pheremones and scents your cat can smell https://www.feliway.com/us/Products/feliscratch-by-feliway . I would also consider getting a variety of different styles of scratching posts. Some cats prefer different materials (cardboard, wood, carpet, rope), and some have a preference in orientation of the post (horizontal, vertical, slanted) or preference of orientation of fibers, so you may need to try a few different styles to find what Nala wants! I would recommend reading this article by veterinary behaviorst Sophia Yin for more tips: https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/june-is-adopt-a-cat-month-training-your-new-cat-not-to-scratch-furniture/ . If you want to make a deterent, I would probably try citrus, as I don't think lavender would deter, but I am not sure how effective this would be or if it could stain your ca
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
Why does my cat scratch my carpet up? She has all sorts of cat posts with various surfaces? She was found outside, then lived an indoor/outdoor life for about 9 months with someone else. Now she is strictly indoors with me. We live in Tucson so she c
She may prefer horizontal carpeted surfaces. You can attach carpet samples to a box or other horizontal surface, put a little catnip on there, and see if she will start scratching that surface. You can try something like Bitter Apple spray on the area where she is currently scratching to see if she will avoid that area. Also, make sure she is getting plenty of exercise inside, since she may be used to more activity when she lived outside.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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