Can't teach an old cat new tricks ???

[DarkHelmet]

So we have an awesome cat, about 9 years old, that for 8 years slept on our couch in one specific spot.

Essentially she slimed the whole couch. The bane of my house (the couch not the cat).

Now, with new (expensive for us) couches, we don't want her on the couch... really, at all, but certainly not sleeping on it.

Anyone know any good "tricks" to keep cats off of furniture?

 

[thestrangequark]

My sister and her husband have two cats about the same age as your cat. They are preparing for their new baby by teaching the cats what furniture they are not allowed on. They've put balloons in the cradle and tin foil on all the furniture they don't want the cats using. At first the cats tried to get on the furniture, but that stopped after only a few weeks. They don't even bother anymore.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Never heard about balloons. I assume not inflated.. I've heard about tin foil. Literally just lay it on where you don't want them?

 

[Miss Chicken]

Never heard about balloons. I assume not inflated.. I've heard about tin foil. Literally just lay it on where you don't want them?

I thought the balloons would be inflated because it would only take one to burst and the cat would be terrified.

 

[thestrangequark]

^edit: Precisely.

Yeah, cats generally don't like walking on tin foil. The balloons are inflated -- definitely keeps the cats out of the cradle.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

So we have an awesome cat, about 9 years old, that for 8 years slept on our couch in one specific spot.

Essentially she slimed the whole couch. The bane of my house (the couch not the cat).

Now, with new (expensive for us) couches, we don't want her on the couch... really, at all, but certainly not sleeping on it.

Anyone know any good "tricks" to keep cats off of furniture?

No. Cats do as they please, and we just have to learn to live with it. Wait, what do you mean "slimed" the couch?

 

[Kelthaz]

I've never really understood why people don't want their cats on their couches or beds. I mean, they're not 100+ pound muddy dogs. They weigh 10 pounds, sleep in a corner, are fairly clean, and their worst crime is shedding a bit of hair.

 

[nevermore]

Anyone know any good "tricks" to keep cats off of furniture?

Yeah, it's called a cage.

Just get one of these.

 

[backstept]

get a squirt bottle like you'd use for cleaning solution, but fill it with water, and turn the nozzle so it shoots a stream instead of a mist
just shoot 'em and mimic the sound of the bottle with your mouth so they can associate that sound
they hate water so they'll gladly run away from it
and once they learn the sound means they'll get wet you can just go 'pshhh pshhh pshhh' and they'll move

 

[Commander Rabbit]

get a squirt bottle like you'd use for cleaning solution, but fill it with water, and turn the nozzle so it shoots a stream instead of a mist
just shoot 'em and mimic the sound of the bottle with your mouth so they can associate that sound
they hate water so they'll gladly run away from it
and once they learn the sound means they'll get wet you can just go 'pshhh pshhh pshhh' and they'll move

That works for only certain cats. My current pair don't mind water, sprayed or otherwise.

 

[RoJoHen]

I've never really understood why people don't want their cats on their couches or beds. I mean, they're not 100+ pound muddy dogs. They weigh 10 pounds, sleep in a corner, are fairly clean, and their worst crime is shedding a bit of hair.

Some people might be concerned with cats scratching up their furniture.

I am not such a person, but I also don't own nice things.

 

[nevermore]

^He's not talking about scratching though, just sleeping. Scratching is another matter altogether, for which double-sided tape is supposed to be a good deterrent.

But just getting up on stuff? Nah, they might not do it when you're around, but they do when you're gone. For instance, my friends spent years "training" their cat to stay off the counters and the tables. They went away for two weeks and every time I stopped by to feed the cat, the cat at some point got up on the counter or the table. They actually don't believe me because he never does that in front of them.

Cats are cats. They like to get up into high places and they like to sleep in soft, warm spots and they especially like to get up onto high places and sleep in soft, warm spots when they know you don't want them to. They're smart enough not to do it in front of you if you squirt them or whatever, but they're doing it behind your back. Guaran-fuckin-teed.

 

[trekkiedane]

Wikipedia has a few suggestions.

And as I know cats usually hate the smell of citrus fruits, one of them sounds like the thing you're looking for.

ETA: nevermore is on to something though: make sure the cat has an alternative soft, warm, high ground where it can go -and maybe that's all you need

 

[Spot's Meow]

To get our cat to stop scratching the couch we picked him up and took him to his scratching post every time he tried to do it. Eventually he started just going straight to the scratching post. I imagine I would try something similar if I wanted to change his sleeping spot.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

I had a problem with one of my cats frolicking around on the countertops, getting on top of the refrigerator, etc. I tried aluminum foil, citrus sprays, all that stuff. Nothing worked. Eventually she just quit getting up there.

 

[RoJoHen]

I had a problem with one of my cats frolicking around on the countertops, getting on top of the refrigerator, etc. I tried aluminum foil, citrus sprays, all that stuff. Nothing worked. Eventually she just quit getting up there.

My cat climbs up there all the time. I just think it's funny.

 

[Kelthaz]

To get our cat to stop scratching the couch we picked him up and took him to his scratching post every time he tried to do it. Eventually he started just going straight to the scratching post. I imagine I would try something similar if I wanted to change his sleeping spot.

Yeah, there are ways to prevent your cats from destroying all your furniture without kicking them off it all the time. But they do need something to scratch; you just have to give them a better alternative to couches.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Another important thing to remember when scratching is the issue is that not all cats like to scratch the same things. Scratching posts come in carpet, twine, cork, cardboard, and not all cats will be drawn to all kinds of posts indiscriminately. My cat prefers cork and completely ignores the carpet post. My sister's cats wil only scratch twine posts.