Expert: Ali - 8/19/2008

Question
i have 2 cats from the same litter about 3 yrs old, got 2 new sofa;s and they will not stay off it..have to vacuum it about 3 times a day, i have tried shoo and bitter apple spray, only seems to work for a few hrs....

Answer
Alan,

It has been my experience that asking your cats to stay off of household furniture without providing an interesting cat friendly alternative is just about impossible and ultimately frustrating for you and the cats. Sturdy floor to ceiling carpeted kitty trees that are designed to be a cat's idea of a great time are good investments. Good quality cat trees should be sturdy because if the cats tip the cat tree over it will most likely result in property damage and the cats will never use the tree again. There are also numerous manufacturers that create scaled down versions of human furniture that can provide cat friendly alternatives to hanging out on your furniture. Cats that have these sturdy, serviceable pieces of furniture can be much more easily conditioned to use their furniture rather than yours. It's important that you realize that cats are quite territorial so cats investigate new things introduced into their territory. Cat furniture has come a long way in terms of the range of colors and fabrics. You can certainly find tasteful cat furniture that will fit in with your decor. Magazines like Cat Fancy routinely have classified ads at the end of their publication that advertise people who make custom cat furniture on a small scale. You can also attempt to make your own if you are unable to find the style of kitty furniture that you are looking for if you are at all handy. In situations like this the easiest way to make peace with your cats and minimize your level of frustration with them is to cover the new sofas with a sheet or blanket to prevent excess fur from building up on your new furniture while you are training the cats to stay off of it. It's not a bad idea to keep one full sized armchair or similar piece that the cats are allowed on and make it more appealing to your cats by using toys, catnip, and kitty accessories like a crinkle bag.

You can use a number of different methods to condition your cats to keep off of the new couches unless they are invited which will help to control the frequency that your cats get up onto the new furniture. If the new furniture's fabric is okay to get wet you can use a brand new squirt bottle like the type used for misting tropical plants to spray the cats whenever they get up onto the couch which should get your point across. You can also invest in a few motion activated units that use cans of compressed air to create a hissing sound that will certainly ensure that your cats get the intended message and most cats will find quite offensive offensive. These units can be found in some pet supply stores. You could opt to use scents that are offensive to cats, for example, cats don't tend to like the smell of citrus fruit peelings or capsaicin which is the component responsible for making peppers hot. I would recommend using dried, ground citrus peels or a small amount of lemon or orange extract mixed with water and sprayed in the area surrounding the couch. There are countless indoor cat repellents available in pet supply stores, but in my experience these repellents are often more likely to repel people than cats.

I would recommend that you try a combination of methods to keep your kitties off of the new furniture. Motion activated units that sudden bursts of compressed air/air powered horn in a can that emits a loud noise to deter your cats should be quite effective, especially if combined with the smell of dried citrus fruit peelings or extracts. Depending on the fabric that your new couch is upholstered with you could also use a product called Sticky Paws which is a medical grade double sided tape that is safe for use on most fabrics. These methods should all be quite effective in conditioning your cats to stay off of your new furniture. The most important part of attempting to change your cats' behavior is to be patient, humane and consistent.

I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions, concerns, or you would simply like to send an update or some pictures my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again.