training cats to use a scratching post

so next week DH and I are picking up our cat, which we came across this weekend in a local shelter. she is an 8 month old tortoiseshell (well technically a calico, b/s she has a splash of white on her chest) and she has claws. in my life almost all the cats i have had, have been declawed. all except for one, b/c it was a 'partial' outdoor cat (she didnt really go anywhere except the porch and the birds picked on her by swooping down. since she was indoors mostly i never really had a problem with her scratching anything. we didnt have a scratching post, but she used rugs and an old chest instead. i didnt really have a problem with it, b/c she wasnt really damaging anything that was important to me. so i never had problems with this one cat and its claws.

i always thoughtt declawing cats was the thing you did with indoor cats, but i found out this weekend it is largely an american thing. i mentioned that i wanted to do that to this cat at the shelter and i was told how bad it is and that we probably wouldnt find a vet that will do that here (australia). so we have decided that we will not declaw the cat.

i am worried about my new future furniture. we are moving in to out place this friday and getting the cat this sunday. we dont have that much furniture, but what we do and will have is new. since i have never had to really train a cat in this department, what are some tips that you can tell me worked for all of you and your cats?

this cat is very calm and didnt really use its claws much as compared to a few other cats i met this weekend at the shelter. that is how my other clawed cat was and i am hoping this cat will be like this, but who knows?

TIA

we got y kitten a scratching post and pad. He did scratch on it right away. But i do catch him scratching on things..i pick him up and put him near the post or the pad.

They also make claw covers for the cats as opposed to declawing

hth

I actually recommended this to someone in another post today, but you should check out the cardboard scratchers at Petco. They're only around $10 but our cats (all have their claws) absolutely love them. They come with a little package of cat nip, which you should sprinkle on top of the scratcher and then rub in. This will get the cat interested and then it should be able to figure out that this is what it's supposed to be scratching. We also have one of the more expensive sisal posts but none of them are really into it.

Cat Scratcher

I agree that its inhumane to declaw..

i also agree with the box cat scratchers.. i sprinkle some catnip on the box and rub it in the holes and our cat continues to scratch it...

once in a while (when she no longer uses it with new catnip) i'll replace it with another one...

i get the scratchers at walmart (they're 10 bucks for the thin one, 20 for the super wide one).. they're a little cheaper at walmart than petco

also a scratching post makes sense.. our cat scratches a post that has a carpet-like cover like crazy.. and a sisal one when she's 'sharpening up' to play (like catch the mouse on the string)

if it starts with furniture (that you actually care about.. e.g. the bed), then there are these clear double-sided sticky strips of plastic you can get at petco.. you just put them on the furniture and its really uncomfortable for the cat so they stop scratching that (they learn quick ;) )

my cat used to scratch the furniture. we bought all sorts of scratching posts and things, but he had no interest in using any of them. one day my dh brought home this scratching pad that has catnip from it, and he immediately starting using it and hasn't touched the furniture since. we got a new cat, and she used it right away also and never touched any furniture. i also have a coworker who was having the same problem. i told her to get this pad and it worked for her cat too! i think it's called a boogie mat. it's got a scratchy center in the middle on one side and fabric on the other side with tassels on the corners. it's only about $10. my kittys even sleep on

like this..
kitty scratch pad