>I did not see if anyone mentioned it (skimmed over the responses), but >spay/neuter your cat if it has not been done already.
Very good point. I do agree that spaying is definitely very important. >Mary Jo, I did not know about the sisal rope. I have a carpet scratching >post, and Fred likes to scratch everything BUT the post. Yeah, very few cats like the carpeted posts, especially if they are not tall enough. My cat is an indoor, fully clawed cat, and he has never scratched anything but his sisal posts and cardboard pad. I really did get lucky because I have a very expensive sofa that is the type of fabric you would just expect any cat to destroy and he's never bothered it at all. >I will go out this weekend and get a different one. >What are your thoughts on the large ones >that the cat can climb up on and sit on a perch? The taller the better. Ones that have a nice bed they can sleep in are often particularly effective because that is a prime time for scratching, right after they wake up and need to stretch. KV Vet actually has a lot of nice sisal posts fairly cheap if you can't find a good one locally: http://tinyurl.com/32lgfk The challenge for me is that I have a very large cat so any scratching posts I get have to be really sturdy and big. You do want to make sure that any post you get has a good solid base since a cat isn't going to be happy with one that is really wobbly! >I notice that Fred likes to >sit on top of the couch and the bed and stare out the window You might want to also consider getting a cat window seat...my cat loves his so much, and it helps keep the cat hair off the couch that way! >but I wonder if it would promote him using it to scratch rather than my >couch, Queen Ann chair and carpet. How old is he? The older the cat is, the harder it is to change their behavior to use something else. You can possibly try various things to keep him away from the other areas, like a scat mat (gives a mild shock). >Oh, and it will be fun to see what the cat does when the sheltie grows up. That's a bit older video, he is indeed grown up now and as I mentioned, the cat now totally tackles and attacks him, often completely wrapping around him and pinning him down. Doesn't deter the dog any, he keeps coming back for more! It just is so funny though seeing this cat beat up my dog on a regular basis. ;-) My dog seems to think it's great game, but you can tell the cat is just so pissed off that no matter what he does, that stupid dog will just not leave him alone! I'm just surprised that they never seem to hurt each other, as rough as it gets. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:248687 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
