Didn’t know anti-scratch pads were a thing! Sounds like we might have a way to keep Otter from scratching the couch when she has 1-2 scratchable things just for her in EVERY ROOM. Just today I caught her standing on the cat tree to get to a specific part of the couch not covered by a blanket.
The audacity
At first we tried double-sided tape, but it just got caught in his fur and made us all upset. I think that stuff is better for countertops and other flat surfaces you don’t want them onto. We found these plastic adhesive covers on Amazon that so far work pretty well. They stick to the couch and turn it into a boring plastic surface. It’s worked pretty well for the armchair so far.
We tried covering the couch in blankets too but he would also just burrow his way underneath to get at it, and also, it’s January and we want to sit underneath our blankets! Our current temporary couch solution is a large cat-proof fabric cover, which drapes over and is too heavy for him to lift. It doesn’t feel great to sit on though. Still a work in progress!
And he’s still not really scratching his posts! Perhaps the next step is a wider post – basically like a little piece of couch that he’s free to scratch. Does such a thing exist? Who knows!
Maybe the posts are in the wrong locations? I find putting them near the things I want them to stop scratching helps. We have to put tin foil on the couch because the new cat will pee on it otherwise.
Got a link to the product you mentioned? I’d like to find something like that.
and i couldn’t leave the cat thread without a picture of my cat
(she looks mad, but that’s just her face)
this is Albion when he came home six months ago
this is his enormous body now
I want to take him back but he won’t fit in my car anymore 
I am, fingers crossed, moving to a new place in the spring that would be a stable, long-term home, and I’m thinking of getting a cat again once we’re settled in.
Just curious, what are the common thoughts these days of a cat having outdoor access these days? We would have a fenced-in backyard. The last time I had a cat, I remember they were very much like “don’t ever let this cat outside!” when she was adopted.
outdoor cat = kill a lot of birds, susceptible to FIV and other diseases, you worry about them getting in a fight with a feral or hit by a car or something. People can get pretty militantly against letting your cat outdoors but I think those are the bare facts so just presented for your consideration
we’ll take the cat out in a harness and just like hang out on the porch. Personally would not let her prowl around on her own
Coyotes are also a big killer. I lived in seattle near a gorge that runs through part of the city. I would see coyotes pretty much on the regular late at night when walking though it. A creek runs through it and gives homes to a lot of prey animals. People’s cats would disappear. It’s crazy that this long wooded area just exists in the city.
Anyway. I used to have a monster of a cat. He wasn’t overweight but weighed 16LB. He was the best. I it’s hard to gauge size in a photo but here’s his paw. He was so friendly. My ex and I had a dog and two other cats. He’d do the rounds going up to everyone with his tail straight up and give us all a little tail quiver.
Makes sense. Sounds like supervised backyard time might be a way to go, or just keeping her strictly indoors.
I think indoors except for heading out in a harness + leash is the way to go imo. Some cats take more quickly to a harness than others. Mine was weirded out by it but got used to it with repetition. She gets curious about the outdoors a couple times a week, hangs out on the porch, then gets satisfied and wants to go back in and sleep for 15 hours, the usual cat stuff etc
Seconding the overall advice of keeping them indoors. Setup a nice viewing window or two and try harness training if they’re not overly bothered by it. I’ve not had luck with backpacks. Too much like carriers and also too small.
Anyway, check out this masterful ploy.
