A Cat Lover’s Guide To Home Furnishings

Cats do as they please, and even give us lessons on how to approach life; with nonchalance, a distinct pride, and an ability to be happy chasing things that aren’t there. However, when guarding your home from instincts for furniture hunting, coupled with a habit for shedding both hair and paw prints, you will need to teach them.

Preventing Scratching

Trim their claws and buy a scratch post and toys. Use a spray deterrent, such as Fabreeze or anything citrus scented, on furniture and the post and toys will become more appealing than the sofa.

Invent a heat-seeking, motion-sensing cat deterrent system with mounted water canon. Ok, this is a joke, but it serves to illustrate a point. If you yell at your cat while it’s scratching your furniture you will succeed in teaching it not to scratch your furniture. But it will only learn not to scratch your furniture in your presence. Cats are smart. As soon as you turn your back they will seek wilful vengeance.

The trick is to get your cat to associate scratching with something unpleasant, but not to associate you with the source of that unpleasantness. A light spray from a squirt bottle while it’s not looking will do the job.

Dealing with Shedding

Cats think they’re grooming masters, but from time to time they will need help. Brush them and bathe them to remove hair and odours. Wipes are available for cats who refuse to take a bath, and you should use throws on furniture and provide them with cat beds to make sure they shed only in designated areas.

Lint rollers are available for both small and large areas, and make removing hair easy. A damp cloth removes hair from wooden furniture, while you can wear a couple of dampened rubber gloves and run your hands over fabric surfaces.

Shedding is natural, but excessive shedding may be caused by a lack of essential nutrients. Opt for premium brands of food.

Tackling Daily Dirt

Prevent your cat from coming into contact with cat litter that it will walk through the house by buying an 18 gallon storage tub and cutting a hole in the top. Put a mat beneath their food bowls, washing every few days and preventing the need to wipe up after every meal.

Clean surfaces with a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar to stop your cat from walking on them, and you will want to consider keeping the cats out of certain areas altogether. Simply keep the door closed.

At the end of the day, living with your feline housemate is a case of give and take, and if you scratch their back they will scratch something other than the furniture.

Tagged cats, chasing, dirt, entertainment, furnishing, hair, health, home, house, scratching, shedding, well being