If you are owned by one or more cats, you know how difficult it is to maintain a clean, decent and attractive home. Cats are notorious climbers, so nothing is safe on display. Cats shed, leaving behind enough fur to weave a blanket. And cats with claws generally create havoc wherever they land. We share our home with 2 felines and have learned some hard lessons over the years. Perhaps your own decor will benefit from my experiences with Chico and Lucy.
First, I don’t believe the average person can train a cat to behave. They may play the part of a well-behaved kitty when you are around. But leave them alone and all bets are off. It’s like the one who says you can train a cat to stay off the kitchen counters. I don’t believe it. I’ve tried every trick in the proverbial book and my cats are angels if one of us is in the room with them. But I’m well aware that after we go to bed at night or leave the house, Lucy will forage for snacks on the kitchen counters. I’ve seen the evidence of her salt and pepper-colored fur the next morning. I finally realized that as long as they have good litterbox manners, I will not try to train them to do or not do anything else. With that said, there are some adjustments to be made.
The first adjustment was to my expectations. No more cute, breakable knick-knacks. Doesn’t matter how pretty they are if they become toys to a nosy kitty. Simplify your decor. We bought a steamer for our tile floors. It guarantees a clean surface, no matter what may have happened on it moments before. And believe me! Hairballs will be hacked up, leaving an unsanitary mess to clean.
For years, I tried every deterrent spray I could find to keep the cats from clawing the back of the sofa. They were not deterred at all! I keep their nails trimmed but those razor-sharp claws can do a ton of damage with one swipe. Though I will continue to search for a furniture spray that the cats avoid, in the meantime, I must work around that problem. A Bitter Apple spray seems to work best at the moment and I liberally douse all sides of the sofa and one upholstered chair with that. We also place a good sized scratching post next to the sofa and try to redirect those slashing paws to the post.
Over the years, I found the best upholstery for cats is a type of nubby chenille. It works because the cat hair isn’t noticeable. The fur also vacuums up nicely. The nap of the chenille seems to bounce back from attempts by Lucy or Chico to mutilate it. Be sure to choose a color that closely matches your pet’s fur to enhance the changes it won’t show cat hair or any minor damage to the fabric.
There are numerous products on the market to help clean up cat hair., but not all are created equally. That wonderful sponge by Mr. Clean really does appear to erase, or remove most or all of the excess fur on the arms of the sofa. Otherwise, I tend to stick to the rollers of sticky paper to pick up the worst of the mess.
Be sure to purchase washable cat beds – or covers for your pet’s bed. A good brushing followed by soapy warm water will go a long way toward keeping the dust, dander and cat hair contained.
Our Lucy, who is part Siamese, is a climber. I find her in the most unusual places and it’s sometimes difficult to get her down. If your pet is also a climber, go around and check all higher shelves for breakables. If you value them, remove them from your cat’s reach. I once lost an expensive glass lamp, thanks to a hide and seek game going on between Lucy, Chico and our late kitty, Jake. We avoid anything breakable now and look for wrought iron bases for lamps. Even a pretty wood lamp base is subject to damage with a climbing feline.
Be certain the cleaning supplies you use in your home are pet safe. Seventh Generation produces safe cleaning products for humans and animals.
*Since I wrote this article last year, we moved to a condo and bought a new sofa that is not chenille. That presented new problems with the kitties. This new furniture is microfiber, which cleans easily but is not impervious to cat claws. I had 2 matching off-white throws and together, they completely cover the sofa. It took about 2 weeks to train Chico to sit only on the throws. I make sure the throws cover the sofa most of the time unless we are sitting on it, and I put them away when company comes. Now, if a throw is out of place, Chico gravitates automatically to the existing throw and curls up. He likes the feel of it and has no interest in the furniture itself. We purchased 5 inexpensive cat scratching boxes for $3 each and along with a taller scratching post, they sit around the living room beside any chair or sofa the cats might choose for exercising their claws. They have never touched the furniture because the scratchers, sprinkled liberally with catnip, are right there. We also have a larger scratching post made from wood and covered with a carpet remnant and both cats love this because they can stretch out while using it. All of these scratchers have served to keep the kitties off the furniture.
I also learned when we moved and cleaned the old sofa prior to placing it for sale that while I had assumed there would be damage from cat claws, there wasn’t. The upholstery looked as good as new. Chenille is definitely the way to go with cats in residence!
Good luck as you cat-proof your home. It really is possible to co-exist peacefully with felines, as long as you don’t expect more than they are likely to give.
