Discouraging cat from scratching divan base... how to do it?

A question about : Discouraging cat from scratching divan base... how to do it?

Hi all,

Our elderly boy cat wakes me up every morning to be let out at 5.30am by pulling at the corner of our divan bed base to make a load of noise. As a result, the corners of the base are pretty damaged with 10 years of scratching

Anyway, we're getting a brand new bed this weekend (divan) so would like to try to get him to stop doing this to prevent the new bed going the same way. Does anyone know of anything I can do to stop him scratching like this? Any spray that will do the trick? Last thing I want is damage to an Ј800 bed in the first week

Thanks for any advice

Best answers:

• The only thing that works with my cat is a spray bottle of water. We sprayed him once and now we just have to shake it to get him to stop whatever naughty thing he's doing.
  There are anti-scratch sprays but I've not had much success with them. Tin foilwrapped around the corners might help - some cats don't like the sound it makes or the feel of it. Double sided sticky tape is also a suggestion for putting a cat off scratching.
• I've used Citronella oil before, as cats don't like the smell of it at all! Either that or a water spray bottle is a kind way to get them to stop doing something...be prepared for him to be grumpy with you though!
• I had to resort to double-sided tape on the edge of the sofa.
• Thanks for all the suggestions. Sorry to be thick, but do you spray the Citronella on the bed itself or just in the air? He scratches the bed to wake me up so by the time I've woken up and maybe used a spray the damage has been done
  Also like the idea of the double sided tape as it's also less visible than tinfoil probably.
  Thanks again all
• We've used everything from tape to smelly stuff etc, but ultimately the best thing we've worked is a substitute. Cat scratching posts nearby have worked brilliantly for us for the last few years. You can also by the sisal rope pretty cheaply on ebay. You can wrap it around a board of something that you can nail to the bottom step to prevent them messing up the carpet.
• My cat loves tin foil so it doesn't always work. I put it over my speakers as Asbo-cat was scratching the speaker fronts......didnt work one bit, if anything it attracted her to it more....
  Cat posts may work......or if kitty is doing it to annoy you (which is highly probable).....i would suggest running down stairs as 5.15 am and letting kitty out.....sharp run back to bedroom and jump back in bed.
  Mine does the same......at 3am, for food, and doesn't use the bed, she uses Me instead.....sometimes my back looks like i'm into some weird bondage games....... .
• We tried the tape strips with previous cat which worked. Current cat likes chewing tape strips..... and scratching carpets........
• Provide alternatives for him- scratching post would work. Corrugated cardboard around the frame would work but may not look good.
  Or just don't buy a new bed for Ј800 when you know he will scratch it. He doesn't understand the value of money!
  No need to punish him for performing a natural behaviour!
• I just bought some lovely expensive sofas, and so now need to shut the cats out of that room when I'm not in the house / at night. Nothing will stop them scratching - they have scratchy posts, and I can't cover the sofas in tape.
  Unfortunately cats scratch, so I'd suggest a non-divan bed if you're not prepared for scratches!
• You need to get up quicker!
• Shut him out of bedroom?
• Lemon juice. squirt it on the bed base or rub it on with a cloth.
• A divan trim? like a bedsheet that you put over the base, so that the cat scratches that instead? Better Ј18 than Ј800! Then, you can put something unsightly under the trim to stop the damage if his claws go through too.