Dh is having kittens over our kitten and wants him gone

[Bjornstar]

Hi all, we have had our twelve week old kitten for three weeks and to say I am happy about it is an understatement. DS also loves him too and it is so lovely to watch him being affectionate with the cat.

The downside of having him is that he has scratched out leather furniture and dh has realised to what extent today. He is furious and said he wants him gone. I have ordered a throw for the sofa to protect it (too late I know) but I wondered if there is anything I can do to stop him scratching? He has a scratch post but not remotely interested in it. Will it get better when he goes outside?

If he gets outdoor access he's more likely to use trees etc. Indoor scratch posts need to be the right height - is it tall enough that he can do a full stretch scratch?

If the damage is done then getting rid of the kitten won't undo it.

Make sure his claws are clipped, and smear a little garlic on the sofa where he likes to scratch. Cats don't like the smell of garlic and it might help to stop him doing it.

Our furniture and sofa are all victims to cat scratches, I would never just get rid of my cats as a result, yes it's frustrating, but it's what a lot of kittens do, even with scratching posts, toys etc, it does get better when they have outdoor access. Our cats are 7 and 4 now, neither scratch the furniture anymore.

I always nip the point off all claws in our house which will reduce damage but not completely.

Water in a spray bottle will deter when you're home but when you're out you will have to close off room with leather furniture.

We also have scratching posts and activity centres for cat indoors.

The only thing that stopped my cat scratching the furniture was an absolutely mahoosive cat scratcher. It goes up to the ceiling and has four different levels for her to play on. She can fling herself about on it to her hearts content.

Before I bought it she wrecked two sofas. now she doesn't touch sofas. or any other furniture. She had two smaller ones before, but it obviously wasn't good enough for her. look online, mine was £80 but it was worth every penny. The bigger the better.

If your kitten is a catnip fiend (some are some aren't) then a catnip impregnated scratching post might help. You could rub the leather with citrus scented furniture wax - most cars hate citrus. And a) say "no" firmly whenever you see kitten at it b) lock kitten out of living room when there's no one there to say "no".

My cat ruined DHs leather sofa before i realised that putting a scratching post in front of the bit she liked to scratch stopped it. I never liked that sofa. She doesn't scratch my lovely sofa :)

Our friends have the corrugated cardboard type ones, which their cats love.
Our cats go out a lot, and never seem to scratch inside, or not that I have noticed!

You need scratch posts and continual correction of the kitten (I did gentle tap on nose with a firm 'no') so it knows where it absolutely cannot scratch under any circumstances.

They can and do learn but a certain amount of standard lowering is required.

And don't think you can hide the scratching post away in a corner - like the sofa, it is appealing because it is socially significant.

How interesting, risotto, never thought of that!
OP - how about rehoming your OH?