Does your cat claw at wallpaper and sofa?

[hayley3602]

Hi we are maybe looking into getting a rescue cat in the future. We were thinking of getting an outdoor cat as our street is pretty safe and quiet.

My friend has indoor cats and she said that both her cats have destroyed her sofa and wallpaper. I grew up with a cat when I was younger and we never had any issues with him clawing at things (not sure if we were just lucky) lol

is this a common behaviour in cats to claw in house?

I have recently just decorated the house with new wallpaper so I’m wondering if it’s likely to be clawed at if we rescued a cat.

My cat has ruined my sofa withe her clawing, I've just bought a tall scratching post to put in front of it, and so far it's working. On the other hand my door frames are down to bare wood.

I've six cats that spend the Winter months indoors.
We bought a few of these scratches and dotted them around the house.
The cats love them and leave the furniture and wallpaper alone,, although they do occasionally like scratching the carpet on the stairs.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petslucent-Scratcher-Scratching-Cardboard-Indoor/dp/B0CRGPMVX4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=51588547885&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.w_8zzIMTm8D_kvkjrcyXc7I-2tiTduQpPwnpNaVfI1-tY7BVkhjOfT6mVdp0CLWPMEmWBtdSNgJNP-VGKNM5zR_xNxHfHtX8aH3uDrooNq0uEuVCLJInSa4DNSyQNjKh0UC45rFod_5pmPj0JVEW13Ll98a5C5v2PQYM6dDCoxwS6QH2zeWQyvJ0RVj4_w-aC_E05MSjKybB6mYLlp4ZGg.3pb-w6lD-I5dKNbUxhd3iRblPhyfqI47Sav6KL8b-2Q&dib_tag=se&hvadid=606238628094&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9217275&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=6319193264342080970&hvtargid=kwd-297231248867&hydadcr=18382_2289416&keywords=cardboard+cat+scratcher&mcid=7999da9a3a583a04bbe14b5dfea571ba&qid=1745613556&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

Mine claw the sofa in one place. Never tried the wallpaper.

i have a cat tree and scratcher

Completely depends on the cat really - and you won’t know until you bring it home! I’ve had many cats and some have destroyed everything, some haven’t so much as touched a sofa. All treated the same, all provided with scratch towers etc. Current cat will have a little scratch on the side of the bed to wake me up (!) but other than that and the scratch post he doesn’t touch anything. He’s 5 and a rescue cat.

Yes. Outdoor cat and he scratches carpet, sofas and chairs, wallpaper, anything really. Currently he is lying on my tummy gazing at me though so all is forgiven.

I adopted my cat, aged 5, and immediately presented her with a scratching post and pad. Fortunately she wasn’t interested in the walls or furniture. I think it helps that we’re home a lot.

I think cats like to stretch and scratch so that might be why they like walls and sofas.

I have 2 and neither scratch sofas or carpets. One occasionally tries it on with the stair post but gets short shrift…. I don’t have any scratching posts but they do both go outside whenever they want

My three rescue cats all loved their scratching posts. None of my furniture was clawed but their claws did puncture holes in all mytshirts etc. One started sharpening her claws on the inside hall doormat once she got older and a bit senile.

The rescue will tell you what they are like. Especially if they are temporarily homed in a volunteers house.

Mine is a scratcher! She’s scratched the sofa, foot stool, pulled the curtains and carpets. She’s got several scratching posts which she rarely uses.

I have 3 cats. Sofa is scratch free, always been a no go and they have a large cat post close by they have torn to shreds.
2 of my cats don’t scratch wall paper, 1 does and it does my bloody head in. She has destroyed my bottom hall paper 😢

Never scratched wallpaper

Our sofas have clear plastic covers on the corners where they might scratch, so even though most of those have fallen off after 5 years they’ve never tried to scratch it.

But my stairs carpet is a mess. Plus carpet next to any door I’ve ever dared to shut (not allowed apparently)

Our cats don't touch the sofa or wallpaper but they do scratch the carpets. Despite also being allowed outside, scratching mats and posts in various rooms and wood for scratching in the garden. Watching this thread for any tips on helping to protect the carpets!

Nope. He did it once when I first got him and I realised he wanted a tall scratch post to stretch out, my old cat preferred the flat box type
Once I got the post he used that
He also doesn’t like to go outside without me, couldn’t catch anything if he tried and sleeps under the duvet so maybe he is actually just a stuffed teddy bear

Thanks everyone for replies. It seems to be 50/50 if I would end up with one that likes to claw things 🤣. It was something I hadn’t thought of till my friend mentioned about her two. I just assumed cats clawed outside lol and wouldn’t do it on my wallpaper or furniture. I should of maybe painted my walls instead of wallpapering 🤣 xx

It depends on the cat but I'd say the majority will scratch some furniture in your house. They do it not just to keep their claws in good condition but also to mark teritory. I'd say don't get a cat unless you are prepared to have wrecked furniture As a cat lover it's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make, but I know some people can't tolerate it.

We have 2 cats. They do have a go at one sofa sometimes (we don’t have wallpaper) and the bottom stair. Things that have helped are:

• covering area with tin foil to break the habit
• putting scratching post right in front of the sofa arm they go for.
• saying “no” in a firm voice.They do know they are not meant to scratch the sofa/stair and they stop. Conversely praise for using the scratching post.
• catnip spray on scratching posts.

My cats are not yet fully outdoor cats - ie they have recently started going out on the patio but are scared to explore the garden properly yet. I am hoping that they find trees and other things to scratch outside when they gain more confidence.

It also depends what type of sofa you have. We have 3 sofas and only one is of interest to the cats (it is slightly bobbly in texture and I think reminds them of a scratching post!) They completely ignore the fake suede sofa and the more classic fabric sofa.

My first cat took a liking to the sofas until be used the sticky backed plastic. It put her off and she gave up to the point we could remove it. She was a fan of scratching the wallpaper on the stairs.

My next cat liked the wallpaper. We figured it was the texture of the paper as he doesn’t touch anything else in the house. I just attempted papering with printed paper and he slashed it on the same night. He is a very ditzy zoomie character though and honestly I’m not even sure he knows what he’s doing until it’s too late. We’ve resigned to just using lining paper and painting it. He’s not really fussed for anything else though. He has lots of cat scratching posts and they are used, but it’s not helped.

I’m not sure you can really plan for a cat that doesn’t do that. It really depends on the cat and the house!