Kitten scratching everything...help!

[imnotprincessbubblegum]

We got our kitten about three weeks ago. She has a very large scratch post downstairs and a smaller one upstairs, a few little fluffy and jingle toys, she mainly enjoys exploring around...because she's so small she uses her claws to climb up things, so everything is getting scratched. I can't quite believe I didn't think of this...of course she'll use her claws whilst she is too small to jump up. But I'm worried if she gets used to clawing everything that'll become regular behaviour. If I see her clawing something eg dining chair leg (not for the purpose of climbing up, she looks like she's trying to play with it but has her claws out, then jumps up with her claws out) I try to go to her to move her but she just runs away whenever I approach her. I've read online to put scratch posts in places they scratch, but that would be everywhere. Not sure what to do? I'm concerned as she gets bigger their will be claw marks everywhere and the larger she is the more damage caused

Oh another question, if I "catch" her she is very cuddley and will lean into me to and pur and stay a while, (she also sleeps on DDs belly/chest each night) but she won't approach me/us and will actually run away if I go near her. I realise she's a cat not a dog so this may just be her personality, she may independent and not really want much affection, shall I keep trying to hold her so she gets used to it or should I just accept she prefers to do her own thing?

It all sounds normal. Kittens are pretty full on. She’s not scratching she’s just climbing, it doesn’t mean she’ll be a scratcher when she’s adult.

Ours never scratched furniture until I bought a duresta sofa. He was not mommy’s blue eyed boy that afternoon I can tell you.

Congratulations on your perfectly normal kitten, OP

If you provide a photo we may be able to advise further.

We can't possibly offer advice without a photo.

How old is your kitten? When they're babies they don't know how to retract their claws.

Plenty toys to keep kitty amused. I swear by the laser pen

Here is the little shi....I mean sweetheart (only joking, she's lovely really).

She's 11 weeks old now and so sweet!

Yep as PP said, when they're very young it can take a while for them to learn how to retract their claws. I had two very scratchy kittens but they've both grown out of it now.

You can use some covers for your furniture in the meantime to protect them from the kitten .

You can also buy a bunch of these very cheap cat scratchers to put around the house as well to dissuade your kitten from scratching the furniture: www.amazon.co.uk/BOENTA-Scratch-Scratching-Furniture-Guards/dp/B0895C7N4W?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

My cats seem to enjoy having both vertical and horizontal scratching items.

Regarding your second query - I think when they're kittens they're mostly interested in playing when they're feeling active. They tend to be more cuddly when they're very sleepy. Cats can also have preferences for different members of the household or preferences to do different activities with different people - e.g. my cats see me as the feeder and the one who plays with them but see my husband as the one they can nap on!

Best of luck - your kitten is adorable