New kitten - What do you cover your sofas with?!

[Whatapickle78]

Hi
We are eagerly awaiting arrival of a new kitten! But also starting to slightly panic about prospect of wee/poo on furnishings….
Its our first cat.

What do you all cover your sofas with? Was tempted by faux fur fluffy blankets but are these shite at absorbing any toilet errors?

We would like to at least try to protect our nice wool sofas, but don’t want to end up sitting on towels for weeks…

Thanks!

Pulled threads usually, we expected the Bengal to scratch the sofa and he did and was swiftly banned but the sweet innocent piebald did it too and her last owner swore she wasn’t like that.

Never happened with the dfs leather one though.

This !!

Yep when they arrive just keep showing them the tray, pop on after every meal and nap. They get it pretty quick. Scratching the sofa is more of an issue. The stuff mine is made of is cat proof thankfully

Cat hair. That's what covers my sofas.

It’s a kitten not a puppy! It won’t wee on your sofa!

Totally true!

OP, any kittens from a reputable breeder will be at least 12 weeks old when they arrive in your house and they should have been using the litterbox properly. Use the same litter as the breeder and don't be tempted to give them full run of your house, keep them in one room for a few days at least.
If you don't want them to scratch your sofas, clip their nails regularly.

I've never had an issue with kittens weeing or pooing on the sofas. They have all been extremely clean, and litter trained by 10 weeks.

My husband trained our last kitten to scratch on the trees outside by scratching on the trees himself.

It looked as daft as it sounds but it actually worked.

Thank you so much everyone. I hadn’t heard of Feliway, or ‘training tape’ so just googling both of those now, and will get some in before kitten arrives to meet the sofas…

it’s really reassuring to hear so many say weeing wasn’t so much of an issue… but yes, it does seem scratching could actually be more of an issue.

I’ve bought a scratching post, and will do as you suggest as well and buy a catnip spray for it.

Feliway sounds like magical stuff! Hope it will make her/him feel calmer when they arrive.

Thanks again, looks like towels may not be the only option!

@Fatballs that made me laugh out loud! Our neighbours think we are odd enough already so this could be one for us to try 😀

Are you definitely only having one kitten?

Because if you have 2 they scratch each other and spare your furnishings. Although my duvet covers have never recovered as they are always fascinated by how a duvet moves.

It did really work. The kitten watched him scratch the tree and then copied him.

It was really sweet to watch.

The key is to have a tall scratching post. It needs to be tall enough that a fully grown cat can’t reach the top. Then spray with catnip and, as PPs have suggested, scratch it with your fingernails to show what it’s for.

Nothing. The kitten will cover it in fur quite quickly.

You've been lucky then. I've had cats from six weeks old and from birth.
No amount of "training" or alternatives stopped them once they'd chosen a spot. Whether it was the carpet or furniture. Nothing whatsoever to do with allowing them it was impossible to stop them.

None of my kittens have had toileting accidents. I think that would be rare. Mine have all been litter trained but when I got them I’d put them in the tray and dig their paws, just in case.

These 2 cats haven’t scratched the furniture. I had a 2 tier cat tree that had long scratchers. I bought several of those cardboard scratchers too and that seemed to help. On the odd occasion when they were little and they went to scratch I’d clap my hands together and make a lot of noise.

There’s a handy little tool for removing cat fur, it’s a metal triangle shape with a handle. It’s brilliant. I bulk bought sticky rollers as well for clothes. I’ve also got a furminator cat brush but they don’t like to be brushed at all.

Oh, the naivety

Some cats are very easily trained. Others are not. We have three - one has never scratched anything he shouldn't do. One will only scratch carpet (so we put some on the sofa for him to scratch which he loves). The third will scratch anything - doorframes, carpet, sofa - nothing to do with training and everything to do with her being a cat

You also mention them not jumping on the dining table. My ex was very smug about his cat not doing that - until he came home from a night out and heard the cat jumping down before it was caught 🤣

If you don’t see them do it it didn’t happen 😃

Have just ordered my Feliway… and two HUGE cat scratchers for different rooms.
thanks again everyone.
Will send a pic when kitten arrives 😊

Mine has a scratch mat and a tower and he uses them but if he wants my attention, the furniture GETS IT.

When my wicked young gremlin wants attention, she goes and pokes the dog. Dog is very long-suffering and does no more than back off, eyerolling, but there’s a limit to even the best dog’s patience, so we always step in.

Basically, I’m regularly outwitted by a cat.

Kittens don't usually wee and poo everywhere like puppies do. I've had them from 8 weeks and they've only ever gone in two places before going outside: the litter tray and plant pots (understandable). However, I have never found a way to reliably prevent cats scratching furniture. Deterrent sprays might work. Lots of appealing scratch posts and mats as alternatives. But I consider it part of owning cats tbh.

Looking forward to pics 😍