Stopping kittens shredding my carpets!

[WhereAreWeNow]

We've adopted 2 kittens (5 months old). They're absolutely lovely but they're both determined to scratch the carpets and some of the upholstery. The whole house will be in tatters at this rate!

They do use the scratching post too but that doesn't seem to satisfy their urge to scratch.

Any top tips for discouraging scratching?

Get a few of the cheap cardboard scratching boards and put one in each room. If you see them scratching furniture/carpets pick them up and put them on the scratching board. They come with a little sachet of cat nip to sprinkle on to encourage them to use them. My 2 cats prefer these to the more heavy duty cat scratchers. I’ll try and post a link.

Spray vinegar on places to discourage it worked for my kitten obviously can't do it everywhere and just moves the problems though

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/pets-at-home-cardboard-cat-scratcher
this is what we use but they also sell on Amazon if you haven’t got a Pets at Home nearby.

I second the cardboard scratchers, these have saved our stair carpets!

Anyone got any tips to stop the 5 am wake ups? Can’t shut them out the room as they claw outside the bedroom door, nightmare!

When mine was a kitten, every time I saw him scratching, he would be taken to his scratching post/cardboard scratch mat and we would do a scratch together. I always did it and soon I didn't have to, I'd be getting out of my chair and he'd take himself over to the scratcher. Consistency is key. This is the second cat I've trained this way.

I also made sure that furnishings were less scratch friendly, like tight upholstery weaves etc. So it's more rewarding to go to the scratch mat.

Thanks everyone. I'll get some of the cardboard scratch mats and I'll try spraying some vinegar too.

Shut them downstairs or in the kitchen.

We've a new kitten too. We have upstairs and downstairs scratching posts and every time he goes near one that I see, I scratch the post myself so he knows what to do. I've caught him having a go at the carpets a couple of times but the posts are winning out. So far. (Our late much-missed old cat was a bugger for scratching the sofa! Don't want that again...)

He also likes using my leg as a scratching/climbing post, but likes getting deafened less... 😹

You can also reduce the damage by taking the sharp tips of their claws. My cats’ breeder showed me how to do this ( basically nail clippers). It doesn’t hurt them, anymore than trimming your own nails does.

I did my two every Thursday night for nearly nineteen years. They knew it, they would stretch out their paws for it ( followed of course by much stroking and words of praise). When I had to go away for a week and missed a Thursday, DH said they were quite upset and sat on the sofa waiting expectantly.

My cat wasn't in the least bit interested in shop bought scratch poles or mats of any sort so I made my own
I used a scrap of carpet as my carpet was getting replaced so I kept some bits but you could use some cheap door mats or see if your local carpet shop has some scraps.
Make it much taller than most ( mine is about 3 ft ) of the shop bought ones with a base wide enough for your cat to stand on.

Use lots of No Nails glue to attach the carpet to sturdy wooden base and pole

A variety of lovely scratching posts and floor ones in the exact areas they are scratching. Tape on stuff you don’t want scratched. Our cat loved a floor scratcher that we nailed onto the living room carpet right in the thoroughfare. He strutted in like a king to scratch that thing and everything was left alone.

Yabu to not pay dcat tax..