Kitten clawing sofa etc for attention

[coffeemeup]

My 8 month old kitten (had him since 7 weeks) is clawing at furniture to get attention… how do I get him to stop?
it started by him climbing the Christmas tree and when it got a reaction from us he would just do it more (didn’t touch it if we weren’t in the room).
now that the tree is down he’s moved to clawing the sofa, as he knows my husband in particular will chase him out the room (not in a harmful way).
Iv got some of the anti scratch spray but short of dousing the whole room he just moves onto a different spot.
common sense tells me to ignore the behaviour and he will give up, but my husband doesn’t want to and to be fair the sofa could be wreaked in the meantime.
I’ve tried playing with him loads but the second I stop he’ll start again.
we never had this with our older cat so it’s all new territory.

Are you sure it's for attention? Scratching is a normal cat behaviour and your kitten doesn't know the rules about where to scratch. When your DH chases him it should be in a way that it's obvious he's cross and it isn't a game. Think mama cat telling them off, they don't mess around.

Yes it is relentless pointing it out.

Ideally provide kitten with some irresistable scratching places where he can scratch to his heart's content. Be prepared for this to be hit and miss - I'm the proud owner of a scratching tower neither cat has touched, one of mine is obsessed by the corrugated cardboard scratchers, another stares at them mystified.

Even as adults, you will still be reminding them the sofa isn't a scratching post, just hopefully not as often.

They’re not children - they’re not seeking attention! Clip on the bum when they do it. And obviously make sure you provide a decent scratching post - several around the house in fact.

Cats don't claw things to get attention from people. They do it to sharpen their claws, and to scent mark. Buy a cat scratching post or three.

I don’t know what possessed me but I stuck sticky back plastic on the part of the sofa one of our cats was scratching and she stopped scratching it. After that break from scratching the sofa, she now chooses her scratching post over the sofa.

Ignoring the behaviour won't stop it. You need to divert the scratching to something it's OK to scratch, i.e. a scratch pole.

My cats used to make full eye contact before attacking the sofa, they definitely do it for attention sometimes! (They had every conceivable scratching gadget made available to them dotted around the house including something that hung on the sofa, so no it wasn't just to satisfy their need to scratch)

They eventually grew out of it. I used to regularly shave the sofa when they were kittens then got a smooth velvet sofa when they were older which they cant get any grip on- they were most put out when they tried 😆

Yours may not, but one of mine definitely does! She has plenty of scratching posts, scratchers etc around which she happily uses, but now & again if she's feeling ignored she will scratch at the cushion right next to where I sit - only touches it when she wants attention, never at any other time.

Clip on the bum? No!

Cats will always want to scratch the furniture, they are marking territory as well as keeping claws in shape.

Does he have a variety of scratchers? Vertical and horizontal?

Does he go outside?

My dcats like the cardboard scratching boards. I hiss if they scratch the sofas and for the most part they don’t do it. I have also strategically placed small side tables in front of the sofa arms that were getting the most attention.

Ours 100% does it to get attention - he's a wee monkey. When he wants to actually scratch for the purpose of scratching, he does it very nicely on his actual scratching posts, of which he has many.

I'd never give an animal a "clip on the bum". I tend to manually remove him, at which point he runs to whatever it is he actually wants me to do/give him (usually snacks from his cupboard in the kitchen).

I have 2 kitties. For precious soft furnishing I use sticky back plastic and stick it to the furniture. It's see through so not obtrusive and feels horrid on their claws.

Has so far saved my very expensive new bed and 2 sofas.

They do have a scratching post that they actually use.

They can do it for attention. My cat does it if he wants me to get up and feed him (early, usually).

Cats are perfectly intelligent enough to work out if they want a response from you then scratching furniture will get it. My cat finds scratching more effective than meowing if she wants a door opened 😡

They absolutely do - yes, scratching has other purposes as well but they’re not daft - mine will scratch for attention, meow for attention and bite at the window locks to tell me they want out 😂

My cats get grumpy mummy who shouts ‘no’ if they scratch the furniture, when they stop they get nice voice ‘good boy/girl’, I’d I can I take them through to their 2 cat towers which they scratch til their hearts are contented and I’ve recently bought a horizontal one which comes with catnip flakes topper into the holes, so they’ll stand on that and scratch away

Thanks everyone! They have a full scratching tower thing and many of the cardboard scratchers around the house… all of which are used often. As someone else said… he will full on look us in the eye and do it so definitely for affect!
I’ll look at the sticky back plastic idea and that will hopefully break the habit.
He goes out lots but has definitely been in more recently with the rain and cold weather, so that’s probably not helping.
I’m not interested in hurting him to deter him, although my husband has scuffed him (which worked for 2 minutes) and he definitely knows we’re grumpy.

You can also get plastic hanging covers for soft furnishings - try looking for Cat Scratch Furniture Protector on Amazon or similar

They don’t seek attention like that your cat sounds bored try lots of different types of cat scratchers cardboard,carpet,sisal etc around the place and play with your cat more make sure to try wand toys and when the cat has ‘caught’ it’s prey reward with praise and a treat it’s a behavioural issue that can be easily sorted just takes patience (I’ve studied cat behaviour over many years).

My cat has a scratching post in the utility room and another one in the living room. The sod scratches the living room post then has a sly go at the settee, purely for attention. He also wants me to stand and watch him eating. Here is Haribo - busted.

Cat tax due, @coffeemeup .
The sofa is the cat's now not yours.

Mine scratches the carpet to get attention. She knows it will get a reaction. She has a scratching post but still does it. It makes me so stressed .

Apologies here he is… he may be a pain but I love him to bits. This is him also claiming my desk as his own 🤦‍♀️

The sticky back plastic seems to be working woohoo! Although it’s rubbish so I’ve had to stick it on with masking tape and even then most parts have a random piece of furniture holding it in place 🤣

He's beautiful.