Scratching post plus some gentle tutoring did the trick for my two. I like that they have something to scratch - it looks comfy as fuck, they stretch while clawing stuff.
I taught my cats to stop clawing me when they kneaded just by teaching them the word “claws” (but since my GF was Peruvian, we used spanish to talk to the cats and it was “uñas”).
All I did was bring their claws out a little, rub my finger across the tips so that my fingerprint vibrated the claws (to draw their attention there) then said “uñas”. And repeated it.
Then when we’d be cuddling they’d be kneading and if they started including their claws in the kneading I’d just say “uñas” and they’d retract their claws and keep kneading.
No operant conditioning required. I used a little classical conditioning to teach them the word, then mere mention of the word was enough because they already knew the claws were uncomfortable to other people. They were just extending their claws unconsciously while kneading.
I have a some variety of scratcher on every corner of the couch. I have some rope ones, carpet ones, a low one. My cat really just prefers to scratch the couch. Any attempt to persuade her to scratch the scratchers, she sees as a fun game and scratches the couch more.
With my two, when they were ready to scratch the wrong thing, I simply picked them up and put them near the scratching post. No sweet talk, no scolding either - I didn’t want to encourage them to scratch the furniture for attention.
My wife showed me some advice online to hold the scruff of their neck in your mouth like a mama cat would while clipping. I tried it and I was able to clip all the claws on my 23 pound cat by myself. He barely freaked out and he’s a huge baby scaredy cat about everything.
The little silicone claw caps work well and they don’t seem to mind wearing them after you get shredded to pieces putting them on.
Scratching post plus some gentle tutoring did the trick for my two. I like that they have something to scratch - it looks comfy as fuck, they stretch while clawing stuff.
My friend uses the caps on his cats because they sleep on the scratching post then claw up the and furniture and get caught in the drapes. Lol
I taught my cats to stop clawing me when they kneaded just by teaching them the word “claws” (but since my GF was Peruvian, we used spanish to talk to the cats and it was “uñas”).
All I did was bring their claws out a little, rub my finger across the tips so that my fingerprint vibrated the claws (to draw their attention there) then said “uñas”. And repeated it.
Then when we’d be cuddling they’d be kneading and if they started including their claws in the kneading I’d just say “uñas” and they’d retract their claws and keep kneading.
No operant conditioning required. I used a little classical conditioning to teach them the word, then mere mention of the word was enough because they already knew the claws were uncomfortable to other people. They were just extending their claws unconsciously while kneading.
I have a some variety of scratcher on every corner of the couch. I have some rope ones, carpet ones, a low one. My cat really just prefers to scratch the couch. Any attempt to persuade her to scratch the scratchers, she sees as a fun game and scratches the couch more.
With my two, when they were ready to scratch the wrong thing, I simply picked them up and put them near the scratching post. No sweet talk, no scolding either - I didn’t want to encourage them to scratch the furniture for attention.
My cat loves being picked up, so she would do it again for that alone.
also you can still clip the claws if you know what you are doing
Just don’t clip up to the pink part and youre fine. I use regular fingernail clippers for that.
My wife showed me some advice online to hold the scruff of their neck in your mouth like a mama cat would while clipping. I tried it and I was able to clip all the claws on my 23 pound cat by myself. He barely freaked out and he’s a huge baby scaredy cat about everything.
I did get a mouthful of hair but it was worth it.
My cat chews them off; but if you can get your cat to accept them, very helpful
Wouldn’t claw caps defeat the defensive and climbing functions of claws?
That’s not really a concern for indoor cats.