Which cat breeds have the best reputation for NOT scratching up your furniture inside your house?
I'm thinking about getting a cat to keep just inside my house. I wanted to know if there are any cat breeds that have a better reputation than others for NOT scratching indoor furniture. I know that Persian Himalayans certainly don't fall into that category, because they scratch furniture a lot.
Public Comments
1. It's not the breed, it's the training.Pure and simple.
Start training your cat or kitten as soon as possible. Provide scratching posts and other toys, and train on a kind and consistent process, and you should be fine.
Good luck.
2. if you get a scratching post that is big enough for your cat (it should be the cats length high so it can stretch) that has sisal rope posts, most cats will scratch that in preference to your furniture as it feels better
3. well i have a tabby cat and it doesnt scratch furniture, but thats because we trained her.
Just spray them with water and they will never do it again (:
Also, my cat is de-clawed, so if it does scratch somehting, nothing happens. Always a possibility.
4. Scratching is an instinct in all cats - it's necessary to shed the layer of dead cells on the outside of the claws and it's also a way they mark their territory. Therefore it's the owner's job to teach the cat which places are appropriate to express this instinct and which are not. You can do this by buying a scratching post and then rubbing some cat nip on it, or dangling toys from the top.
Keep in mind though, if you get a cat there's going to be a learning curve while it's being trained and some furniture inevitably WILL get scratched. If that's a big problem for you, you might want to consider a different kind of pet.
As for the person who suggested declawing the cat, that's about as reasonable as chopping off a kid's hand because he put it in the cookie jar. Kids will be kids and cats will be cats, it's up to the parent or owner to teach them how to behave properly.
**Added** Yes, some cats scratch more and others less, but there's no cat I've ever heard of who doesn't scratch at all.
5. All cats need to scratch, whatever their breed. It's a way of marking territory with the scent glands from their paws, and it's also the only way in which they can exercise the muscles in their shoulders and upper back. (They dig their claws in and then pull back against their claw hold).
So long as you provide a cat with their own scratch post or other item and encourage them to use it, they will leave your furniture alone. These articles have helpful advice on training them to use a scratch post.
http://www.catscratching.com/
http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20problems/cats/scratching.html
Despite what someone else suggested, declawing should never be an option as it will basically cripple the cat for life.
6. Actually Himalayans and Persians fall into the low scratch category. Ragdolls do too.
This link
http://www.angelicalcat.com/carpcolors.shtml
Has a list of the cat breeds and how much they scratch. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see it.
7. We only rescue cats from Humane Societies that have been declawed.
