Originally Posted by sandybeach

I also have to disagree with declawing. I've had two cats at a time for the past 44 years and have rarely had a piece of furniture hurt. And just for your information, I read that catnip had no affect on cats until they are about 1 year old. So don't expect that to work yet. I have one cat that loves to claw the foam kitchen mat. And the other one likes to claw on sisal wrapped posts. If you get it in your area, watch "My cat from hell" on the Animal Planet channel. That guy really knows cats and has some wonderful suggestions. Because of him, I turned my back patio into a "catio". They have scratching posts, chairs with cushions to curl up on and sleep, carpet covered wood ramps for them to run around the perimeter and, of course, some green plastic netting enclosing the whole patio. They just love it. If you don't have a patio that you can enclose, just be sure the cat has different places in the house where he can get up high and look down on the world. They are much more secure there.