You have already answered your own question ...that is, you need to have
several scratching posts.  They should be located in several parts of your
house so that one will always be within easy access of your cats.  They
don't "think" in the same way as we do and probably will not go back to
another part of the house in search of a scratching post.  Make sure that
any vertical posts are tall and sturdy (as your kittens will "grow into"
them -- and a cat may stop using scratching posts if one topples when it is
being used).  It is a good idea to experiment with different types of
scratching surfaces.

MaryL

Hi, and sorry, but Jeff, yes, you have to buy some more scratching
posts! They're cats, not people, and you have to train them NOT to
scratch anywhere but their posts. An easy way to do this is buy one
for each room.

Or if not multiple posts, something else will do as well. Wal-Mart has
a kind of box that for something like $6, my cat loves. It's just
corregated paper that cats love to scratch. It also comes w/catnip
that you can moosh into it.  My cat doesn't respond to catnip at all,
but he went right to the box and began using it.  I have about five of
them all over the place. Also a rope/carpet thing you can hang on a
doorknob, and 4 scratching post.

So, he never scratches on any of my furniture, as he has enough other
stuff.

To reply by mail, remove 'nicks'.

Shirley B.

~Okay, I'd like to follow the current trend and not have my indoor
only
~kittens (2) declawed. They have a nice scratching post that they both
use
~when they are near it. However if they are anywhere else in the
house, they
~find the carpet, side of a couch/chair, just as comfortable to use. I
tell
~them to stop and they do and if near the scratching post show them
that's
~where they're supposed to do it, and they do. However, this other
habit
~continues.
~
~So how do I stop them from doing their scratching wherever they are
in the
~house? Don't tell me I have to buy numerous scratching posts.
~Jeff
~

Why is it that the posts that say 'don't tell me to so and so'.. that the
answer is usually so and so..

I always recommend people get a scratching post that is taller than their
hip.  Cats use the couch chair because it is a large stable scratching post
that their humans sit on.. which is bonus points in their minds, cause they
are marking the item that they associate with you as theirs.  Cats don't
scratch to sharpen their claws, they scratch to stretch, to clean the
peeling sheaths off their claws (cause their claws peel off very much like
your own fingernails can) to mark their territory and to scent items.  I
keep mine in my livingroom near my furniture.. occasionally someone will
mark my favorite chair, but a strong "no" stops them, and after a full year
of new furniture and five cats, the only marks on this chair came from my
stupidity.. not theirs.

If you refuse to provide the cats what they need, the only other
recommendation for you would be www.softpaws.com  You can usually get them
at your local petstore.. I had to look around here.. there was only one
place that carried them.  With the soft paw on, they can't scratch anything,
and the one guy I felt the need to use them on (cause he was nursing on me
at the time, and even clipped his claws hurt) stopped using them after a
short time and I haven't had to use them since.

Thanks for the suggestions. I should have mentioned that the "scratching
post" we have is actually part of a 3 tier cat furniture and there is a
scratching post between the second and third tiers too, all rope. They love
their furniture. I never thought of using catnip on it and will try that
along with some other suggestions mentioned here. Thanks!
Jeff