HI,

I have 2 grey tiger cats, they are 3.5 years old. They are brothers,
and we adopted them from the Humane Society when they were about 7
weeks old. We love them like crazy, but sometimes I want to kill them!
They love to rip up my carpets and ruin my furniture. My husband made
them a scratching post, which they use (amazingly enough), but its not
enough. These are not your typical cats. They are like little
miniature dogs, with sharp claws! We have an 8 year old shepard, who
is like a mom to them. I always hated when they clawed at my
furniture, but it wasn't so bad when we had lousy furniture anyways.
Now we just got new rugs, and new couches and they are scratching at
them already. What else can I do besides clipping their claws and
encouraging them to use the scratching post?

We really dont want to get them declawed, even though they are
indoor-only cats. I've heard of a spray that cats dont like the smell
of - does that work? I can try the trick of squirting them with a
water bottle, but what about the times when I am not home? I work
everyday. Usually what happens with these tow (Oscar & Felix) is that
when we get something new they are all about it for a few weeks (until
the novelty wears off) and then they will leave it alone. But
unfortunately a few weeks is just enough time for them to ruin
whatever it is they are interested in.

Thanks!!!
Kristen (the owner)
Silvie (the doggy mama)
Baloo (the black lab puppy)
Felix (the smart cat)
Oscar (the big bozo cat)
and Andrew (the other owner)