Cat Scratching is a Must-Do for Cats

but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of your furniture!

by Rita Reimers, Cat Behavior Expert (updated for 2026)

Help My Cat Scratches the Sofa! After looking at hundreds of couches, you finally found the couch of your dreams… You’ve been saving money for so long and it’s finally time to make the purchase and get that beauty into your living room.

But that very night, your cat starts scratching on it. Your beautiful furniture is about to be shredded!

What do you do?

First, we understand being angry about the couch, however some people get angry with the cat. They think the cat is doing this because he’s “bad”. We need to look at it from the cat’s perspective.

Why All Cats Must Scratch

Cats HAVE to scratch. When the need arises, they look for something that will do the job. They have no idea of your couch’s value or that they are harming it. They just found a good place to scratch.

How do we save the couch?

We all know that cats do as they please, so we have to make them choose to leave the couch alone!

5 Reasons a Cats Scratches the Sofa

I get that question quite often. There are a few reasons that sofa or chair is the target of those kitty claws:

1. The sofa smells like you: cats often want to mix their scent with their humans’ scent to give them comfort, and also to claim owner ship. If your cat is stresses, he will be more likely to pee on your sofa.
2. A cat peed on it:  if your cat has peed on the sofa more than once, its a good bet he is drawn back to that spot. If he can smell his own urine marking there, or even the scent of another cat, he will go back there again. Clean the compromised area of your sofa with a SAFE enzymatic cleaner. I am partial to Unscented Anti-Icky Poo.
3. It’s leather: some cats smell leather and to them it smells like another animal, especially if it’s been through a natural tanning process. Even chemical tanning for the leather can leave a smell that your cat wants to cover over with his own.
4. Knobby sofa material: knobby materials feel so good on his paws, he can’t help himself. Provide a snobby scratching surface and encourage your cat to scratch there instead.
5. Sofas don’t move: perhaps one of the most important reasons a cat will choose a sofa or heavy chair is that it stays put. Cats love to stretch their bodies but leaning against the scratching post as they prepare to scratch. But if the scratching post falls over, he won’t want to use it. Be sure to get a heavily-weighted or stationary scratching post, or even scratchers you can hang on the wall.

Cat Scratching Alternatives and Deterrents

One of my favorite tools to stop him when a cat scratches the sofa is two sided sticky tape. They can be found many places including most pet supply places. Put a piece of this clear tape on the couch where kitty is scratching. When he returns to that spot, he will feel that sticky stuff and will choose not to scratch there, because it didn’t feel good.

Next, you need to supply an alternative. Get a new scratcher or scratching post and put it near the couch. If he seems to ignore it, add some catnip or catnip spray to get him interested in investigating this new object. After your cat starts using it, you can begin to move it away from the couch slowly, if you don’t want to keep it there.

Some cats prefer horizontal scratchers and others prefer vertical. If you are unsure of your cat’s preference, get one of each. We want to be sure your cat likes it and will use it to satisfy that scratching need.

For more information about cat scratching, read my article, Cat Scratching Solutions