cat scratch speaker!!!

[firemuse]

Well my kitten Cooter is 9 months now, and he sure is healthy! Hes an indoor cat, and he loves lounging around in our nice, warm apartment.
One of his favorite pastimes is scratching the house stereo speakers, which is bad!!!
We cant afford to get him one of those big cat trees right now, but we do have a scratching post for him...its about 20 inches tall or so...but he wont use it!
I dont mind if he scratches the carpet, but the speakers are off limits! He wont listen, and gets very sneaky about it. If we wont let him scratch one of them, he will sneakily try to go to the other one and scratch, looking in our direction the whole time! Brat!!!
We have tried everything in our imagination.....so if any of you know of any ideas or tricks, please help!!!!

[davet]

mighyt possibly get an aluminum grid from home depot or places like that...they come in 2 by 4 and will let the sound through bvut your cat can;t scratch through...probably a lot of other things that can be used but those two by fours are strong and can be decorative

[Guest]

My cats don't like the carpeted scratching posts. But what they do like are the cardboard ones. They are cheap and you can buy them at any pet shop or even the supermarket. I think I paid about $5 for the one I have now. The cats use it every day and it's saved my couches.

[Charla]

I bought 2 sided carpet tape made by 3M at the store (Target) for $4. I stuck it to my couches, chairs...etc, anywhere where my kitties scratched. Then I tied a toy to their scratching post and tempted them with it by playing with it with them. They'd attack and when they'd stretch they'd scratch it a little. Then I would tempt them with treats by the post. I'd set it up on top and show them where I had put it so they'd get used to reaching up on the post. Then after they began using it just to use it (instead of my furniture) I'd make sure I reinforced their positive behavior and gave them a treat. Also, kitties also like to stretch most right after a nap, so some of the best time for learning is right when they get up.

It only took a week for me. Now both of them use the post. Whatever you do, don't take kitty and rub his paws on the post for him. This will probably only make him mad and hate the post.

[gsc4]

How about removing the temptation? Sometimes the easiest solution is for the humans to readjust than to train a stubborn kitty.

I assume by scratching the speakers you mean the fabric covering and not the case. On most speakers you can remove the front cover to expose the cones behind. Maybe it is the feel of the fabric he likes. The risk with this is that he might decide he likes the paper of the cone which if damaged would distort the sound.

Or simply move the speakers up high so he can't get at them. Place them on the top of a bookshelf or mount them on a wall.

Good luck.

[Yzma]

double sided tape also works well.

[Guest]

double sided tape also works well.

Yes! That's what I meant by carpet Tape!

*oops this is Charla*