Conference misery::feline_v1

>The only alternative I know of (and I'm really fond of this idea) is put
>up kitty gates across the door.  

Meant to say, NOT fond of this idea.

    Well, one thing that we did to keep our kitty off the table was
    to use mousetraps underneath newspaper.
    
    We (well, my husband) would set the trap, and then VERY CARELFULLY
    set the newspaper over on top of it.  Just touching the paper, no
    where near the mousetrap itself, would set the trap off, making
    a lot of noise.
    
    After a while, all we had to do was to just put newspaper on the
    table, and she'd avoid it.
    
    ... unfortunately, my naughty little kitty has also figured out
    that if there's no newspaper, that nothing will startle her when she
    gets up on the table.  Sigh.
    
    In case you're wondering if it'll hurt the kitties, well, I can't
    count the number of times that I'd set off the trap myself, and
    was never hurt (scared, but not hurt!)
                                                           
    		- Lorri
    

    I keep an an afghan thrown across my sofa, and the cats snuggle
    up on top of that.  I just fold the afghan up and put it to the side
    if company comes.  Pick a color that white fur won't show against.
    
    signed,
    
    owner of dark cats and light-colored sofa
    

    RE: .3
    
    YES!  Afghan's were our solution also.  PDG, Pixel and Pi each have
    their own (affectionately referred to as their 'blankies') which
    are tossed into the wash on a regular basis and really seem to help
    keep the condition of 'furry sofa' in check.
    

    
    I used an "Off Spray" on my furniture but it didn't do much good.
    They would be repelled for a few hours after I sprayed and that
    was it.  It smelled aweful to humans also, so I gave up on that.
    
    Along the lines of the afghan, I purchased 2 kitty beds made by
    someone in this notes file (does someone know where that note is?).
    I put both on my chairs and my 2 cats started sleeping on those
    instead of the furniture.  When you want to sit on the chair, just
    plop the bed on the floor or somewhere.  After a while my cats
    *preferred* the beds to furniture and now rarely sleep on the chairs
    unless the kitty bed is there.  I believe the beds are around $15
    each.  They're worth it.
    
    Sharon
    
    

    Ditto on the "Off" spray.  It deterred Honey for about 2 minutes.
    It deterred me much longer as the smell is awful.  I use a sheet
    that completely covers the upstairs sofa, which is velour and attracts
    cat hair like a magnet.  For the downstairs sofa, well....I gave
    up years ago.  I have cats that match the sofa!
    
    Mary

    Fur horrors at my house are remedied by inexpensive plastic table
    cloths.  I speard them over the sofas and all human beds within
    the household.  
    
    Of course, the kit's figure out how to get under them after a few
    months of lying on cold plastic, but I catch them at it and batten
    down the hatches!
    

Thanks for all the helpful hints -- yes, I do have one of those beds made
by Joanne -- its Midnight's and no way does he allow the other kitties in
there -- they all have their own beds including hammocks but the kittens
love to sleep between the puffed pillows on the loveseat (which is blue
velor) and you're right it attracts their fur like magnets!!  I'll try
the afgan bit -- I certainly have plenty of those.  

As to sheets, myself I detest, but I know that certainly is a viable
solution and may have to resort to it -- its only because this is the
first room you enter when coming into the house -- and our houseguests
don't always announce themselves prior to coming.

Although, the kitties have the run of the house and can sleep on the waterbeds,
and lots of other nice snuggly places, the new couches and chairs seem
to be the kitties favorite -- and I certainly hate moving them when they
are all snuggled up and sleeping - almost like looking at little angels ...
     
So much for the spray!!

	Marian

    I have an antique maroon/blue/grey parlour set that my beautiful
    White Lightning and adorable DejaVu just love to sleep on.  It is
    so comfortable and besides the floors are soooo cold.  I have taken
    the afhgans that my daughters have outgrown and put them on the
    sofa and chairs.  The cats love them.  Deja does try to sleep
    under-neath the afhgans but not all the time.  This way I don't
    have to throw my hand-made  treasures and protect my furniture at
    the same time.
    
    Sandi
    
    

    For those of you that don't like covering up their furniture
    (especially in the living room, since it's such a pain to run around
    and remove it all when unexpected guests arrive), I have found that
    those masking-tape roll lint removers work GREAT!  It gets ALL the
    fur off and relatively easily.
     
    This is kind of cheating since it obviously doesn't train the kitty
    to stay off the furniture... but at our house the cats spend more
    time there than we do, so someone might as well enjoy the furniture!
    
    For scratching, we got a FELIX cat scratching post, and it works
    wonders... they don't go near the furniture anymore when they want
    to scratch.  It's absotively amazing.  These are mentioned elsewhere
    in the file.
    
    Amy.

    If you're still interested, you can try "Boundary" spray. I've bought
    it at the Pheasant Lane Mall in N.H. (at a pet store there). It's
    supposed to be safe for animals/people/furniture. It is suggested
    that you try it in an inconspicuous part of your furniture, though.
    (every fabric is different). It does smell like a VERY SOAPY shampoo
    though. So, I use it before I go out. It definitely does keep my
    cat (LARGE cream colored tabby) of my navy blue couch...usually
    for consecutive days. It is expensive,though (approx. $7/can).