We have 3 very active one-year old cats who climb and jump great lengths and distances in our front room. They have already shredded most of the wallpaper - thank goodness this is before we decorate the room - they have scratched the small rugs and the curtains. We’ve already taken down the net curtains because of ‘them’. But the main damage they have done is when they jump from the back of the settee on to the dining table. The table itself is oak, quite old and it was without any marks or scratches. However … our little darlings manage to dislodge the table cloths when they jump even though they are ‘clipped’ on to the table and have put some quite severe scratches on the table top.
We don’t think it is something they will grow out of - but we can’t allow any more damage to be done to the furniture.
So we are looking for something to protect the table where we would put tablecloths over the top of it.
Any recommendations from anyone please?
We have some of this stuff to protect our dining room table from bumps and scratches, or hot things being put down on it - a tablecloth goes over the top…
@Rachel05 I would agree with @ChrisMann in that we have the standard stuff you buy off the roll wherever you buy the oilcloth/plastic tablecloths, to go underneath.
The disadvantage is that, if you have a nice table, you perhaps want to see the tabletop? Perhaps a sheet of glass over the top? (Although that could be rather heavy)
Boulgomme is a make here for the thick underlay as shown in the photo. I bought a length off Amazon as it was cheaper than off the roll from the shops locally by quite a bit. I also have it long and wide enough to cover the corners of the table as this is where the oilcloths/plastic ones tend to “go” first.
You can teach cats to avoid certain areas. 1.
Put alu foil on the table - loosely. Cats hate the crinkly sound and feel on their oaws
2. Get a waterpistol, when they do something you dont want them to do a loud no and a spray (even better if they dont associate you with the water) will teach your lovely kits to avoid the tabletop.
Have done this successfully with our cats who loved to raid the kitchen counter.
Takes time and patience to xatch them in the act… but do.
Also would probably help to give them a climbing cat tree and some wall boards to get up to.
I think I would be showing them the door, permanently.
Sounds like a feline demolition squad.
Don’t get me wrong I am an animal lover but prefer dogs to cats although we have had a cat in the past.
What do you expect if you have three young cats?
Some good recommendations - thank you - and we’ll be buying the Boulgomme that we’ll get from Amazon. We did think of buying some toughened glass but that would probably be quite expensive. To keep the liner in place on the corners we will use double sided tape. We can then put a table cloth over the boulgomme. They (Bobby, Charlee and Tabatha) have a catio and ‘catwalk’ being built for them which should make it fun because we will put lots of climbing and scratching posts in it. We’re putting an ‘extension’ to one of our outhouses so they will have plenty of room.
Not a pistol but a triggered bottle was what I have used in the past with recalcitrant dogs.
One such, who became a favourite Beauceronne, from the moment she arrived would stand and glare at our gentle Lurcher everytime he got up to go out for a pee. He gave up and returned to lie down each time.
I squirted Ramona with a fine spray directly in the face each time accompanied by a glare of my own and a fierce ‘NO’. By the 2nd day she had got the message and was fine and gentle with him ever after.