What is the best way to stop cats scratching on the carpet?

Answers:
clip their nails once a week and be careful are take them to professional--you CAN hurt them.

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Scratching Posts!! total godsend. get a bit of cat nip and rub it on a cat scratching post, your cat will go nuts on the scratching post and leave the carpet alone!
(Or pepper your carpet!)

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get a scratching post.or like a play ground they have them at like target and pet stores.

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Kick them..no just kidding. That wouldnt be very nice.
Scratching posts are great!
Keep a spray bottle of water with you , and when they do it spray them. This should give them the negative reinforcment they need to teach them it is not acceptable behavior.
I had my cat declawed (when I had one) however, he still had his back claws and while it helped, he still would claw stuff with his hind legs.

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Trim their claws slightly, and then grab them gently from teh neck when you see them scratch, say No, and put them on their scratching post. If you do that consistently a few times, they'll get the idea.

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Change ur carpet.
or as my friend said ,add pepper powder to carpet.
It's a nature of cat.Idon't think it wil change its approach.

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Trim it's claws and get a scatching post.

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Get it a scratching post and trim their nails often

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If you don't already have a scratching post then that would be the first step. Trimming there nails regularly prevents damage to ur carpet but does not stop them. You can get a spray from your pet shop or just spray with anything that has a citrus smell, orange peels would also work. Try cover the area in tin foil (if possible - i'm not sure if ur cat scratches in one area or the whole carpet). When u catch him scratching immediately pick him up and put him in a seperate room for a few minutes. If he goes back and scratches do it again until he gets the message. Pepper also has a bad smell so if u sprinkle that on then it might help. Vicks vapour rub works like a charm but u have to put it on every day and also it sometimes leaves an oily residue. Before trying any of these tips wash the carpet thouroughly with an odour neutraliser, for example bicarb and water, it absorbs the smell. Cats scratch to mark there territory and it leaves a smell that they are attracted to so they come back for more. So getting rid of the smell is the first step. Sorry about the essay.

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scratching is normal for them because of their nails but try showing him to scratch in a piece of wood.

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Give the cats something better to scratch on, such as a nice tall scratching post (about 3' tall) with a nice wide base so it won't tip over. That will satisfy both horizontal and vertical scratchers. You can make it yourself with a 2x4 and some plywood and a big bolt and washer. You can cover it with old carpet or a carpet remnant. These are very sturdy and will last for years. You can re-cover them when the carpet gets tacky. To attract the cat, you can rub catnip on the post or use a catnip spray. They're fun to watch because they look so serious while they're scratching. The scratching is instinctive whether or not the cat has claws.