With spokescat in tow, vet group pushes to ban cat declawing in New York

[Bibliovore]

13. Both of our cats are indoor-only

Neither is declawed. One loves the sisal-wrapped ones and never claws elsewhere. The other kept scratching the stair risers. We put tape on the risers, and that stopped her and she started using the posts, but if we removed the tape she went right back to the risers. So we tried those S-shaped ones -- they come up about the same height as a stair and give her a vertical surface, and she likes those just fine. She still occasionally scratched the risers until we moved one of the S scratchers to the foot of the stairs she'd scratch, and that did the trick. My partner's parents have a big cat who refused to use a scratching post until they got him a quite tall one that lets him really stretch up.

Sometimes it takes a little more experimentation to find a mutually agreeable scratching surface. And in the meantime, you can trim your cat's nails (or use glue-on nail caps) to prevent any furniture damage.