Cats need to scratch, but they usually choose the most expensive, least replaceable item in the home to scratch and destroy. If you want to steer your cat towards approved scratching areas, animal behaviorist Jackson Galaxy suggests using a Yes and No approach.

The No approach means discouraging your cat from scratching certain areas, such as using sticky tape to make the cat shy away from areas you want to protect. The Yes approach means putting an approved scratching post near the area the cat wants to scratch. That way it will attack that area instead of the more valuable area you want to protect.

Then again, cats being cats, they’ll likely ignore what you want and just do what they want anyways. Their stubbornness is what makes cats so lovable.

To learn how to discourage your cat from scratching, click here.