Slightly edited for easier understanding.
This is a system that you hook up to your existing furniture pieces to prevent your cat(s) from completely obliterating them. Now, there is no replacement for training, but occasionally a many a cat likes to have a go at certain pieces.
Sonic detectors can recognize the patterns of certain sounds. For example, perimeter alarm systems can often detect the sound of breaking glass. Therefore the detector in this system is designed to recognize the sounds of various kinds of upholstery ripping under feline circumstance. It comes with an "upholstery switch" from which you can select leather, cloth, upholstery, suede, slipcover, or whatever general category your couch fabric is composed of. Then you simply let it do its job. If kitty scratches, an engine in the system box (fastened to an interior part of the couch or to the bottom) creates a pulsing, adjustable vibration throughout the couch to discourage kitty from scratching any further without the use of electric shocks or audible alarms. Users of the couch will have to deal with the occasional pleasant vibration, but then they should be able to discourage scratching on their own.-- polartomato, Jul 11 2002 Places where it is illegal to declaw http://www.declawin.../htmls/outlawed.htm [polartomato, Jul 11 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] "A Directory to Every Major Declawing Site on the Net" http://www.de-clawing.com/ [angel, Jul 12 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] One link from the above site http://www.mihumane...stop_scratching.htm"Stop Your Cat from Scratching Your Furniture--Without Declawing" [angel, Jul 12 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] Animal Repellers & Containment http://www.smarthome.com/petrepel.html [andrewm, Jul 27 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] Animal Repellers - Offering The Most Effective http://www.selfprot...ionstore&category=1nimal repellers are what you need if you are one of those people who feel uncomfortable in the presence of unfriendly animals [spp, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] I think we need a new root category. Animal. Then, this could go in Animal: Deterants. And the fish beannies could go in Animal:Apparel. Mods?-- [ sctld ], Jul 11 2002 After watching my cat stroll calmly past her scratching post to the neighbouring sofa and sharpen her little claws on IT instead, I am very much in favour of this type of idea. I clip her claws regularly, but she still has a go at the couch sometimes when I've forgotten for a week or two.-- Matty, Jul 11 2002 Or you could go the simpler route, and just have the kitty de-clawed. They still try to "sharpen their paws" but nothing happens to the furniture.-- Aurora, Jul 11 2002 Declawing is a major surgery that costs more than this device would. I conceived FFDS as a possible replacement for declawing. The procedure deforms the paw pads of the cat, leaving them defenseless and unable to grip surfaces properly. I have owned declawed cats before.-- polartomato, Jul 11 2002 Well, yes, it is surgery on the cat, but you have to get them fixed too, so just do them both at the same time. Also, I can see the need for outdoor cats to defend themselves, so I wouldn't advocate declawing them. Yet, if they are outdoors, they won't bother your furniture either. Indoor cats, on the other hand, don't need to defend themselves... unless they break something of mine, then there'll be a lot of explaining to do!! Still though, I'd advocate the declawing because your device does not protect ME from becoming a scratching post, which has happened to me with clawed cats.-- Aurora, Jul 11 2002 I don't recall declawing costing much at all.-- DrCurry, Jul 11 2002 pt: I don't recall declawing costing much at all.
Aurora: the reason the cats still scratch things after declawing is that they are actually spreading their scent, from the glands under the pads under where their claws used to be.-- DrCurry, Jul 11 2002 De-clawing does not merely 'deform the paw pads'. It is the surgical removal of the finger or toe up to the first knuckle, and as such is a barbaric practice. It is also illegal in UK and inhumane elsewhere.-- angel, Jul 12 2002 Angel is correct. I used to work in a vet's office and once witnessed a declawing. The vet used ordinary nail clippers (sterilized) to do the snipping. Guess who got to clean up the floor afterward, including collecting the kitty toes where they dropped? I have thought since then that anyone who wants to have a cat declawed should be required to watch a video of the procedure first. It certainly put me right off it.-- magrak, Jul 14 2002 A croissant for the original idea. Though I was envisioning something more like a nozzle that would emerge to spray water on the cat. Like something off a James Bond car.-- magrak, Jul 14 2002 We had a sheppard puppy who needed a job. We taught him that it was bad for the cat to claw the furniture then taught him the "leave off!" command. That dog can hear the cat on any piece of furniture from 3 blocks away and can get there to haul the cat off of it before the rest of us can get home. "Leave off" has the dog dropping the cat immediately (in case of excessive harrassment). They are still good friends. I guess that is important. The cat likes to put surprise ninja moves on the dog from around dark corners in revenge.-- gnarlyis3, Nov 15 2008 The device needs to come into action BEFORE the cat has clawed the sofa, otherwise it's just a way of telling you what you could find out on your own by looking at the sofa.-- Mony a Mickle, Nov 15 2008 random, halfbakery