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A cat in the house provides many with companionship, but they can destroy your home if you let them. Your sofa and your nerves are in tatters and you really don’t want to give up your feline friend.

Here are some simple humane ways to teach cats to stay off your furniture:

1) Spend time with your cat. If you are gone most of the day, every day, be prepared for it to take longer for your cat to be trained. If you can make an effort to spend time at home, the message will be very consistent and clear to your cat.

2) Fill a spray bottle with water and keep it on the kitchen counter, next to the sofa, or on the night stand by your bed–just somewhere close to where you are not going to allow your cat to be.

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3) Whenever your cat jumps up onto wherever they are not supposed to be, give them a spray of water in the face with the spray bottle and yell, “NO! NO!”. Cats hate water, even though it is harmless to them. After being sprayed your cat will run in the opposite direction.

4) Be consistent! You do not have to follow your cat around the house all day, but make sure that EVERY TIME you find your cat where they are not supposed to be, spray and scold them. Cats are smart. It won’t be long before they associate the forbidden surface with the scary water and they will not attempt to jump on the couch again.

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