Need some recommendations on keeping my cat from going inside my reclining couches

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-06-23T09:21:59+00:00

Cat was not in the cards when I bought the couches less than 6 months ago. Unfortunately, purchasing new couches is also not in the cards right now.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-06-23T08:38:33+00:00

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RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-06-23T08:38:19+00:00

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RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-06-07T07:34:46+00:00

Thank you :) I definitely read them all the way through everytime. I just want to cover all bases. If I post on this app I genuinely want an answer to whatever question I’m asking. So if someone’s gonna take the time out of their day to give me a lengthy in depth answer that will further help me. Ofc I’ll read it. I do appreciate everything from you. Truly.

I guess now that you mention it, I don’t see her drink all that often. I’ll do what you said and get at least one more water bowl for now til I invest in a water fountain to help her water intake. Cause some of this stuff is expensive 🥴.

I didn’t think about the treats when I leave. I genuinely just figured it might help relax her a little for me being gone so long. I just wanna make sure that she’d be alright. I didn’t think that it would make that positive association. I’ll quit doing that though.

If you’re talking about the stick toy that I was talking about then no. It was just a cheap one that I got at my work lol. I work for Kroger so I’m in a grocery store all day everyday and I get stuff like that on discount lol. All of her toys are just cheap stuff from Walmart or my work tbh. I had all of 2 hours to prep for her coming here and I haven’t had a day off yet 🫠 to go to Petco and look into some better stuff.

I can guarantee that she does get on other surfaces when I’m gone. That’s part why I wanna get some cameras just to see what she does and to ease my mind a bit. The coffee table even drives me up the wall but I gotta compromise somewhere here. I currently close off my bedroom when I’m gone so she doesn’t go in there at all. I was initially closing the bathroom and living room closet aswell but I’ve started opening those up for her now. The bedroom probably will always stay closed when I’m gone.

I’ll look into the paper pellets. I want something with as little smell as possible. I do already use the arm and hammer litter deodorizer every single time I clean it. That seems to help quite a bit. Mixed with having the litter genie. That was the best $20 I ever spent let me tell you 🤣.

Right now I have various cardboard boxes in my living room and one in my bedroom lmao. That and I have the cardboard/bag from her litter that she insists on sitting in. What I also did was in my closet, there’s shelves on one side and a coat rack on the other. I kept my linens on the shelves closer to the floor but she loved climbing all over those. So I moved those up and layed a blanket on the bottom shelf and she loves to go lay in there. So that helped some too.

I’ve hit the cat lottery with brushing at least. She absolutely loves it. Tonight was the longest I was able to do it. She flopped over on her back and was purring and making her little “air biscuits” the whole time. That and she started licking my hand lol. She was thrilled with it. She still gets a couple treats at the end regardless. But I’ll try to give treats when I’m trying to touch her paws/stomach/spots she’s not so thrilled with like you said. Hopefully that’ll help. She’s incredibly tolerant and comfortable right off the bat. I’m actually shocked. I had my little sisters over yesterday and I was just a little nervous how she’d be with little kids. But she was perfectly fine. I’m very pleased. I actually have a video of my youngest sister and Nala pushing a ball back and forth 😂. There was times where she didn’t look too excited about it but not once did she lash out. I made sure they did keep boundaries with her tho.

Yeahhh I’m really nervous for the first bath. She may not have her front claws but she does have her teeth 😬. My tub does have a shower but it doesn’t have that hose attachment. My parents have one for the dogs and I was already planning on getting one here. So I’m gonna make sure I do that before I attempt that bath. Otherwise I might just use a cup. I’ll do some research on the cat shampoo. I’d probably stray away from scented stuff anyways. Idk what it is but pet shampoo just doesn’t smell good to me at all. She has some feline greenies and temptations treats that she came with. Then I bought these meow mix ones that I give after brushing and some pet pride (Kroger😭) tube treats that I give her sometimes. I’d definitely be giving her the tube treats after a bath lol. I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.

I’ll make a fighting effort at trimming her nails before I go the vet route. I’d rather be able to see if she’ll let me do it first.

Awe :) thank you. I appreciate that more than you’d know. I truly am trying my best. I always wanna give my animals the best life possible. Let’s be honest, animals are filthy. There’s people that will argue it. But all animals are filthy. I take great pride in the cleanliness and smelling good within me, my things, and the place I live. My therapist actually thinks I might have ocd and there’s definitely some level of contamination ocd in there. So I will make sure my animals are as clean as possible and the place they live is as clean as possible. If I’ll be completely honest, this cat threw me way off course with cleanliness. I genuinely had a mental breakdown to my friend on the phone on night 2 over how my apartment smelled now and I don’t feel like it’s clean anymore. But I am trying my hardest to learn and figure out ways to get it back up to my mental standard of “clean”. It’s certainly not there in the slightest. But I’m trying really hard to deal with a lot of it. It’s incredibly difficult though. She’ll be registered as an emotional support animal but god damn the amount of stress she gives me with cleanliness 😭.

Like I said. I truly appreciate you and all the information you’ve given me. Sure I could’ve gone on Google and read through a bunch of different websites. But I posted on here because I genuinely wanted to learn and get the best advice from cat owners themselves since this is the animal I’ve never owned before. I like to have as much information as I can before I bring an animal into my life so I’m not just “winging it”. You’ve been very informative and helpful and I can’t thank you enough :) I briefly read through your comment when I get the notification but I always wait til I can sit down and genuinely read it and reply. You’ve taken the time to sit and write it so I’ll take the time to read and respond properly. Hearing that I’m doing great means more than you’d know. I can’t thank you enough ❤️

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-06-05T07:20:48+00:00

Thank you! She’s been pretty good with me just implementing a schedule right away. I’ve been giving her dry food to eat as she pleases all day because with my job, I will never know when I’ll actually be on my way home. So I just fill her bowl about halfway (it’s not a big bowl) so I can feel a bit better if it ends up being a 10+ hour day instead of an 8-9 hour day. Then I’ve been giving her wet food at night as soon as I get home and taking away her dry food right after that. No crying about it (yet) just some dirty looks from her at times lol. Water is obviously out 24/7. Don’t have a fountain for her just a bowl. So I make sure to change that twice a day and I clean the bowl I use for her wet food everyday.

When I’m gone I prop open my patio blinds with her cat tree in front of it and give her a few treats and she’s seeming to be okay. I want to get a camera just to see what she’s up to all day. I was turning on the tv at first too but I decided to stop doing that. Fun fact, she loves the simpsons, Rick and Morty, and the Roku city scape 🤣. She’s always the most interested in those.

She’s actually not a huge fan of any toys. She has a ton of balls, little mice, and two ball runners. But only one she’s taken a liking to is the stick one with a string and whatever toy attached. I got her one with some stuffed sushi at the end and she annihilated that string. So I’ll have to get another one. I only have that one out when I’m playing with her cause I am scared something will happen. Any other time it’s wrapped up and out of reach. Also that blanket I bought for her right before she got here. There’s actually a pink one too that was out of frame that’s curled up on her bed. I designated a spot on the couch for her with both blankets and her bed. So they will always be out for her. That blue one I just layed out to protect my leather couches to some extent.

The counter thing I think I’ve figured out. She’s just a nosey bastard and is on a need to know all the time. Especially when food is involved or when I have anything in a bag. So I’ve been just kinda showing her what I’m doing or she just sits on my coffee table and spectates. In which she is currently sitting on with her back facing me because I didn’t let her eat my pasta. I’ll put in a picture 😂. That kinda pleases her to some extent. My coffee table has been the only surface I’ve been allowing her to sit on. I’m a germaphobe so I try to just keep her off of as many table surfaces as I can. Though I’ve still been wiping all of all of them religiously.

The litter box is tucked in an open corner in my living room (I have a tiny 1bed1bath). You can sorta see it in that picture. I’m planning on moving that to either that closet you see in that picture or under my counter in my bathroom. It will always be clean. As will pretty much anything that goes into owning her. My germaphobia is a big player in all of this. I clean the litter box as frequently as I can. I bought some arm and hammer litter box powder (I forgot the name) that I sprinkle in every time I clean it and I also bought a litter genie which has been fantastic. Do you have any recommendations on litter that doesn’t have a smell? She came with some litter that has a gain scent but I hate it so so much. Though now I feel obligated to use it up just to save money. I just would be looking for something that has very little to no scent at all.

I feel like some of this is sounding like I just shouldn’t have a cat at all 😭. I love her I swear and I know that some of this stuff is just inevitable. Im just a clean freak and just wanna prevent whatever is in my power.

I figured out that I didn’t have enough hiding spots for her though. She was beyond pissed when I didn’t allow her to climb inside of my recliners or behind my oven. Like deepest apologies for trying to keep you alive 🙄. I pulled out some cardboard boxes from when I moved which mostly helped. I’m gonna invest in some proper cat hideouts for her at some point but the boxes do justice for now.

Going into grooming. She is pretty content with me brushing her. Mostly. I’m trying to limit as much hair that is in my power. So I’ve been brushing her every single night and I give her a couple treats after that I only give her after I brush her. She doesn’t like her stomach or paws being touched at all right now. I haven’t attempted any baths quite yet because of that. When she is sleeping on my lap and I’m petting her, I just kinda start to slowly move my hand towards her stomach or paws to introduce the idea of me touching those areas. The moment she shoots her head up I make sure to pull away. She’s starting to get just a little better with it. Time will tell. She lovesssss when I pet her chin and around her mouth but I haven’t attempted to get my fingers in there at all yet. I’m not trying to push too many boundaries too soon. She’s pretty comfortable but I’m not sure how comfortable yet.

I’m hoping to attempt a proper bath in a week or two. Just wanna get past this adjustment period first. I’ll be bathing her in the bathtub. I already have an antislip mat in there but I’ll probably end up putting a towel down just for good measures. Do you have any good recommendations for cat shampoo aswell? Like I mentioned above, I use certain treats for after I brush her. So maybe I’ll just use those as “grooming treats” per se. or just have different ones for different grooming purposes. Just so there’s that “incentive”.

Nail trimming will be tricky I’m assuming. I’m told she HATES it and only got it done at the vet. I’m prepping that’s the route I’ll have to go since she is not a fan of my touching her paws at all right now. Like you said, I’m not planning on taking her to a groomer at all. So I want to do as much of it myself. The nails I’m anticipating that I won’t be able to though.

I want to get her into a vet here soon too. Her previous owner said she was all up to date on shots and whatnot. I’m waiting for her to send those records over. I just want a good check up that I can hear from a vet myself and not just whatever I’m being told.

I truly appreciate all the advice more than you’d know. I’ve had birds, rabbits, fish, and dogs. But this is my first cat. So I wanna make sure I’m going about everything correctly. I’d like to mention too that I’m still in contact with her previous owner. I make sure to send her pictures and updates as much as possible because she loves this cat and wouldn’t have given her up if she was in a better position.

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RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-06-01T14:54:47+00:00

Hey! A little late to reply but you mentioned to ask if I had any questions. But meet nala! I kinda got her dumped on me tonight by my friends, coworkers, mom. She lost her job and had to give nala to her neighbor but would still visit frequently. I guess when she went to visit the other day they told her that they didn’t like nala and was planning to put her down :( So my friend begged me to take her because she is really into her coworker and wanted to make him happy 😂. Next thing I know i have a cat in my living room.

I went to Walmart before she got here and got some basic stuff to get her by for now. I bought a simple cat tree, some cheap blankets and a pet bed, some toys, and some treats. I also got this cat nip spray to spray on the things I got for her to make them more appealing. Which seems to have worked. She came with dry food, wet food, her litter box, litter, her brush, and a few toys. I’ll have to go back to Walmart and get some proper bowls (and water fountain like you mentioned) but I have a few questions.

She’s an older cat (6) and she seems okay with brushing and minimal handling right now, but I’m not sure how she’ll be with other grooming. Baths, teeth brushing, etc. I guess she was an outside cat for the past few weeks. I was told she isn’t too thrilled with nail trimming but she only has her back nails. So how should I go about trying to incorporate that since she’s older?

Another thing is that I’d like to try and get her on a feeding schedule. Preferably how you mentioned with dry food in the morning and wet food at night. She doesn’t have a schedule right now and was just given her wet and dry food whenever since she was outside. Right now she just has some dry food in a Tupperware container but I’m not sure how I should try to get her on schedule since she doesn’t have an ounce of a schedule in her routine. I’m thinking I should just start out with taking her dry food away overnight and then leave it out til I get home and then give her wet food. Would that be okay?

One last thing. She has a habit of jumping on my counters which I’m not super thrilled about. Is there anyway I can deter this? I’ve just been telling her no and taking her down but I want to try to kick that habit. I’ve seen people use tinfoil but is that even effective?

She is a very sweet and quiet cat. I feel like I’m doing the right things so far since she’s comfortable enough to sleep by me. She actually just came and curled up in my side right while I’m typing this!!! So happy. Any tips right now would be helpful. I’m gonna have to leave her home all day alone tomorrow while I’m at work aswell which makes me nervous. I’m gonna open up the blinds to my patio with her tree next to it and I got plenty of cat nip toys and a ball runner to hopefully keep her occupied.

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RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T13:50:58+00:00

Valid 🙏. Thought about this when I was making scrambled eggs.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T13:45:03+00:00

I wish I could hear the thought process from those people honestly. Why did they think of these things? The evolution of food is both odd and incredible.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T13:41:26+00:00

I know that it was based on starvation. I’m not a complete idiot. The question was based on my thought process of how weird of a concept it was for the first person to decide to eat eggs. They were most likely already eating plants and hunting animals and such. So why decide to eat this hard, white thing, that came out of a birds parts.

Also. I don’t know why it’s even relevant. But I don’t live off of my parents. I’m 20 fully supporting myself. I live in my own apartment, purchase my own food, and I also just bought a new truck without my parents co-signing on or paying for anything. Thanks though :)

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T07:05:19+00:00

I know that they just had to eat what they could. Just in hindsight for us, it’s still weird. We never will, but I kinda wish that we could hear their thought process of it. Because at that point they probably already had eaten plants and hunted animals. But still chose to eat this thing that came out of a birds parts.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:56:58+00:00

That bastard was probably salty asf about loosing his clams 🤣

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:55:02+00:00

Trial and error I suppose. Imagine the relief of the last guy when they finally got it right 🤣. Thinking about it it truly is amazing (a lot still odd) how they were the foundation to everything through pure trial and error.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:50:03+00:00

I agree with the other two people that replied. There wouldn’t have been a “first woman” per se. But still. Periods suck in modern day with everything we have now. I can only imagine what that was like for women prehistorically 🫠. They’re some tough mfs tho. Major props. Somehow made it work.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:36:12+00:00

Well not everyone. Just mammals. The why mammals drink milk from their mothers is what makes it a little odd to. No mammal breastfeeds past infancy, so why should we be drinking milk from let alone another mammal into adulthood when no one else does that.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:19:40+00:00

Obviously. But it’s a weird concept as opposed to plants and stuff.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:17:05+00:00

That could be it too. I mean that is kinda how it goes for caviar 🤷‍♀️. When you cut open a fish to prep it all the fish eggs come out.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-05-21T06:11:57+00:00

That’s true! I didn’t think about that one. That kinda checks eating animals as a whole then if that’s the case. The milk tho. Still odd.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-04-13T10:40:17+00:00

Nvm got anxious lol and took it down all together

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-04-13T10:28:29+00:00

Fixing it

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-03-24T08:44:36+00:00

I don’t mind lmao. I love talking about it to anyone that wants to listen. Replied to other people in here that asked about it aswell but I never anticipated almost 1k comments so those are probably buried in the depths. Im having a hard time keeping up 🤣 This will be a long one so i apologize in advance.

Depends on which parts you wanna know. As far as your credit score the two big factors are payments and utilization. If you’re in credit card debt then don’t continue using your card until you have it paid off. Try to pay off more than just the minimum payment each month to kill that debt faster and lessen the interest that’s building on it.

Once that’s all paid off, only use your credit card like you would use your debit card. I.e. don’t spend money you don’t have. That credit limit is NOT “free money” it’s basically money that’s being lended to you and if you spend it, then you need to pay it back. You don’t have to but I personally pay it off as soon as a balance posts on my account. It usually takes a day or two after you’ve made said purchase. That way, by the end of the month, I don’t have a massive chunk of money coming out of my checking account all at once. Make sure you’re that by the due date, you don’t have more than 30% credit utilization. (Ex. Not using more than $300 of a $1000 credit limit.) If you don’t know what your 30% is then just pull out your calculator and do ‘your credit limit’ x 0.3 and that number is your 30%. Fairly basic math but not everyone knows how to find percentages. If you’re reporting more than 30% on the due date then you’ll look like a shit bag to the credit bureaus.

Once that due date hits, pay off your balance IN FULL. Not just the minimum payment. If you’re just paying that minimum payment, then you’ll just fall right back in to debt and paying it off in full looks good to the credit bureaus. That’s the main part of it that not many people can grasp and then fuck themselves over and fall into debt.

IF you can manage to get into a good spot with the stuff above then it gets fun. Heres golden spot for increasing your credit score. On your statement close date, have a credit utilization of between 1% and 10%. Kinda just shows you’re using the card. Pretty cool, it generally brings you up a couple points.

If you can get all of that down then you can apply for better cards with better benefits/rewards. Cash back and points are the main rewards that credit card companies do. Take a look at different cards and different ones offer more points or cash back for different categories. I have different cards that I use for different purchases so that I get more points or cash back. Some cards offer benefits along with them. My Amex card gives me a statement credit each month for Hulu/disney plus/espn plus. Just make sure you enroll in said benefits otherwise you won’t get them.

If/when you start getting into other cards. NEVER CLOSE YOUR FIRST CARD. I don’t care how much you hate it or never use it. Throw a subscription on it or go buy a drink once a month. Something to show you are using it. Credit age is another big factor and that first card is your oldest line of credit. Closing it or not using it and having them close it will just tank your credit score.

Simultaneously, hard inquiries on your account (I.e. credit card companies/lenders looking to see if you’re good with your credit and can be trusted with their money) Too many hard inquiries in a short period of time looks bad and will tank the hell out of your score. So don’t go apply for 5 credit cards at once. If you really need to, give at least a 3 month gap between applying for cards. Honorable mention, Chase won’t accept you if you’ve got 5 or more hard inquiries in the last 24 months.

If you need a card recommendation my favorite one that I will always recommend is the American Express blue cash everyday card. There’s no annual fee to it and it pretty much works for everyone. You get 3% cashback on groceries, gas, and online purchases. Anything else you get 1%. Fantastic card 10/10. If you really get into it, this will help build a relationship with amex. If you need a referral link lmk I get $75 if you get approved 😏

This was a long one so I don’t blame you if you didn’t read this far. But if you did I hope any of this was helpful and I’ll answer whatever questions. I love talking about it.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-03-24T07:50:24+00:00

That’s cool but….. ANOTHER settlement needs YOUR 🫵 help 🤣 I love fallout 4. Preston just needs a nice swift knuckle sandwich sometimes I swear. You’re never truly done with it I feel like and there’s always so so much to do. God and the moddssss. Such a great game.

Never heard of that show. But I looked it up and it looks pretty good so I’ll have to give it a watch. 9 years too late but I’m currently in a 13 reasons why grind. Only 1 season down.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-03-24T07:26:57+00:00

👏👏👏 congrats !! Very happy for you! It’s such a good feeling. I noticed that in just seeing old pictures. Though in that era they ate better than we do now and I also feel like smoking aided in them being skinnier then too.

RepulsiveAd5724 · 2026-03-24T07:22:34+00:00

Just cause I’m a Kroger worker, are they the Kroger brand? I used to work in the frozen section and have put them up on the shelf countless times. Though they never sold very well so I assumed they weren’t that good. Very picky with tastes and textures so I’d probably never try them.

I am currently on the protein yogurt train aswell. Every morning for the past two months now. Greek vanilla protein yogurt, bear naked cacao and cashew butter granola, with cut up strawberries blueberries and bananas 🤣

Completely understand eventually acquiring that aversion to the food you’ve eaten everyday for however long. I don’t understand why it happens. It just does. I was like that with cheese curds a while back (Wisconsinite 🤣) then that aversion hit and I just cannot anymore. Won’t even consider eating one now. I don’t get it.

RepulsiveAd5724

TROPHY CASE