My two cats Skiibowski and Milky love to run and chase each other in my home. I never seen two cats play hide and seek, fetch a ball, and run and leap the way they do. I'm sure it is because my house is so big they feel so free.

Well I bought all new leather furniture for my new home before we bought our two cats not thinking the consequences and how hard it is to train them to stay off the furniture and the counters. Scratches are all over my Leather chairs to my bistro set, dinnette set, couch and matching chair..

I didn't realize this until one day I did a thorough clean and and every weekend I clean I am noticing more and more scratches. Well, I cried as I was cleaning knowing the kind of money my furniture cost me. So I absolutely do not let them roam the wole house unless I am home to where I can see them all times.

When I'm not home, I give them the full furnished basement, there isn't really anything down there yet but a pool table, futon, and a screen tv. But it is still big enough to run and play. I told Tom this is what I am doing and first he didn't agree. I said I bet if it was your new furniture and your home you will change your mind real fast... No one ever agrees when it is someone elses things.

Skiibowski and Milky I know really don't understand yet and I am trying my best to train them with a blue squirt bottle full of water. My two cats hate water and they know when they see that blue bottle, they run... lol.

I know they love to scratch my furniture because that is all that is around and I can't blame them but they will know one day what they can scratch and what not to. I am going to buy them a large kitty tree house with a scratching post and put in basement for when I am away and some scratching post for the living room.

Skiibowski and Milky are not allowed to be declawed. I agreed when I adopted them, to not do this to them because I knew they would be inside cats only and if they ever did get outside for some reason, they have claws to defend themselves. I read up on how to keep cats off of furniture and your counters, not as easy as it sounds.

So far my two cats are getting better and I noticed since I gave them the roam of the basement while I'm gone, they keep going down there to play even when I'm home. Skiibowski and Milky will get better each day as long as I keep up with the bottle and believe me, that blue bottle goes everywhere I go. I don't even have to squirt them they know what that blue bottle is and all I have to do is point it at them.

When they know they are doing something and they see the bottle aiming they stop, stare, then run! I try not to laugh because it makes me feel like I am some mean old witch!

I hope when you are reading this article and you get a kitten or cats or multiple start training them right away and don't wait weeks later when you do a good cleaning of your home so find all these scratches like I did.