Put it on her spot. Then get out of the way.
This is the walkthrough a cat behaviorist charges a few hundred dollars for, in the order that works. Ten minutes to read, five to set up, and then the hard part, which is leaving it alone.
First, why the couch
She is not punishing you, and she is not stressed. Scratching is a feel-good routine cats run when they wake up, when they walk through a doorway, and most of all when they greet you. The couch gets it because the couch is where you are, and because it is the one tall thing in the room that does not move when she leans on it.
You probably own a scratcher already. Most people whose cat works the couch have a post in the same room. It fails for one of two reasons: it moves when she puts her weight on it, or it is too short for a full stretch. A cat rules out a post that wobbles once. So this guide is not about changing her. It is about giving her the same thing the couch gives her, in the same place, without the wobble.
On her spot. Not near it.
Every post that failed you failed the same way, by asking her to walk somewhere else. The board wins by taking the habit over where it already happens. Everything below just does that properly.
The setup, in order
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Find the exact spot.
Look for the evidence: frayed threads, fuzzed fabric, the corner she stretches against. That corner, not the room it is in. If she works two corners, the board goes on the worse one and the shields hold the other. If you are not sure yet, watch for two or three days and note where, which angle, and when. It is usually right after a nap or the moment you walk in.
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Stand the board flat against it.
Vertical face flat against the couch corner she scratches, scratch surface facing out, and slide the L-base under the couch edge so her own weight braces it when she leans in. Now push it. It should not move. That is the whole test, and it is the one most scratchers fail.
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Shields on the working corners, today.
Press the clear shields over the corners she has damaged and set the twist pins into the weave. Fabric and upholstered couches only, never leather or pleather. Keep them on through the whole switch. Taking the guards off early is the second most common way owners undo this. They are invisible from three feet.
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Make the board hers.
Rub your palms over the scratch surface before you set it down. She chose the couch partly because it smells like you, so let the board smell like you too. For an adult cat, a little catnip or silver vine on the surface pulls her in faster; it does nothing for young kittens, so skip it under about six months. Then play with a wand toy and let the chase end at the board, with a catch. Play that ends in a catch settles her; play that never ends winds her up.
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Reward the first uses. Never punish the old ones.
A treat within a few seconds of catching her on the board, the first several times, is the single most effective thing you can do. Cats keep using a scratcher they have been rewarded on. If you catch her on the couch, pick her up and set her at the board, calmly. No spray bottle, no shouting: cats that get yelled at scratch more, not less. They just wait until you have left the room.
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Then leave it alone.
Do not move the board to a better spot, do not tidy it away for guests, and once she has used it even once, do not relocate it. Wait until the couch corner has gone untouched for two full weeks. If you then want it somewhere else, move it a few inches a day, and keep it in the room you actually live in. A board hidden in the spare room is a couch that gets scratched.
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Know the honest timeline.
Most cats start using the board within days. Some take a few weeks. Holding the switch, where the couch is simply not on her map any more, takes months of the board staying put. The guarantee is sixty days because that is how long a real switch can take.
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More than one cat, or more than one corner.
Cats do not share scratching spots the way they share a bed. Two cats or two worked corners means two boards, in different places. Homes with several cats do not scratch furniture more than homes with one, so this is about coverage, not chaos.
If it's day five and she hasn't touched it
Check the rule first. Is it truly on her spot, braced, not wobbling? Most misses are a board that is a foot away from the corner, or one that rocks when she tests it. Re-set it tighter, shields still on, and give it the full two weeks. If she is an adult and you have not tried an attractant, try one now. If she is still scratching in many places around windows and doors rather than one corner, that is usually not about the couch at all; it is often another cat outside, and worth a word with your vet.
If she still does not switch, the 60-Day Couch-Safe Guarantee carries the risk, not you. Reply to your order email and a person answers.
The questions nobody's listing answers
Why does she scratch the second I sit down, or when I come home?
Because she is glad you are there. Scratching peaks right after a greeting, after waking, and on the way through a doorway. It is a hello, and the couch gets it because the couch is where you are. Give her a board on that corner and the hello lands on cardboard.
Why the arm, and why that corner?
It is vertical, it is at the height of a full stretch, it does not move, and it is on her route. Those four things are the whole spec, which is why the board goes there and not across the room.
Is 70cm tall enough?
70cm is about 27 and a half inches: a full vertical stretch for most cats, hind legs down, front legs up. A very large cat, a Maine Coon or a big male, may want more, and the horizontal side gives her a full stretch flat. If you tell us your cat is a big one, we will say straight whether it is tall enough.
Vertical or horizontal?
Adults mostly stand and stretch, so vertical. Kittens and older cats mostly go flat. The L shape covers both: the upright face for the stretch, the base for the kitten and the senior.
Will trimming her nails, nail caps, or a deterrent spray fix it?
Trimming limits the damage but does not change the habit. Caps and deterrents on their own do not either. What shifts it is a better target on her spot, covering the spot while she switches, and a treat the first few times you catch her on the board.
Why at night, or right after the zoomies?
Unfinished play. A laser dot she can never catch, or a play session that just stops, leaves her wound up, and scratching is where it goes. Short play that ends in a catch, on a wand or a kicker toy, takes most of it out.
Should it go near the litter box?
Many owners find a scratcher next to the box gets ignored. Nobody has proven it either way, so we keep it simple: her spot is the couch corner, and the box is wherever the box is.
Does the cardboard shed?
Some, yes. The kickboard base catches most of it and a handheld vac gets the rest. If your cat chews and swallows cardboard rather than scratching it, supervise and clear loose pieces.
Do I replace it when it's shredded?
Not right away. A shredded board is a working board, and most cats prefer a worn surface to a new one. Flip it when one side is done. Replace it when it is confetti, not when it is ugly.
Does she grow out of it?
Scratching furniture peaks in the first year and eases after about age seven. A kitten is the hardest case and the best time to set the habit, which is exactly what this board is for.