Scratching in a perfect world

In a perfect world, cats would do exactly what we wanted them to do. If they needed attention, they would stroll up quietly, rub against our legs, and voice a coded meow we'd understand. When something was causing them to need to regurgitate, they'd come to us and clearly signal what was to come, allowing enough time for us to grab a classified section from the newspaper to catch the ejecta.

They'd also claw only what we want them to claw with no exceptions. 'Course in a perfect world, pain, suffering, and sorrow wouldn't exist either.

In the real world, we cannot expect cats or other creatures, humans included, to be perfect. No house or apartment that provides a residence to any kind of animal is going to be free of animal-wear. You can reduce the wear but not eliminate it.

An excellent way of reducing the likelihood cats will claw something they shouldn't is to purchase Natural Scratch and follow the accompanying training method to teach your critters to scratch it and nothing else.