Well, let's see. You can keep a prickly cover (like the office plastic mats for the chairs to roll over on carpet, you know? The undersides of those have nubs to keep them in one place on the carpet) on the couch when you're gone.
I also use double-sided sticky tape on the corners of my couches, but I don't know how well that'd go over on leather. I get mine at PetSmart, and they're guaranteed to not leave a mark on the couches. But I haven't investigated leather options.
In your OP, you were concerned about "attitude change". The only thing that can engender that type of change is getting them fixed. For some it's an amazing "calmer-downer", for others, not so much (although it tends to be more effective on males). But at 5 months, he's still a baby, and will still act like a baby. I think the 6 month mark is when you can get them fixed.
Oh, is he an only cat? Perhaps a buddy (older, I'm thinking) would give him something else to focus on.
Lastly, I'm assuming you have a scratching post, yes? Even if you do, I've had *great* success in keeping several different kinds around the house--one is fisal (rough rope) wrapped, one is carpet-covered with a hidey hole, and the last is a grand carpet-wrapped ladder/platform thing. When I had only the fisal post, they didn't pay much attention to it. But when I got the carpet-covered ones, they went nuts over it and pretty much leave the furniture alone.
__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -
Matt Groening
My goal? To fulfill my potential.
|