Kitty scratching at carpet?

I was told that in order to help stop my cat from scratching things that I don't want him to scratch that I should spray him with a fine mist of water in his face everytime he scratches something that I don't want him to scratch. I know it sounds cruel but that is what I was told. Also, I think that you should have plenty of scratching posts (One in each room of the house). Catnip can help encourage your cat to scratch the scratching post. I agree with rrm38 that you should research what exactly declawing is. Unfortunately my cat scratches a lot of different things in my house. However, I would never have him declawed after reading about the procedure. There is a product called Soft Claws that may or may not work.