Can 你 train a cat not to scratch furniture?

Hi I don't have a cat but want one when I finally 移动 out of my pet hating household. I was wondering can 你 train a cat not to scratch your furniture? Because I personally would not declaw a cat because if it ran away then it would not be able to defend itself. So can 你 buy a scratching post and train it to leave the furniture alone and scratch the post instead? I'm sorry if I sound ignorant but I've only owned a dog and a 鱼 in my entire life so I don't know much about how to raise a cat. I would like to learn how to though as it is important to know quite a bit about how to raise any animal before 你 go out and adopt one. Does anyone know the answer to this 问题 或者 have any tips on how to preserve furniture if 你 own a cat?