Can Ты train a cat not to scratch furniture?

Hi I don't have a cat but want one when I finally Переместить out of my pet hating household. I was wondering can Ты 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 Ты 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 рыба 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 Ты go out and adopt one. Does anyone know the answer to this Вопрос или have any tips on how to preserve furniture if Ты own a cat?