I Can't Get My Cat To Stop Clawing The Doorways And Carpet

[argus]

Hello all.

Every night I have to stop my cat from shredding up the wooden doorways and the carpet near them. She claws almost every corner, nook and cranny of the unit. They are now starting to show visible damage. She has two scratching posts and enjoys using them regularly but there is nothing I can do to stop her. I've tried taping, using feliway, covering carpets and blocking off whole patches of carpet. Nothing in Heaven or Hell will dissuade her. She's about three years old, primarily indoors and healthy. I have had her about a year. She seems absolutely adamant that she will rip the place to shreds.

I love the girl but I can't afford thousands of dollars in repairs to the unit I live in. Admittedly there are times I'm on the verge of tears because of her.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Do you play with her?

 

[argus]

Do you play with her?

Every day. We play with toys and chase each other. Unfortunately she can't go outside without supervisation as there are two hostile cats in the area which fight violently.lucy has come running inside with fur missing, dripping Blood and covered i urine.

 

[Clancy's Mom]

When you say you’ve tried taping, was that plain tape? You can buy this carpet protector than comes in a roll. It sticks on like a glove and doesn’t come off or rip. It’s amazing. It’s used for when you paint, renovate, etc. I got mine at Lowes, I think. Once your kitty doesn’t have the texture anymore, I bet she’ll stop.

 

[abyeb]

Every day. We play with toys and chase each other. Unfortunately she can't go outside without supervisation as there are two hostile cats in the area which fight violently.lucy has come running inside with fur missing, dripping Blood and covered i urine.

She might be displaying redirected aggression from the cats outside. Can you try covering the windows so she can't see them?

 

[danteshuman]

Worse case scenario you can cap her claws. I found putting out lots of those cardboard cat scratchers work great.

 

[argus]

I don't think it is redirected aggression, although she does it during the day, it is always worst at about the same time of night when she gets her daily energy surge. The tape I've been using is a clear, strong, double-sided tape used specifically to deter cats from scratching. Each time I deny her access to one place, she simply moves to another.

 

[talkingpeanut]

It sounds like she may need more outlets for her energy. Maybe more play? Or maybe one of those toys on a track so she can entertain herself?

 

[Sa'ida Maryam]

Ok, it sounds like she had free time outside, yes. It may be odd , but put her in a harness at the time she does this scratching and behaves so badly to get more house training. Maybe she will figure this is unacceptable in houses. One last drastic measure is to harness and leash train for supervised outdoor time. Or put her in a kennel and place it outside, supervise and watch her. Pay attention to her cues and reactions to birds, other animals. What is setting off her nerves ? Happy petting.

 

[argus]

I've had to leave her with my parents while I'm out of town for a few weeks. She loves their house because it is big and gives her lots of places to explore. They've told me she's been doing the same thing to them. This is strange because she never used to.

I put out a few cardboard scratchers for her before I leflt but she wasn't in the slightest bit interested.

 

[Gaven Kent]

Hello all.

Every night I have to stop my cat from shredding up the wooden doorways and the carpet near them. She claws almost every corner, nook and cranny of the unit. They are now starting to show visible damage. She has two scratching posts and enjoys using them regularly but there is nothing I can do to stop her. I've tried taping, using feliway, covering carpets and blocking off whole patches of carpet. Nothing in Heaven or Hell will dissuade her. She's about three years old, primarily indoors and healthy. I have had her about a year. She seems absolutely adamant that she will rip the place to shreds.

I love the girl but I can't afford thousands of dollars in repairs to the unit I live in. Admittedly there are times I'm on the verge of tears because of her.

A really good solution is to get some carpet tiles and put them in the area where they claw. They are cheap and can blend in if you match the colour. Cats think they are clawing real carpet so feel that they have won! After buying expensive scratching posts that were epic fails the cheap and free carpet tiles and DIY cardboard scratching box were big hits. the tiles are big enough to cover a large area and to allow a cat to sit and claw on it at the same time. I've got some random coloured tiles dotted around the wood floor downstairs and colour matched tiles upstairs where they clawed the most. I've got used to them being there. I'll upload a photo and diagram of my DIY scratching box too

 

[talkingpeanut]

Is she spayed?

 

[Freedom]

Get a spray bottle. Use equal parts white vinegar and water. Spray this on the wood and carpet areas. This is a mild enough mix that we humans do not smell it. But for the cat, being so close to it, she will smell the vinegar and leave.

AT THE SAME TIME - and this is an important part - you need to rub some catnip on her scratching posts and climbing trees. Thus you are letting her know where she is welcome at the same time that you are telling her 'not here!'

You may need to do this every 3 or 4 days for a few weeks, to keep the vinegar and catnip scents strong.

Also, are her scratching posts tall enough for her? I've seen some very short posts of 2 feet or less. No good. Take a look at how high up she is reaching on the door frame /wood areas. Then be sure you have scratchers at least that tall. Cats like to stretch and reach up, extending their entire body as they scratch.

Finally, clipping her nails will help limit damage. I do this every Saturday. Some nails don't need to be clipped, others do, so keep that in mind once you are doing this regularly.

 

[argus]

Is she spayed?

Yes she's been spayed over a year ago.

 

[argus]

Get a spray bottle. Use equal parts white vinegar and water. Spray this on the wood and carpet areas. This is a mild enough mix that we humans do not smell it. But for the cat, being so close to it, she will smell the vinegar and leave.

AT THE SAME TIME - and this is an important part - you need to rub some catnip on her scratching posts and climbing trees. Thus you are letting her know where she is welcome at the same time that you are telling her 'not here!'

You may need to do this every 3 or 4 days for a few weeks, to keep the vinegar and catnip scents strong.

Also, are her scratching posts tall enough for her? I've seen some very short posts of 2 feet or less. No good. Take a look at how high up she is reaching on the door frame /wood areas. Then be sure you have scratchers at least that tall. Cats like to stretch and reach up, extending their entire body as they scratch.

Finally, clipping her nails will help limit damage. I do this every Saturday. Some nails don't need to be clipped, others do, so keep that in mind once you are doing this regularly.

Both main scratchers are full-height. She can comfortably stretch out horizontally and vertically. Unfortunately catnip does not affect her.

I've started spraying the cupboard with a scent made from citrus oils which is supposed to keep cats away from the area. I also just bought some anti-scratch double-sided tape to run along the sides of the carpet she likes to scratch. Unfortunately Catnip does nothing to her. Neither do artificial pheromones.

 

[Gaven Kent]

To stop mine from scratching the arms of the new sofa I covered them with strips of double sided tape. When they scratched the sofa the tape stuck to their paws and they did not like it. They didn't do it again. The tape was really weak so didn't hurt them or damage the sofa. Hey hate anything sticking to them. I was amazed it worked but tried it after Hugo chased a ball of used parcel tape I had taken off a package and screwed up. As soon as his paws touched it he ran! I did a reward type experiment when trying the carpet tiles as scratching places. Each time they used it I have them a treat. Also the carpet tiles are the same colour and texture as the carpet so they feel that they haven't compromised and are still scratching the real thing! As I said before I solved the problem using stuff that was free or really cheap after spending loads on cat products. My lads prefer recycled junk! The radiator cat hammock I got was ignored but the one I made from wire and material is adored. Work that out!

 

[Gaven Kent]

The tightly packed corrugated cardboard with cat nip inbetween each layer. Made from free boxes from the supermarket and packed into a cut down box. I used children's white glue, PVA to glue each layer and cut it with a craft knife and ruler to get clean edges. The cat nip was sprinkles on the wet glue and sealed between the cardboard. It works so well. I'll measure everything and upload the numbers, what you need etc to make it