How to stop a cat scratching everything

John_Mc

Hi,

We inherited a cat from a friend who's landlord told them to get rid of it or they'd have to move out. She's 3 or 4 years old, not sure exactly.

I'm having serious problems with her scratching the carpet and furniture. I've bought her a good scratching post and have tried training her by following the steps outlined here but she isn't learning or trying.

Catnip doesn't work on her so I haven't been able to get her interested in the post at all.

The damage to the carpet is getting worse now and if I can't get her to stop we'll have to find a new home for her

Nody

First of all you need more than one scratching post and preferably quite tall once (they use them to stretch so 1m or higher if possible); you need them to be positioned next to what ever she's scratching now. As she likes carpets you also want pad scratchers to put down there instead. For scratching on furniture put a scratcher next to it and put down double sided tape on the area she's scratching to help redirect her behaviour. Also have a look at getting her to a vet to look at her paws and claws to see if there's any fungal or similar there to irritate her to scratch more than usual.

riffmongous

Get a very tall scratching post if you can, like 5 or 6 feet high, they are lots of fun for the cat

.......

This post has been deleted.

kathleen37

I guess it just shows that you have to find out what they like - ours ignore small scratching posts, but hang off the really high quite acrobatically...

More than one is also a good shout - as well as high places for kitty to lie about - ours love to sit up high on reconnaissance

The flat ones sounds good to go over favourite carpet spots (haven't had a cat yet that has done damage to a carpet - I suppose I'm still waiting to get one of those...)

I think there are bitter/stinky sprays you can get for spraying on to leg/sofa chairs and the like. I guess that would work on carpet too? Problem is, that if the cat is a scratcher - I don't think you're ever going to stop that - so the solution is work around it.

Good luck!!

tedpan

John_Mc wrote:

The damage to the carpet is getting worse now and if I can't get her to stop we'll have to find a new home for her

That's what cats do. It sounds like you're not interacting with it enough, she's bored. I have 3 cat trees in the house and use cat toys/treats to play with mine.

If my carpet gets wrecked, I have to buy a new carpet.

My dogs and cat are so important, they are like kids. Would you rehome your kid if it spilled a drink on the carpet? If you can't see that, maybe a cat's not for you..

kathleen37

To be fair to the OP, they've done the good thing by rehoming the cat, which is excellent - thanks, OP.

Lots of good suggestions so hopefully a few of them will work out for you both.

tedpan

kathleen37 wrote:

To be fair to the OP, they've done the good thing by rehoming the cat, which is excellent - thanks, OP.

I understand, although if rehoming the cat again even comes into your mind, it's not right for you. Cats can take years to settle in and can live for 20 odd years..

John_Mc

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I'll have to get some double sided tape and try a few other types of scratching posts.

When scratching the carper she doesn't do it in any particular place - it seems to be when she's very excited and she tears into it. The furniture is a bit more methodical and routine.

tedpan wrote: »

That's what cats do. It sounds like you're not interacting with it enough, she's bored. I have 3 cat trees in the house and use cat toys/treats to play with mine.

The cat is spoiled rotten with affection and as already said, we already bought a post/furniture for her. We've also bought toys.

tedpan wrote: »

If my carpet gets wrecked, I have to buy a new carpet.

We rent and there's a specific clause in the lease about looking after the carpet as it's a very good one. It's not just as simple as buying a new carpet as you ridiculously suggested. It would cost thousands of euro.

tedpan wrote: »

My dogs and cat are so important, they are like kids. Would you rehome your kid if it spilled a drink on the carpet? If you can't see that, maybe a cat's not for you..

I know you love your pets but don't be so ridiculous as to compare them to children - they are NOT the same thing.

As I said in my OP, we inherited this cat from friends who couldn't look after her anymore. She had been elsewhere and when we arrived at ours she was underweight and very scared. She's now fit and healthy, probably a little bit overweight, and has a very shiny coat so she's clearly looked after.

We can't have the cat destroying our home though, which is why I've looked for advice on here

.......

This post has been deleted.

tedpan

John_Mc wrote:

I know you love your pets but don't be so ridiculous as to compare them to children - they are NOT the same thing.

It obviously depends on the person.

Zapperzy

Have you ever tried clipping her claws? Get a proper small pet nail clippers from the vets or pet shop. Just take the sharp tips off, there's a blood vessel in the nail that you'll want to avoid. Get a vet, nurse or groomer to show you if your unsure. There's also gel caps you can buy to cover cats claws, take a bit of getting used to though.

Feliway have brought out a new product that you squirt onto the desired area you want the cat to scratch. It's supposed to attract them into using it. Have a look on zooplus.

scarepanda

John_Mc wrote:

I know you love your pets but don't be so ridiculous as to compare them to children - they are NOT the same thing.

We have 2 4 legged babies and 1 2 legged baby. Your right, they are not the same. But when you love them enough and accept them into your family they are fairly dam near the same thing.

John_Mc wrote:

We can't have the cat destroying our home though, which is why I've looked for advice on here

You were very good rehoming the cat, BUT if your this adamant about no damage being done (especially when there is a specific clause in your rent about the carpet), by said cat why the hell did you agree to take the cat in before doing some research into what it takes to look after a cat? Do you not think the cat is worse off for you taking it in and not being prepared to take the good with the bad if your thinking of rehoming it again? Do you not understand how much moving from home to home affects animals?

John_Mc

scarepanda wrote: »

We have 2 4 legged babies and 1 2 legged baby. Your right, they are not the same. But when you love them enough and accept them into your family they are fairly dam near the same thing.

I completely understand this - I was taking issue with the ridiculous example given by that poster.

scarepanda wrote: »

You were very good rehoming the cat, BUT if your this adamant about no damage being done (especially when there is a specific clause in your rent about the carpet), by said cat why the hell did you agree to take the cat in before doing some research into what it takes to look after a cat? Do you not think the cat is worse off for you taking it in and not being prepared to take the good with the bad if your thinking of rehoming it again? Do you not understand how much moving from home to home affects animals?

To be clear we said we'd give it a go and see how we get on. I did have my concerns.

I'm clearly trying to give it a go by coming on here looking for solutions

kathleen37

I'm not sure about clipping claws - I actually do that with two of my cats - but it's because they are paw padders, and they scratch me when I give them a cuddle. I don't think it's a scratching "stuff" solution, as they just go out and sharpen up on "stuff", which would probably make the situation worse. Also, you have to know your cat well to be able to clip it's claws. Some let you, some try to bite your head off...

I've read about the claw gel caps - have no experience of them though. I just imagined trying to get them on and then thought perhaps best not.. I'm guessing they must fall off as the claws grow?

That;s Feliway thing could be good too - rather than spraying stuff they don't like, could try spraying stuff they do?

scarepanda

John_Mc wrote:

I completely understand this - I was taking issue with the ridiculous example given by that poster.

I don't think it was a ridiculous example. We have two heavy shedding dogs, one or other of them are shedding for about 7 months of the year - not so good with carpet. But we knew before getting the pup that the carpet in the hall will be replaced whenever we move out.....

John_Mc wrote:

To be clear we said we'd give it a go and see how we get on. I did have my concerns.

And as I said you were very good to take the cat in. But 'giving it a go' while you 'had concerns' is just not good enough. I'm sorry OP, but it's just not good enough to take an animal in only to want rid of it at the first hurdle, especially when it's regarding a cat's natural instinct and a material item in the house. Did you not realise that cats like to scratch? And that your carpet would be at risk? Surely if it's that expensive your LL won't want any animals in the property full stop?
What would you do if the cat had a serious (and expensive) medical issue? Get rid? Pts? You need to realise that when you make the commitment of taking an animal in you need to take responsibility for your decision.

John_Mc wrote:

I'm clearly trying to give it a go by coming on here looking for solutions

And it's very good that you are looking for advice and tips on how to make it work. But OP, don't get the hump when other posters give you a hard time when you ask for advice and state that you will have to get rid of the cat in the same breath. And then have a go at other posters when they make comparisons to show how important their pets are to their lives and family​ life.

John_Mc

scarepanda wrote: »

And as I said you were very good to take the cat in. But 'giving it a go' while you 'had concerns' is just not good enough. I'm sorry OP, but it's just not good enough to take an animal in only to want rid of it at the first hurdle, especially when it's regarding a cat's natural instinct and a material item in the house. Did you not realise that cats like to scratch? And that your carpet would be at risk? Surely if it's that expensive your LL won't want any animals in the property full stop?
What would you do if the cat had a serious (and expensive) medical issue? Get rid? Pts? You need to realise that when you make the commitment of taking an animal in you need to take responsibility for your decision.

I didn't come here for a lecture from you or anybody else, so if you could get off that high horse and contribute then that would be great.

"Giving it a go" is the term I use to describe taking the cat from a home where she was very unhappy. She was in the original owners parents house where there were other cats and she was clearly stressed and had lost a lot of weight. We took the cat solely on the basis that we could give it back if there were problems.

We did not go looking for a cat and have now decided we don't want it.

Baybay

John_Mc wrote: »

We did not go looking for a cat and have now decided we don't want it.

No lecture but please, reconsider.
The cat has lost her forever people once already. You obviously care for her & she's responded to that care. She may respond better to correction once she's less anxious & more settled.
Our fellow has finally narrowed his attentions, in the main, to one area: the door jamb, hinge side, in the bathroom. Not ideal but he's ours & we love him, for all his little foibles.

John_Mc

Baybay wrote: »

No lecture but please, reconsider.
The cat has lost her forever people once already. You obviously care for her & she's responded to that care. She may respond better to correction once she's less anxious & more settled.
Our fellow has finally narrowed his attentions, in the main, to one area: the door jamb, hinge side, in the bathroom. Not ideal but he's ours & we love him, for all his little foibles.

Yes of course, I don't want to give the cat back and neither does my wife. We need to find something that works though as the damage is becoming noticeable

.......

This post has been deleted.

One very easy and quick solution. Keep the cat outside.

John_Mc

....... wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The problem is that when she scratches the carpet it's in no particular area, it can be wherever she's standing at the time.

Tristian Bumpy Cargo wrote: »

One very easy and quick solution. Keep the cat outside.

We let her outside every day but she stays close. We have a very busy road at the front and would be worried she'd run out under a car if she was left out all of the time. She has always been a house cat I think

.......

This post has been deleted.

.......

This post has been deleted.

John_Mc

....... wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Full time since February but we were looking after her for a few weeks at a time before that, but it was in a different house with no carpet really.

.......

This post has been deleted.

scarepanda

John_Mc wrote:

I didn't come here for a lecture from you or anybody else, so if you could get off that high horse and contribute then that would be great.

John_Mc wrote:

"Giving it a go" is the term I use to describe taking the cat from a home where she was very unhappy. She was in the original owners parents house where there were other cats and she was clearly stressed and had lost a lot of weight. We took the cat solely on the basis that we could give it back if there were problems.

John_Mc wrote:

We did not go looking for a cat and have now decided we don't want it.

I'm not trying to give you a lecture, nor am I on a high horse. I'm trying to make you realise what you have already made the commitment to and that you can't just take the cat in and then get rid of it because it doesn't fit into your life/house etc. The cat is not a disposable item. This is the very reason why every shelter in the country is busting at its seams - because people, not just you OP, but too many people don't do the research BEFORE making the commitment of taking an animal into their home.

Hindsight is a great thing, but what you should have done if you knew the cat was being neglected was to contact a local rescue or vet, not take on an animal you are not in a position, for whatever reason, to make a full, 100%, unconditional commitment to, for the rest of its life.

Op, I sincerely hope you can find a practical solution to the issue at hand and that you don't get rid of the cat. It does sound that you have looked after the cat well with regard to food and shelter and I hope that can continue and improve and that you learn to love and accept life with the cat in all other aspects.

On that note, I will leave this discussion because I don't have any additional advice to give you.

DBB

Folks... Will ye lay off on the criticisms please?
The op is trying to remedy the situation, and if we all help them with positive, realistic suggestions, then we're helping them to keep the cat.. Cat wins.
I'm not so sure the criticisms will have the same effect.
So. Please keep on topic now. Helpful posts only.
Thanks,
DBB

El_Duderino 09

Cats scratch for 3 main reasons and each has a different purpose and each will need different approach to extinguish the behaviour.

They scratch the boundary of their territory to mark it visibly by scratching and scratching secretes scent from their paws to tell other cats who's patch they're on. Solution: lots of scratching posts around the house. Particularly at the boundary of their territory. If they're not allowed upstairs then put one at the bottom of the stairs or at the door which acts as their boundary. If you can let them outside then their boundary will move outside which is ideal.

They scratch to stretch and keep their claws healthy. Solution: plenty of scratching posts.

They scratch to relieve frustration. Solution: lots of play and include the scratching posts in the play by running the laser/string onto the scratching posts so the cat pounces and has a good scratch while they're there. Also training where you frustrate them a little bit as part of play by pushing them over/trapping them and when they're a bit worked up pick them up and place them at the scratching post. Let them have a good scratch and then you're all friends again.

This goes with normal training by praise for using the scratching post and correct them then they scratch anything else + redirect them to the scratching post and then praise.


I had great success with the aversion spray stuff. It stinks to humans and it must taste awful for cats. We used it to spray on the area she scratched and redirected her to the scratching post. It only took a few days so it wasn't an ongoing thing. I imagine it was fairly unpleasant for the cat but it got her on the right track quickly so it was a good trade off.

The main thing with cats is to be ruthlessly efficient at correcting the behaviour. You have to correct them immediately and every single time to extinguish the behaviour. Cats are realists and they will learn quickly as long as you're ruthlessly consistently. They're no point correcting a cat 5 seconds after they've stopped scratchingÃ႒¢â‚¬â€¹ because they won't know why they're being corrected. You need to spot them going for the sofa and wait for the first click sound then correct and redirect to the scratching post.

John_Mc

Thanks for the information, very helpful! Which aversion spray did you use? I must get a laser too

El_Duderino 09

You can get it an any pet shop and probably tesco. I just spoke to the pet shop and took the one they suggested. You spray it on the area they scratch so they don't want to scratch it again. Because when they scratch they secrete scent, they go back to the same place again because their scent is already there. Its a feedback loop so you break the loop by overpowering the cat's scent with a new unpleasant scent AND providing an acceptable alternative by redirecting them for to the scratching post. I mean picking them up and plomping them in front of the scratching post with their paws on the post. Our cat got the message almost straight away.

We have a laser and a few balls and fluffy mice with bells inside. I just got a ball of string and tie some string around the toy. What I've found with our cat is that she likes the toys but her favourite is the string itself! Cats like to pounce but hey also like to stalk. So let the laser/string move around casually like a mouse in plane sight so they can stalk it, then move the toy out of her line of sight behind an object and back out into sight again. Cars have more peripheral vision than humans so they are instinctively drawn to something moving in the father of their eye. Include the scratching post in play by getting it to chase the object onto the scratching post.

When they do pounce, don't let them catch it every time but always end playtime with them catching it.

I hope this is helpful. I think this advice is generalisable to cats broadly. In the end, you'll need to create your own language with your cat and that takes time. You need to create rules about what the cat can do and what it can't to and enforce them strictly. You also need to establish that you share the environment between yourself your wife and the the cat but it belongs to you and your wife You can tell the cat to get off the chair/worktop or whatever but she has one or 2 areas that are exclusively hers like her bed and a particular chair and the scratching post or something similar. It takes time to strike up the language between yourself and the cat but you can extinguish the scratching quickly enough.

We don't have children and we don't consider the cat our child. She is part of the family and she's one of my good mates. Like any mates, it takes time to get to know each other and establish the type of relationship you have.

Shivi111

This is a difficult one, my babies were the best at not scratching anything when we had all wooden floors, I then invested in a lovely rug and they were overcome with excitement having never seen carpet before!

We've managed to stop the scratching, so I have a few tips!

Cats scratch for a few reasons, they are stretching, maintaining their claws and scent marking (they have scent glands in their paws) so you need to address all three issues.

For stretching, a tall post is best, and one with a sisal wrap (sisal material not sisal rope) is great for cats who like carpet. You can also get flat ones for on the floor, you'll need to experiment a bit to find the ideal one.

It's important to address the scent marking aspect of the scratching, as the scent marks she has already left are encouraging your cat to go back to scratch at the carpet - clean the areas she focuses on the most with an enzymatic cleaner to remove the scent she has left.

Once you are equipped with new scratching posts etc. you'll need to teach her to use them, making the scratching posts pleasant and carpet scratching unpleasant is the key.

So, any interaction at all with the posts is rewarded, ie, if she sniffs it, walks up to it, scratches it, shows any interest in it - reward her with her favourite treat (small pieces of cooked chicken go down well here) and gentle praise.

Any scratching behaviour with the carpet is a negative experience - you can't (or shouldn't) 'punish' a cat, but they do not like to be startled, I suggest filling a tin can with coins, the minute you see her start to scratch shake the can, she will get a fright and stop scratching -if you do this consistently she will associate scratching the carpet with a noise she does not like and should stop wanting to scratch there.

Cats are pretty smart, she should make the right associations pretty quickly.

Good luck!

kathleen37

Lasers are fantastic. Which reminds me, I have a load sitting that I still need to get new batteries for...

All the cats seem to like them though, so hopefully it will be a winner!