I don't believe in declawing. My cat is usuing all the door frames as a scratching post. What do I do?

Question

I'm afraid to whack him, he might get the furniture then.

I need to say whacking was just a figur of speach, fly swatter works great, he runs when he sees the water gun, never get to squirt him, he knows he's wrong, if he wants outside now and I don't jump, he scratches the door frame, he knows it gets to me.

Thank you for all your great help. Unfortunatly I can't do any of them. When I got him about 4 years ago, he was a full grown stray, and by things he did, you could tell he had never been a pet. He's a very BIG cat. He didn't even know how to jump on my lap, he would crawl up the wheel on my wheelchair, yes wheelchair. Very bad car wreck in 89. my right side is limited mobility. I live alone. I really think I'm stuck, w/his behavior, could be worse. Love him to death.

Answer 1

Ours was big on sneaking around using the sofa in lieu of designated scratchable stuff, despite no catnip on the sofa and a loud NO! every time. (And what a "Yeah, I know, but so what?" look in response to that NO!) We got some 'Feliway' spray the other day, spritzed it on the sofa, and lo! The sofa's now just another bed. Highly recommended.

Answer 2

I'd buy him a scratching post. Or make one yourself. Nail a 4 x 4 post to a 1 - 2 ft square plywood base & cover it all with short-pile carpeting. You could even give him a throw rug or some carpet scraps for this purpose. You can spray or rub some catnip on it, so he'll be attracted to it.
In the meantime, use a spray bottle full of plain water & spray him with it whenever he scratches where he shouldn't. Cats don't like this, but it doesn't harm them.
Good luck.

Answer 3

Never whack a pet or you shouldn't have one! Buy scratching posts, cats need to scratch and pull their claws out of things. It isn't the cats fault, that is what they do. Buy the things made for them and they won't use your door frames.

Answer 4

No don't whack him, he is just doing what is natural. When you have an animal in the house, just like children, you have to make changes to make the environment suitable for that child or animal. There are sprays you can buy that deter them from an area. There are training methods you can learn, so you can teach him. The wood can be filled in with wood putty and re-stained or painted, once you have trained your cat. Don't give up, remember you are trying to teach something that is in their nature. Be patient, try everything you can come up with. Have you thought about placing some scrap carpet on your wood with double sided tape to protect your wood.

Answer 5

We got cat posts that have cat nip in them. Another good way to help stop it is to get a water gun and everytime the cat scraatches the door frames, give him a little squirt. Works very well.

Answer 6

Try using a whistle to startle him, also hang treats & toys from the sctracth tree as near to the post as possible, the higher the tree the further he has to climb. He will soon assosiate the tree with good things.My cat used to climb one of my walls its set on a corner I also rubbed it with lemon juice for about 2 weeks as cats hate citrus usually. She now only jumps on top of the door and usually off is enough to stop her in her tracks. At least she's not destroying my house anymore, so it's a start. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

scratching posts are best. you can also buy cat nip to put on it. there are scratching toys made with card board and everycat ive ever seen loves it..also they are cheap and the cardboard comes out to be replaced. also petsmart carries a product called soft paws and they are little tips that can be put on the cats nails( like when women get there nails done) it doesnt hurt the cat and a vet will even put them on for you they are like 20 dollars and are just glued on. there is also something they sell you can put on the side of furniture and its sticky and the cats hate the feel

Answer 8

If you do not want to declaw him then trim his claws with nail clippers this will work as and is painless to the cat as long as you do not cut them to short and hit the nerves that are at the end of the nail close to the skin. If you want to know exactly how short to go take him to a vet and they will be able to tell you

Answer 9

Does he have a scratching post? You can encourage him to use that (but catnip on it to attract him and pick him up when he's scratching the door and move him to the post). Also keep his nails trimmed to help him not need to scratch as much (he still will, nothing will ever stop it, but this will help). If all this doesn't help, but soft paws on him and even if he scratches the door it won't do any damage.

Answer 10

I agree with you about declawing. You should get at least one scratching post. A light tap on the paws won't hurt him. I have two cats. They both use the two posts we have. They sometimes try to get away with using the furniture but we tap their paws. Also, use the word "no". They will eventually get the idea.