How do I keep my cat from ripping apart the carpet outside my bedroom door in the morning?

Question

We lock him out because he won't stop playing on the bed and bothering us in the morning, while we are trying to sleep. He has decided that in order to get our attention he will sit outside the bedroom door and meow, as well as scratch the hell out of the carpet and door. Anyone have any good solutions for this? I've thought about putting him in his portable crate when he does it, but I know he would cry a lot.

Answer 1

Put a rubber mat over the area that he's been scratching, with the knobby underside up, or cover one side of a piece of cardboard or plywood with double-sided sticky tape and place that over the areas he's scratching to deter him from scratching that area. And/or try a remote deterrent device: a Ssscat deterrent device placed near your door at night may help too - you can find them at Petsmart stores or online http://www.ssscat.com

Cats are nocturnal (active at night) by nature. You'll need to work to 'reset' his schedule so he'll be active during the day & quiet at night. Make sure he has plenty to keep him occupied during the day - this link has great suggestions:
http://www.catclinicofroswell.com/faq/detail.aspx?faqid=3

Every evening, set aside some time for a good play therapy session: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=playtherapyforcats
Follow the play session with a nice, filling meal of a high-quality canned cat food (see http://www.catinfo.org/ for information on choosing a good canned food). That will help to mimic the natural activity of hunting and feeding, which should help him to sleep. If you don't want him in the room with you, provide him with some nice soft cat beds of his own (piles of soft towels will work well too) up on top of some furniture- cats prefer to sleep up on things to feel safer.

Make sure that you aren't unintentionally encouraging his nightime antics by getting up & playing with him, talking to him, petting him, feeding him, or even yelling at him - it's all attention. DO NOT open the door for him when he cries, no matter how persistent he is. Giving up & opening the door for him after he cries persistently (even if it's to spray him with water) just teaches him to be more persistent. Expect him to be VERY persistent about it for a while until he finally figures out it isn't getting him anywhere. To help you sleep while he's learning crying doesn't work, you can either try sleeping with some soft foam earplugs from the drugstore so you won't hear him, or set up a vacuum cleaner near your bed, where you can reach the switch from your bed, and plug it in. If he bothers you at night or starts yowling or scratching at the door, switch on the vacuum cleaner for a moment. The 'vacuum monster' coming to life should discourage him from bothering you - he should make the connection pretty quickly. If you want to try letting him sleep with you but don't want him to pester you while you're trying to sleep, the vacuum trick should help for that as well.

Here's an article about excessive nocturnal activity in cats:
http://www.asah.net/behavior_topics_49.htm

This link has information about the needs of an indoor cat - making sure all of his mental and physical needs are met will help to make him a better companion:
http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/indoorcat

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I had a similar problem with my cat scratching the sofa and carpet. I found a web site that sells soft paws which are vinyl claw covers which you just glue on, i have found them great and they definetly work and stop the cat being able to scratch things. I have just put the covers on the front claws which works fine and they stay on for upto eight weeks at a time. The web site is www.spuk.com or www.softclaws.com Give them a try im sure you will be pleased with the out come. Whatever you do don't get the cat declawed. If he is waking you up on a morning he may be hungry so why not invest in an automatic pet feeder and set it to feed your cat early morning then hopefully he will not wake you to early.

Answer 3

De-clawing is awful, it is amputation.
Teach him to use a scratching post, also those cardboard scratching pads are great put the cat nip right in the cracks of the cardboard... I taught my kittens to scratch the posts and cardboard by placing them on the post and cardboard every time the scratched... they need to be shown where to do this as this is a natural instinct for them to scratch anywhere... be patient... I also scratch on the post and cardboard to show them... you could also train him to use the scratch post by using a clicker treat system.. every time he scratches the post or cardboard click the clicker and give the treat right away, eventually he will learn this is the accepted behavior. Put the cardboard scratcher outside your door for him to scratch. Oh, if he meows and scratches do not give the treat..only treat when he scratches only. He obviously wants in with you guys at night... you could try the crate but first let him get used to it during the day leave it open during the day for him to come and go..put his favorite things in there..put an article of clothing with your sent on it in the crate... then maybe he will settle in the crate and feel secure... not too sure if any of that helps as all cats are different... I hope it is something you can try anyway, it would not harm. Good luck.

Answer 4

Just open the door and feed him. There is no other way I'm sorry. Locking him out or locking him in the crate is a torture for a cat. They don't understand why! My cat wakes us up in the morning because he wants food, once he is fed he goes back to sleep or just cuddles up next to me and waits for me to wait up. Sometimes we use an automatic feeder, which opens early in the morning so that we don't have to wake up to feed him!
If the problem is the damage to the carpet, not that he cries, just put a mat there so that he can scratch it freely.
Declawing is very bad, it is mutilation of the entire finger. And it causes worse problems, apart from the torture and pain, like stopping the use of litterbox and starting to bite people. Check out www.softpaws.com
too, they sell claw caps which are easy to use and remove if you want to.

Answer 5

My cats do that all the time. We usaully spray them with a spray bottle. They are so used to being sprayed by it that all we do is put the spray bottle in front of our door and they won't even come near it. I love them to death but that stuff is annoying at 3:00 in the morning. I suggest you get a cat repelent. You can find different varieties of it at either your local Feed and Grain store, Pet-Co or Pet Smart. Or like one person responded, use pepper. But please don't resort to getting your kitty decalwed. He wants to play at his time not your's. It come's with the territory sometimes when you own a cat. Some cats are just like that.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

One possibility: do you feed him in the morning or is he free fed? If he gets breakfast whenever you wake up, he may just be hungry and trying to move things along.

Another possibility: does he have toys outside of the bedroom to occupy his time? He may be bored, try attaching a "cat dancer" to your door knob.

If it's a kitten, don't worry this behavior will most likely dissapate with age.
Please don't have him declawed, it's cruel.

Answer 7

I would suggest taking him to the vet and getting his claws clipped and then capped so he cannot scratch or tear up anything. If his claws are capped then it will keep his claws from getting sharp which will in turn save your carpet and your doors. Good Luck!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Do not declaw the cat..if he ever gets out of the house, hell have no way of defending himself.

The sell a spray that is oderless to humans. Cats hate it, so just spray it down where you dont want him to be.

On the reverse they sell a cat nip spray. Spray that where you dont mind him so he has somewhere else to go.

Answer 10

At your local pet store, in one of the cat aisles, you can find cardboard scratch boxes. They're really cheap. You may also be able to find one that you can hang from your door knob.