Help me with my cat?

Question

How can i stop my cat from ripping my wall paper on the corners of my walls. i've caught her on her back legs with her front legs on each side of the corner ripping away she has a scratch pole what more can i do ?

Answer 1

Ahhhh...the million dollar question! Well, you are lucky that it is just the corners, mine has destroyed my "kitty boarder in her room" (it's a divider boarder between the top and bottom wallpaper). NOW, for YOUR problem...If it is only the corners, I would purchase acrylic clear corner protectors and install asap. Last time I checked they were reasonable as far as cost. Fairly easy to install...Just cut with a utility knife, if you don't have a drill to pre-drill the holes...use a REAL SMALL nail or screw at first and work your way up to the regular size nail so that it does not split. It's been awhile since I looked at these. They may come already cut and pre-drilled. ALSO.....If the "area" is larger than these cover, you can use plexi-glass instead! Just get a light weight piece(soooo much easier to cut and cheaper!). You'll also need the proper tool to cut this (some hardware stores will cut them for your desired size). I found my supplies at Menard’s when I was building cages for my Degu's and my local True Value offered cutting when purchased there. Here again, you will need to be careful nailing so that it does not split. You can also screw onto the wall...which may be better so she can't pull it down. Also you will need to lightly sand the outside corners so they are not sharp!!!
Wishing you the best of luck! The things we do for our kids(pets)!*rolls eyes* LOL! TRUST ME...I've done numerous modifications for mine. Now please tell me how to get my dog to stop pulling my bottom wallpaper & boarder off the walls and eating it, along with the drywall?! LOL!!! I know...tabasco sauce. Another ideal for you is to get a squirt bottle (one that shoots a stream long distances) and use it when you see her scratching on your wallpaper. This worked with one of my cats when he was chewing on electrical cords....He actually LIKED the tabasco sauce!!!! You can buy her all the scratching polls/posts/etc on the market, but for some reason she has chosen your wallpaper! Hope you get some replies here that will work for you! Also, THANK YOU for taking the approach that you have with this problem! I’m a HUGE animal lover, unfortunately a lot of pet owners would just beat their pet instead of looking for a solution. BIG HUG!!!!! =^..^=

Answer 2

This sound familiar. My cat did this and then maged to get claw marks in my paper at my head height by trying to climb the wall.
My cats love catnip so i kept rubbing catnip into the scratching post and i also purchased another just so that she had an option, this stopped most of the corner scratching. so to stop it completely i placed a peice of clear plastic over the area that she was scratching, she couldn't work out what i had done and then lost interest. in the area totally.
Now my wallpaper is fine and she uses the scratching posts.

The corner of the wall looked a bit weird for a while but it worked and so much better than ripped wallpaper.

Answer 3

There's a few things you can try.
Put the scratch post were she's scratching.
To try and stop her scratching in that area altogether, try putting double sided sticky tape on the wall, she won't like her paws sticking to it.
Rub lemon juice on the area, cats don't like citrus.
Encourage the use of the scratch post, praise and pet her if she uses it. Try putting CatNip around or on it to entice her to it, or try giving treats if she uses it.
Associate the scratch post with good things and the wall with getting nothing.
In some respects it's like with children, they do something bad for attention.
Another alternative maybe she doesn't like or find the scratch pole doesn't do the job it should, try a new post.
Final alternative, change you wall covering!!!!!

Answer 4

Cover her scratch pole in paper! This is obviously the substance she likes to scratch so you're going to have to make the scratch post more attractive to her by covering it with wallpaper. You might need to take off whatever is covering the post at the moment, you need to make it as like the wall as possible.

Put the scratch post in front of the wall she has been scratching and when you catch her again, take her paws of it with a sharp 'no' and place her paws on the papery scratch post. If you do this consistently she should get the message. You can also put cat nip or feiway spray on the post to encourage her on to it.

Chalice

Answer 5

Scratch post were designed to make money for pet shops. Kitty would be happy with a piece of carpet attached to the wall, in the corner she chooses. You could also cover a piece of thick cardboard with a spare piece of the wallpaper.
Whatever you do, never declaw a cat. It's a cruel and unnecessary thing to do, and anyway a happy cat is better than a beautiful wall with untouched wallpaper.

Answer 6

Well, your cat has obviousally chosen her favorite thing to scratch. Cats scratch things like walls, furnature, and carpet because it feels good on their toes. Basically what they're trying to do when they scratch things is streach their toes out a little bit.

The best thing you can do is to try and make her scratching post more appealing for her to scratch on. Try rubbing catnip on it, or putting her favorite toy on it.

If that doesn't work, then you can always try to fix it so that when she does scratch on her corner of the wall, she isn't ruining the wallpaper. A piece of an old rug, or a scrap of old carpeting would be ideal for this. Figure out a way to fix it to the wall where she scratches. That way when she scratches the wall, there will be something more comfortible than sheetrock for her to scratch, and she wont be distroying your wall.

Just remember, she is a cat, and scratching things is in her nature. She does it because it feels good, and you can't stop her from doing it. So, if you can't make her stop, but you can't live with her scratching, then the best thing you can do is compromise with it.

Answer 7

either move the s/pole were it is scratching OR
do what I do, mine scratched the paper & the top of the stairs when she ran up, so I put the s/post there & got some strong cordroy type carpet it does not cost a lot of money cause your can buy it as a sample size maybe about £1
I folded this aroound the corner or the wall it was scratching & stapled it on. you can buy it in different colours (you usually see it in offices car show rooms etc)
Or buy yourself a carpet tile score along the back with a knife to make it bend better then staple this onto the wall

Answer 8

As well as sharpening her claws, there are scent glands on the paws, so she is also marking it as her own space. If you can spray the place she likes to scratch with some citrus spray, she will avoid that area. I think eucalyptus oil might do the same thing. Just make sure either won't mark the paper.
Can you get hold of some catnip? Sometimes pet shops sell it in stuffed fabric mice. If you can put it near her scratching post, maybe hang it in a little bag off the top, it will make it more attractive to her. Toys hanging there will do the same.
If nothing else works, get a spray bottle with some water in it, and put it on "jet". Then ambush her with it anytime you see her scratching there. She will soon learn that it is associated with the unpleasant experience of getting wet, but it won't hurt, and should stop.

Answer 9

You can buy corner protectors from the big petstores, which will help to protect the wallpaper. - sort of like a perspex corner which fits over the wall.

You could also try adding another cat scratching post and placing it right beside her favourite scratching place ... I also 'dose' my cat scratching posts with a product called 'purr' which I get from ebay ... it makes the posts really attractive to them so that they choose to scratch there rather than the walls or furniture.


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Twofeathers, I used to have a dog that ate the wallpaper and drywall as well...she also used to dig through the carpet. I solved it by installing wooden flooring and wood panelling to a third of the way up the wall, as you say - the things we do for our kids!!

Answer 10

You have to catch her in the act and continually say no as stern as possible when you catch her. If you have carpet in front of the paper then they have spray to deter cats from certain areas for porous surfaces. When you catch her take her to the scratching post to show her where she is supposed to be doing her scratching. You can also buy some cat claw clippers from the pet section and keep her nails trimmed while you are training her. Just be careful to not trim the pink of the nail.