Any ideas how (apart from declawing) I can stop my cat plucking & shredding the carpets during the night?

Question

My 9 year-old cat is terrible for plucking everything in the house! I've had him for 3 years and he's always done so but it seems to be getting worse - especially at night. He uses a litter tray and for half an hour afterwards he plucks frantically at the surrounding carpets with both front paws, he sits at the windows and plucks at all the curtains, he shreds the wallpaper in my study... How can I break this habit as it's ruining my house?

My 9 year-old cat is terrible for plucking everything! I've had him for 3 years and he's always done so but it seems to be getting worse, especially at night. He uses a litter tray and for half an hour afterwards he plucks frantically at the surrounding carpets with both front paws, he also sits at windows and plucks at the curtains, he shreds the wallpaper... How can I break this habit as it's ruining my house?

After looking through the current answers, I feel I should clarify some things: I am not new to owning cats and already have scratching posts and a cat flap (but he doesn’t like going outside); he is not shut in one room overnight but does prefer being near me; he is a very nervous rescue cat who won't let me pick him up so clipping his claws or putting anything over them is out of the question; I am utterly opposed to the practice of declawing; he is not attracted to catnip; citrus sprays have no effect; and he's not especially deterred by sticky tape or sheets of plastic!

Answer 1

Put the cat out for the night. Or invite the cat in to your bed.
Sounds like he/she must get lonely at night.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

It's pretty much a natural thing for cats to start clawing things up. And though it's annoying, it helps them reduce the excess cuticles from its claws.

Try building a clawing post with a few simple materials. The best and cheapest ones you can find around the house is to use a piece of wood, about 2 or 4 inch diameter and just high enough for the cat to reach the tip for a good stretch (about 12 to 20 inches at the most). Wrap the stick with some hemp ropes around it tightly (or anything similar, just not plastic rope), nail it upright with a sturdy wooden base and add a touch of catnip around the rope. Then make another one, this time without catnip.

The catnip will act as a trainer and it'll drive cats crazy (in a good way) and will have a blast clawing on the small post. Let the cat have its way with the post for 20 minutes then replace it with the regular scaratching post. It helps with my two cats at my place.

Answer 4

Clip the cats claws once a week be sure to not trim them too far just get the claw and not any of the cuticle or the pink fleshy part in the claw base. Also get a scratching post and place it in your house somewhere that the cat likes to be. Also place a mat or a couple mats under and around the litter box so that if the cat does tear them up it doesn't matter as much as tearing up a nice carpet. I am glad that you aren't considering declawing the cat it would be hard on the cat at it's age and at any age it is mean.

Answer 5

My cats used to do this. They completely ruined a lovely wool rug before I finally figured out that they just needed their nails clipped. I use human nail clippers, and talking to my cats the whole time, I gently cut their nails, making sure I only trim the top part and never, never cut into the area where you can see a vein running though their claw.
They don't mind it at all now, though they were very suspicious to start with. Sit at a table, lay the cat's back on the table and part-way on your arm, so they're snuggled into you.. Hold their paw so the claw fans out and trim away. Don't pull their arms and if they struggle a lot, let them go and try again a little later. Beofre long, they won't even notice you're trimming their claws. Mine sure don't.
If you can't bring yourself to trim the claws, get yourself a little water pistol, and every time you see them scratching the carpet or furniture, give them a short squirt. This really works, but you must be persistent.
You could also get a scratching post.

Answer 6

Deterrents like double-sided tape on the surfaces they scratch on as well as tinfoil.
Ask your neighbours for pieces of cut-off rope if they have it, take come carpeting and make a scratchpost..
An extra piece of carpeting left over is normally around - a nice LONG piece that allows your cat a full stretch. You can make a scratching post.. Just nail a piece of 2 x 4 board to an inch-thick square base and cover both pieces with a carpet remnant (tightly woven pile is best). You can even use a tree branch or a board angled against a wall and secured so it won't fall over. Make the post a fun place to be by placing toys on or around it, or by rubbing it with catnip, and put it in an accessible area.
Scratching pads are also available, it's cardboard and really cheap, those also work well. Cats like rough surfaces that they can shred to pieces. Rub catnip or valerian onto it.
Use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make her former scratching sites less agreeable to her.
Every time she uses it correctly. that's when you give her praise.

It take some patience though, but it's very do-able and they work. WIth all the alternatives, all it takes it the caring of the owner to use these alternatives and not maim the cat for what they naturally do.

Training does not happen overnight, and only costs consistency. And the love to teach them not aputate parts electively.

Spraying with citrus oils on the surfaces.
Covering surfaces with tinfoil or double-sided tape
Getting scratching posts and every time kitty scratches, putting them on there.
A tin with a few coins to rattle when they do scratch
A water-spray also works well.

And all these are still cheaper than the surgery.
If you do go for surgery, ask your vet to have you there, and that you'd like to see the cat in the recovery cage, womething they don't generally let the owners see - I doubt you will do that to a cat again. Generally after they 'recover' and are given meds is the first time owners see their cats, therefore they think it's all fine.

The cat can then never groom properly again since parts are only accessible with claws. That also controls its body temperature, its scent signals, skin irritations
The cat will very likely have or form aggression issues.
Not to mention secondary infections
Your cat your will then also be susceptible to back problems, arthritis, joint problems and other foot problems that he would not otherwise face – because declawing results in a gradual weakening of the back, shoulder and leg muscles? Did the vet mention that cats walk on their toes, not the pads of their feet, and declawing forces them to walk in an unnatural way?
They will not be able to defend themselves against dogs and will not be able to get away from dogs (we had such a case here on Yahoo, proven fact that cat jaws and hind legs are no match for a dog's jaws).
Most likely there will be litterbox problems.
It's mostly a USA thing to declaw cats - why do you think almost the rest of the civilised world has outlawed it?

Answer 7

We have three house cats - 2 are scratchers.
They have an adventure scratching post covered in carpet and still they prefered the rugs till we discovered cardboard boxes from the supermarket. One cat needed to be enticed with cat nip, but now they shred the base of the boxes to pieces and leave the carpet alone.
They aren't allowed to stay in the living room during the night - two curl up at the end of my bed and the other sleeps on a chair. Also turfed out of living room whenever we go out.
When you catch your cat scratching where he shouldn't have a water pistol or spray bottle handy and give him a quick burst of water spray. They usually get the message after a fairly short time.

Answer 8

Your cat sounds just like mine. I had moved into a brand new bungalow and my cat had started to ruin my new carpets. I bought one scratching post which she ignored totally, although I smothered it with catnip and moved it all round the house wherever she clawed. I have now ended up with mats covering all points where she claws to protect the carpet and a few more scratching posts at strategic places. She's now running out of places to scratch except on the mats I bought for the purpose, so although I'm protecting the main carpets, I haven't been able to break her of the habit. Possibly its due to the fact that I haven't any trees around, because my previous cats where I used to live always sharpened their claws on the tree bark.

Answer 9

One thing to do is you could put a cheap carpet of the same texture of the one he's clawing at. At least then he's not ruining the good stuff. Also talk to the vet about the change in behavior, especially since he's getting older. Look into trimming his nails or using Soft Paws to lessen the damage (a vet can do this for a small fee-since he's skittish and won't let you do it). Good luck!

Answer 10

have you thought of trying to put a carpet remnant under the box, with plenty of it exposed when the box is on it, so as to give it somewhere it is okay to do the kneading it's doing? I know it's not trying to do wrong to you, they haven't the capacity for much other than an occasional pile left in the shoes, or on the person who they're upset with's side of the bed. They don't know they're destroying your house and have no concept of right or wrong. So, breaking an ingrained behavior after such long tolerance will be nigh impossible, but you ought to be able to re-direct it. Mine still loves the smell of rubber enough that it shreds any new throw rug with a rubber back that I bring home, as well as attacking the bottoms of my sandals, etc. She's getting better about my carpeting but only because I gave her somewhere it was okay to ruin rubber, and try to be more observant and catch her in time to distract her from doing it to things which I haven't given her. Not saying it will work, but you sound like me in that, if it won't hurt the animal to try, and it might help, you care enough to put in the effort. It can't hurt, and has helped me somewhat. I took in my cat, so I have to keep it because I signed on for it, and I have to be a good daddy and not traumatize it for something it does which I don't like. You come across like someone with similar ideas of responsible pet ownership. Oh, do your curtains have rubber backing? Swapping them out for ones with a less attractive (?) odor might fix that if the smell is what the cat is drawn to, and cats live by their noses as much as dogs do. Good luck, and feel free to let me know how you made out.

Answer 11

Unfortunately I think your cat is too old to have him de-clawed, that should be done when they are very young.

So, what you can do is clip his claws yourself, you need to be very careful though, hold his paw and press the pad his claws will come out and clip the white part, be very careful not to cut the pink part or he will bleed. Use very shart clippers, you don't want them splitting, it needs to be a clean cut, you can also file them if he will let you, just make sure you don't touch the pink part of the claw!

Your other alternative is get him a scratching post, the reason he is clawing things is he is trying to files his claws down because they are bothering him, all you need to do is get the sharp points off of them to prevent the damage to your house.