my cat scratches everything HELP what do I do?

Question

okay some of you might have read my other question if not my cat is 8 months and he ALWAYS scratches on the cabinets and door he has destroyed them we have tried everyting we now of squirting with water ,putting scents on the doors and all that cats HATE , taking him to the scratching post which he has three if (wasted my money haha) I dotn know what else to do I am open to trying anything so suggest away please
and for those who did read my last one He STILL did after that bathroom incident :(

and he always does it at noight he hardly does it at all during the day and at night I tend to be on the computer tons and he does it then or when I am in the bed could he just be bored and figured out it gets him attention

Answer 1

Hi Lisa...cats are instinctively curious and to better train them we need to provide an environment that is mentally stimulating for them. Consider first adding a few extra scratching posts/mats with different textures such as cardboard, sisel, carpet and the like scratching posts. Some cats are horizontal scratchers whereas others are vertical so be sure to include both. If your cat is interested in catnip consider rubbing this on all the scratching toys to encourage him to mark (scratch) these. First begin by bringing to those catnip scented scratching toys and when he claws it offer him a tasty reward such as fish flakes: http://www.calvetsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1324 as most cats go crazy for this healthy treat. Therefafter, when and if you can manage to catch him doing this, reward him with the treat. What this does is teach your cat that when he is scratching these toys he's greatly rewarded and it encourages him to earn these yummy and fun rewards.

Cats tend to learn appropriate behaviours quicker with positive rewards because they discover they are getting what they want by their own actions without human intervention.

In the mean time consider using double-side sticky tape (packing tape works great and is very tacky) as cats dislike having their paws stuck to the tape and soon learn to avoid areas that are unpleasant, which is more beneficial than a water bottle squirt since you can't always be there to supervise your cat.

To further help discourage inappropriate clawing consider trimming your cat's nails often and use a glue-on nail adhesive product called SoftPaws http://www.softpaws.com to soften the sharp nails.

Here's an instructional video on how to trim cats claws by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for Feline Health: http://www.felinevideos.vet.cornell.edu/trimming_claws/full_movie.shtml

Answer 2

Cut His Nails & Teach Him Some Manners. Whenever He Is About To Scratch Anything, Pull him Out Of The House For About Ten Minutes. You Can Also Knit Him Walking Shoes. Hopefully, He Will Get So Annoyed And Hyper That The Habbit Will Be Soon Forgotten. ;P.

Good Luck!
Babemagnetz.

Answer 3

My two cats don't do any of that--never did. If they did, I would walk them over to their scratching posts and make them scratch it by motioning how to scratch the posts with their claws in my hands. If that didn't work I would consider putting Cayenne pepper there. One accidental whiff as I am seasoning food is guaranteed to make me sneeze. I try to think of only natural substances (not commercial chemicals.) Also consider laying a grapefruit or orange rind at the base of where kitty scratches. Apparently they do not like citruis.

Answer 4

Have you tried a pepper spray? Cat's absolutely hate the stuff and it worked for our cat. He used to scratch our couch but a week using the spray (once daily on the bad areas) he doesn't even think twice

Answer 5

Get a squirt bottle and fill it with water. Every time you catch the cat starting to scratch spray it. it doesn't take long to break them. i have a cat who is now 20 and if i just squirt in the air she lays down.

Answer 6

When my cats start scratching furniture I trim their claws with finger nail clippers. It takes the sharp tip off and they don't seem to have the need to scratch anymore.

Answer 7

clip his nails and put a scent of something they dont like but u do like on the things he sccratches he wont go near them and get hima scrathcing post

Answer 8

I have heard that black pepper can help and a citrus spray can be used as both non toxic to cats!

Answer 9

try gettin wall scratchers. you can get cats stracher things that yo stick to the wall one in each room take your cat to it everyday for a week x

Answer 10

Don't get it declawed, its inhumane. You can get nail caps that are easy to apply and that work, I think called soft paws.