HELP I'm at my wits end!

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abacat

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Abby has developed a nasty new habit. She has started scratching our walls (think nails on a chaulkboard). Now a couple of months ago this would have been annoying but not such a big deal, but now it's huge. We just spent a small fortune having our house repainted and now she is scratching them up.
She has six scratchers in the house so it's not like she has no where to scratch.
I know that she is probably stressed out right now, we are moving so we've had people in and out of the house for the last two months getting the house ready and having people look at it.
My husband is furious and I have no idea what to do. He is making noises about giving up the cat (not going to happen but still).
Any ideas on how to get her to stop would be great.

Thanks.
 
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beandip

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Some cats like to scratch vertical things, some horizontal. It sounds like Abby is a vertical scratcher. Are any of her scratchers vertical? If not, I would suggest that. The secret would be to offer her something comparable to or better than the wall.

A lot of my cats like to scratch bare unfinished wood. A good sturdy homemade post would be worth a try IMO...and it's a cheap fix too.
If it's nice and sturdy it will be more attractive to her.

I would also clip her claws. Soft paws would be an idea too, like pee-cleaner said.
 
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abacat

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I had thought of that. She has a vet appointment tomorrow and I was thinking of having them put some on her. Even if they last just until we move. There is no way I can do it myself. She will not tolerate me even clipping her nails (It's at least a two person job and has to be done over a few tries).
 
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abacat

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Originally Posted by beandip

Some cats like to scratch vertical things, some horizontal. It sounds like Abby is a vertical scratcher. Are any of her scratchers vertical? If not, I would suggest that. The secret would be to offer her something comparable to or better than the wall.

A lot of my cats like to scratch bare unfinished wood. A good sturdy homemade post would be worth a try IMO...and it's a cheap fix too.
If it's nice and sturdy it will be more attractive to her.

I would also clip her claws. Soft paws would be an idea too, like pee-cleaner said.
Click to expand...
she does have three vertical ones, one angled one and two flat ones.

I am going to get her a tall sisal post once we get settled but for now it would be just one more thing to pack.

Maybe she is reacting to the stress, or maybe she doesn't like the color.
 
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feral65

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Originally Posted by Abacat

Abby has developed a nasty new habit. She has started scratching our walls (think nails on a chaulkboard). Now a couple of months ago this would have been annoying but not such a big deal, but now it's huge. We just spent a small fortune having our house repainted and now she is scratching them up.
She has six scratchers in the house so it's not like she has no where to scratch.
I know that she is probably stressed out right now, we are moving so we've had people in and out of the house for the last two months getting the house ready and having people look at it.
My husband is furious and I have no idea what to do. He is making noises about giving up the cat (not going to happen but still).
Any ideas on how to get her to stop would be great.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Build a natural scratch post out of an old piece of firewood or just a branch from a tree that has fallen in your yard. The more bark, the better. All you need to do is nail the scrap wood to a flat board that you can then wedge under a door for more stability (like a door-stopper). Cats love it and will go for it first, hopefully then forgetting about that spot on your wall that they started scratching at before....
 
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jen

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I agree on buying some Soft Claws. If she has never had them on before, she will probably rip a few off right away. But you can just put new one's back on.
 
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