Scratching at the bedroom door at night

I need some serious help. This is getting beyond a joke.

Cedar constantly scratches at our bedroom door at night (he is outside the bedroom with the door closed).

He has been doing it for months and it was usually at 5.30am. I would open the door and he would run away, knowning that he was bad.

I used to let him outside as this is what he wanted but then I realised this was just encouraging the behaviour so I stopped and instead lock him in the bathroom.

Now however he has begun scratching at the door about 4 times a night, between midnight & 6am. This is just stupid!

Last night I tried the turning the vacuum cleaner on from inside the bedroom. Yes that worked and he ran away frightened but it didnt deter him as he always came back hours later.

And no, before someone suggests it, he can not sleep in our room.

I really dont want to have to lock him (and therefore Tipsy) in our bathroom when I go to bed but I am beginning to see no other choice. We have a new baby arriving in Feb who will be sleeping in our room initially... I can not have Cedar's behaviour continuing when he/she arrives. Let alone how my marriage will continue to survive

Any advise or suggestions?

Thanks!

It sounds really frustrating


Ok I did a little search .......... heres what I found ......

Kathy in Ashland, WI suggests putting bubble wrap on the bedroom door to keep cats from scratching at night. In addition, Patricia also suggests using sandpaper or citrus sprays as other options.

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http://www.wpr.org/pets/pettips.htm

Heres another option .....

Rob in Stevens Point, WI suggests putting a fan outside a closed bedroom door and point it so that it blows against the door. Cats tend to hate any blowing in their face, and they might avoid scratching/howling at the door and waking you up! It worked for Rob, and now the cats stay away even though the fan is long gone!

Click to expand...

http://www.wpr.org/pets/pettips.htm

Ugh. My Louie does this too.
If I open the door to scold him, he runs away and just sits some where in the house and yowls for an hour or so....
Then comes back to scratch at the door. So, he gets put into the bathroom with his litter box while I try to sleep. And of course he just insists on making a damn mess.

I haven't had a good nights sleep and a few weeks now because of it.

We had that issue last year. We bought these adhesive strips from the pet store. When they try to scratch their paw will stick a bit. They didn't get hurt at all. Just be careful b/c the paint did come off the door when we removed them.

Is he scratching the door itself? Or the floor around it?

I had the super cat proof my bedroom door....I put double sided tape on the door frame/door itself....and one of those plastic mats under the door. Depending on the fininsh of the door, you can use double sided tape.

I got to the point with Twitch where I wanted to tape her paws together! If it comes to setting up a "kitty room", do you have a large-ish room to set up for the kitties? IMO, they're just going to make louder noise if you set them up in their own room, but it might be a last resort. Other than that, I suggest earplugs for you & DH!

Ya, earplugs might work! They also have this spray stuff that smells terrible and is suppose to repel cats. IMO it repels people too! My cats never went near it though....

Thankyou thankyou thankyou everyone for all your suggestions and I am going to start putting them into action tonight!
I did consider putting a blanket or towel or something at the bottom of the door but didnt think that would work.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Is he scratching the door itself? Or the floor around it?

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scratching the door - arrrgghhh I can just hear the sound now

Nope no room we could set up as a kitty room unfortunatly - only the bathroom. Its far enough from Chris & I too not hear them in the middle of the night but it is closer to Jasmine (and the new babies room) so thats not a great idea, but I will do it if I have to.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Other than that, I suggest earplugs for you & DH!

Click to expand...

can we get small earplugs for a newborn baby as well?

I would say they know a new baby is coming, and since cats always have a negative attitude about change, they are doing a pre-emptive strike for attention.

Do the aversive techniques discussed, but also try to have a pre-bedtime play or petting session, and explain you need your sleep, they can't come in, and soon there will be another person who will love them, won't that be great?

If it's reassurance they need, giving them some will only help.