Please, PLEASE, Help Me!!

frootloop

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A lot of cats just meow when you're closed off in a room they can't get to.... I WISH that was the case here. Socks has been tearing up the carpet in front of the bathroom door and our bedroom door. I am at my wits end with this cat... I have no idea how to make him STOP! He is destroying property that isn't ours! We rent this apartment!!

We keep the bedroom door closed most of the day, but he only tears at the carpet if someone is in there. When I went to bed last night, he started doing it even though my boyfriend was still out in the living room. And he doesn't want to just come into the room with us, either. If he does get to come in (I never let him if he's tearing the carpet, though) he will jump up on the desk, knock over or eat my plants, pull things off of the table, go behind the computer and either play with the wires or pull them out, go behind the TV and to the same thing, and sometimes he tries to get into my snake's cage. These are the reasons WHY we keep the door closed all day.

It started with the bathroom, though. Whenever someone was in there he would meow and scratch at the door. Then he started tearing at the carpet. He doesn't just paw at it, he tries to dig through it. This is the result


Look, he tore it out completely! There's the wooden sub-floor!!


He's started this process in front of our bedroom door as well. It's not as bad, but I still need to find a way to make him stop before it gets worse. This is what it looks like, now:

see the strings?


Here's the other spot in front of the door that he claws more frequently... that brown spot is the sub-floor again

and some of the fibers he pulled out


I've tried making loud sudden noises to scare him off, but he comes back almost immediately. I've tried making angry cat noises to intimidate him but that doesn't work either. He knows that he's not supposed to do it. When I open the door he runs away.... that's also why I haven't been able to do anything physical like scruffing. That probably wouldn't work either, though. It hasn't when I've tried it to make him stop other behaviors.

Can someone please, PLEASE, help me make him STOP??
 

mschauer

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Good grief! He's really doing some damage isn't he?

Unfortunately, some cats just won't tolerate a closed door between them and their humans.

The only suggestion I can think of is to to use Soft Paws. I've never used them but I think they should be effective in stopping the damage.

Do you clip his claws? That would probably help a bit.
 

gayef

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You probably won't be able to make him stop completely, but you can minimize the damage by placing one of those inexpensive welcome mats on the areas where he is scratching - I have two, one in front of each bedroom door (the rest of my house is hardwood or vinyl).

Good luck - I suspect you've lost your security deposit 8-|
 
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frootloop

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The land lord hasn't seen the damage yet, but you know we did >.<"
 

goldenkitty45

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Oh dear - we have a few cats like that - but they don't do the damage - just push the door open and we don't keep plants in the house.

I suggest clipping nails and using Soft Paws. Not sure what to do about the carpet cause you will lose the security deposit to replace that when you move.
 
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frootloop

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Well, since we live in an apartment complex, I don't have any other place to put the plants.

And Socks is so rambunctious you would probably have to sedate him to be able to clip his nails. I don't think it would be possible otherwise, even if you wrap him up in a blanket... you probably wouldn't be able to get him in the blanket at all... But yeah, if you so much as look at his paws he gets defensive.

Where would I get Soft Paws? Would they be more expensive than de-clawing?

I know it's considered inhumane to take away a cat's defenses, but my roommate is really anxious to get Socks declawed, so that his mom will let him bring Sass back to our apartment. She's afraid that he'll hurt her... which he won't... The only thing he's done that may have hurt is pulling out her fur, in his mouth.

But anyway, I'm going to try getting placemats to put down for now, and probably get a cat tree sometime soon. I don't have a problem with him scratching any of our furniture (which he does sometimes) because it's ours. I just don't want him destroying property that we don't own.

Do you think that if we got a kitten he would be occupied by playing with it instead of being destructive? It's an idea we've been tossing around, but no real yes or no decision has been made.
 

cc12

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My cats were doing that when I lived in a house that had carpeting in the cat room. They would scratch under the door. I put a scratching post made of carpet next to the door then I put a welcome mat sized rug and rug pad on the other side of the door. You can get rug pads to put on top of carpet. This can be fixed too by a carpet cleaner. I had it fixed.
If he still does it then get a box a little wider than size of your door and put heavy books in it. You can step over them but he can't move them. He will tear at the box. If you want to take it further you can put three boxes inside of one another and then add the books.

I would make sure to have some things to entertain him in the other room.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by FrootLoop

Where would I get Soft Paws? Would they be more expensive than de-clawing?
Just about anyplace that sells pet supplies (PetCo, PetsMart). You can also Google to find places that sell them online.
 

goldenkitty45

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Even if you get the Soft Paws nail caps you HAVE to trim the nails. I would strongly advise you to have someone show you how to clip nails. Declawing can cause a lot more problems - some cats will start peeing in other places or become fear biters; so declawing is not the answer.

Once you learn to trim nails, you do it once a week or once every other week. I have not met a cat yet that I could not trim their nails in one way or another
 
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frootloop

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Once you learn to trim nails, you do it once a week or once every other week. I have not met a cat yet that I could not trim their nails in one way or another
Want to make a trip to Tennessee? lol

Thank you everyone for your replies. I'll find someone who can teach me how to trim a cats nails without being assassinated, and also try to convince my roommate and his mother not to get Socks declawed.
 

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This may be mentioned in the sticky that was linked earlier. I put the cheap clear plastic carpet runner/protector turned upside down with the pointed part facing up in the area you want them to avoid. You can use double sided carpet tape to hold it in place. Maybe use the bitter apple spray where the electrical cords are. Hope things get better. I too have read where declawing leads to other bad behaviors in some cats.

Some cats just hate closed doors and they have all that pent up energy. Vet told us once to just try to tire them out in the evenings and not let them nap before bed. Then feed them a good snack or meal. They should be too tired to do anything but sleep.
 
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frootloop

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The upside down carpet runner sounds like a good idea...

as for the bitter apple spray, I have a feeling that he'd like that rather than being repelled by it =/ He's pretty strange, even for a cat.
 

karmasmom

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I don't have any more advice on the kitty issue, whats been said is great.

I do have some advice on the carpet and security deposite issue. Look up the laws in your state for renters and also call your management company. Usually after so long they have to replace the carpet no matter what and it does not effect the deposite. For us in San Diego its 2 years. If you stay in a place longer than that they hafe to replace it and not charge the tenents. We were in our old place for 5 years and were very worried because of cigarette burns, stains and damage from the cat(she was also illegal there) When we moved we found out that we did not have to worry because we had been there so long they had to replace it any way. We got our full deposite back. So find out how long you need to stay there and try to make sure you stay past that time.
 

captiva

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I find those sticky sheets (like Sticky Paws) really worked for Megan
 

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My cats did that to the border around my door. It's clawed up pretty badly, but I stopped them by clipping their nails so they didn't do as much damage, and kitty-proofing my room so they could come in. Now that they're allowed in they aren't as desperate to get in at other times.
I'm so glad you aren't going to declaw. Soft paws are a great idea. I've found (at least with my own cats and other cats whose nails I've clipped) that taking things slowly and being gentle works better than being forceful. Of course there are some cats that simply won't tolerate it and might need to be wrapped up to do it. Fortunately I haven't had that happen so far.
Good luck with everything!
 

xocats

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Call, make an appointment with a groomer or vet and have you cat's nails clipped. Watch when they do it....

You must cover the areas that have been scratched.
Also, buy some inexpensive cat trees or the cardboard kind.
Rub catnip on them.

If you declaw, you might end up with drastic behavior issues...
litter box problems being one of the worst.
This would be a tragedy.
 
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