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Bad cat behavior, please help

post #1 of 5
12/1/10 at 1:28pm
Thread Starter 
I moved in with my grandparents recently.

My mom's 3 cats live there.

They are pretty much outdoor cats, they don't like coming in the house, except to eat.

Well, they have ruined the doorframe and the door, and my grandparents are furious and threatening to take them to the shelter.

And I mean RUINED.

They climb the doorframe when they want in.

Spraying them with water does not help.
Swatting them with rolled newspaper doesn't help.
I suggested they get double sided tape to put on the doorframe, so we're trying that.

Do you have any suggestions??

I can't get nail caps for them because they are 90% outdoor cats and we don't have leash laws on dogs so dogs often come in our yard and chase the cats.
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post #2 of 5
12/1/10 at 2:10pm
Can you install a cat flap on a door for them? That would be the easiest solution.
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post #3 of 5
12/1/10 at 2:20pm
Please don't spray them with water or swat them with newspaper- NOT a good idea.

They are scratching leaving their mark on the place they call home. Perfectly normal behavior and hard to stop because it is instinctual. You can try spraying the area with Feliway Spray to neutralize it, but the best thing to do is to provide them with another scratching post in the immediate area and retrain them to scratch there. Make sure you get a hardwood post, not a carpeted one- tree branches or logs work quite well. Positive reinforcement given (treats etc) when they are scratching on the alternate post, and gently removing them from the area where they are scratching on the main house or doorframe. Clicker training works really well for this.
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post #4 of 5
12/2/10 at 2:25am
Getting a cat flap put in will solve the problem.
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post #5 of 5
12/2/10 at 4:00pm
It's normal behavior for cats to scratch to leave their scent. It could also mean that the cats are not given easy entry to the house. My cats are outdoor and they have not scratched any door or door frames. I have a cat flap and there's usually a door opened (back and side) so they can go in and out any time they want.
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