Scratching

My cat is approximately nine months old. She is a wonderful companion. Generally she restricts her scratching to her scratching post. However, it seems that whenever she wants my attention (ie, if I'm studying) she will either scratch at my closet doors lightly (so as to make a sound as if someone is running their nails down a chalkboard), dig her nails into my boxspring mattress and pull them out making a "plucking" noise or she'll scratch at the cover of my stereo speakers. Occaisionally she'll jump up on my shelves and begin pulling books down or she'll scratch at the wall.
If I tell her "NO", she will generally stop...until I stop looking at her. If I use a squirt bottle she'll stop...until I stop looking at her.
Does anyone have any suggestions or am I doomed to study according to my cat's timetable?

Well, with the scratching, you may try getting another post for her and keep it where this usually happens. It sounds like she is doing this to get your attention. If the clawing keeps up, you can try the soft paws until she grows out of this. Usually they settle down when they hit a year old. So the kitten stage lasts ahwile. You could also try putting a basket of toys in the room, throw a toy out on the floor for her when she does this. Hope this helps!!

Sounds like you have a very active cat! She's young and she needs a lot of action and attention. Have you tried setting up special times for interactive play? If she needs a lot, then maybe you should do this twice a day, for half an hour or so. Use the fishing rod toy and try to move it around as if it was a mouse, hiding between stuff and occasionally darting around the room. When you feel she's tired, give her something to eat and she'll probably fall asleep. You could try doing this before your study time.

Another option is to adopt another cat her age (or a bit younger) that will keep her busy. Like we always say, 2 cats is easier than one!

Best of luck in your studies and I hope we'll see you around!