Door Scratching

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the site - I'll post pics of my kitty, Smudge, later. Right now I have a large behavioural problem that I need help with.

We've had him for about 2 months now. He's about a year old, and is neutered. We got him from someone who had rescued him from outside. He had the tip of his tail frozen off, as well as the tips of his ears. Apparently, his previous owners got tired of him, and just let him go outside. He'd meow at their door for days.

I'm allergic to cats, so we've been keeping Smudge out of our room to minimize my reactions to him. He apparently has a huge problem with this. At approximately 4:00 every morning, he will start scratching at our door, and messing around with it so it bangs in the door jamb (it's not the best fitting door). We've tried spraying him with water and disciplining him like you would a dog (which is probably the wrong approach). We've tried ignoring him, figuring that if he doesn't get any attention from doing it, he'll stop (like with a small child). We tried feeding him at night in case it was a food issue. Last night we wrapped the bottom of the door with tinfoil, hoping it would scare him away.

Nothing has worked. My fiance is getting really irritated, because he hasn't been sleeping well at all. I've gotten slightly more used to it, but it still needs to stop. I really need help here guys! I've never had this problem before when I've owned cats (but I've never had to keep them out of my room before, since my allergy is an adult allergy).

I'm open to any and all ideas!

Is there another room you can confine him in at night? So he doesn't have access to your bedroom door. Then close both doors. And put some cardboard or poster board on the side that he scratches to save the finish.

I takes a cat quite a while to get the message that his scratching for attention isn't going to get a response. But eventually, he'll get the message and stop. Been there, done that.

Get a large, flat piece of cardboard and cover one side with double-sided tape or self-stick shelf liner placed on the board sticky-side up. Each night place the board, sticky side up on the floor in front of your bedroom door. Make sure the board is large enough so that the cat can't get to the door without stepping on the board. Because cats HATE sticky stuff on their paws, she is very unlikely to mess with the door as long as the board is in place.

And let's hope you don't need to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and forget that it's there!!

or turn your vaccum on, park it outside your door. Run the plug under your door and lay the plug near an outlet. When the cat starts scratching, plug the machine in only for a second. Then unplug it. Guarantee your cat will not want in your bedroom while the sentry is at the door.

Originally Posted by hissy

Guarantee your cat will not want in your bedroom while the sentry is at the door.

Click to expand...

Gotta admit it....that's a pretty good one!!

<he said, quickly noting and filing for future reference>