Cats digging up new carpet

Hello all

I've been recommended this forum by a fellow cat lover so I hope someone can help!

I've recently moved into a new flat with new carpets. The cats have their litter tray and food in the bathroom and can also get into the hall at night.
They (although I think I know which one it is) have recently started digging at the carpet outside my bedroom in the night. If it goes opn much longer I'm goign to need a new carpet

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have though about putting a mat or rug or somethign outside my door but I think that'll look a bit odd.

THanks for your help in advance.

By the way, they do have 2 scratching posts which they are pretty good at using.
The door is also right next to where their beds are so I don't really want to put down any deterent smelly stuff.

I've had a look at the help post about this. Maybe I'll try something like bubble wrap for a bit.

Rosie started doing that a while ago, but i got them one of those horse hair foot mats and they pull their claws on that.

I coudl try getting one of them and putting it in the hall but I'm not sute it would work that well, they already have a scratchign post in the hall and I think they are scratching at the door to get in.

They don't scratch the carpet anywhere else.

I would try and get a small mat like the one i've described then and lay it wheres being scratched.

My two have a scratching post as well and they never touch it I've sprayed it with cat nip and still nothing!.

I take it that your cats are shut out of the room at night? Tibby did this when I had to keep him out of the room and he often does it when he fancies going down stairs in the morning! (I keep all my kitties in my room at night)

I have a carpet runner, cut to shape to fit the whole door area and this protects the carpet thoroughly! These can be bought in all sorts of colours, so you can coordinate it with your decor! They are also a LOT chepaer to replace than a full carpet!

Yes, a few good ideas. I'll think about the runner idea na dmaybe get a scratching mat.

Really I want to try to stop them doing it rather than let them do it on replaceable stuff.

Thanks for the help.

Could you not let them in the room at night? This would stop it instantly!

(all three of my cats have an opposition to closed doors!)

I remember laughing my butt off when i read something that Hissy wrote on TCS once about keeping your cats from digging at a closed door....she said to put the sweeper outside the door near where the cats will be coming to "dig" and leave it so that it can be turned ON by plugging and unplugging it (I actually had to wedge a nail in a bit to hold the button down on mine), and run the cord under the door in to the room where you`ll be. As soon as the digging begins you reach over and plug it in!!! If you cats are at all like mine it will only take a few times.
I did yell "NO!" through the door first, (knowing it would`nt do any good at first) and then when it did`nt, I plugged in the sweeper. Now if they try it once in awhile, all i have to do is yell "NO!" and they`ll stop....thinking that the next second the sweeper is going to start screaming at them.
Also, when we are having a party ,or bunch of people over that might be going in and out of the house, I do not let my cats run free when I can`t keep a watch on the doors....so on these occasions I will lock them in a bedroom with all the things they will need. They do not like being banned from the rest of the house, but on occasion it has to happen for a few hours. At those times I`m too busy to be doing the sweeper-thing....so my hubby took a piece of paneling and cut it to fit just inside that room and slightly under the door (approx 3' x 3') I use furnace tape to tape it to the carpet .At least that way when they dig they are not getting at the carpet.
Linda

Hey Giles, welcome to TCS

If you have a powerpoint near your bedroom door, you could try buying a Feliway plugin and plugging that in. That might help stop the scratching...

If you get a chance, you should post some photos of Willow and Spike in the Fur Pictures Only section

Carpet runners! Wow. I totally never considered that. I have the same problem. I know I'm going to be paying to replace the carpet when I move out if this keeps us with my two.

They have a turbo scratcher that they use endlessly. I also clip their claws regularly.

Mine like to get the carpet right where it meets the lineoleum in the entryway and by the kitchen. If I put a carpet runner in both areas, then they could claw to their heart's content.

So pleased you found a solution too!

I think that the cats are telling you that they want a horizontal scratching pad rather than a vertical scratching post. You can find really cheap ($5 - $10) cardboard scratching pads that you simply put in the place where they are scratching. When company comes over, just pitch the pads in a closet and put them back out when company leaves. Cats scratch by instinct -- some like vertical scratching places whereas others prefer horizontal places. You can't stop something that is instinctual, so give them an acceptable place (horizontal) instead!

Lilly does this too (she's declawed in the front, so she must be doing it with her teeth), but only if I close her out of my bedroom at night (or in the morning once she's decided that 4:30 is a reasonable time for me to get up). She just wants to be with me. So, I let her in at night, and if she gets me up too early, I put her in her carrier for a while until I'm ready to get up.

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Rosie started doing that a while ago, but i got them one of those horse hair foot mats and they pull their claws on that.

Click to expand...

What do these mats looks like and where can you get them?? I've never seen them. It might work for my two girls as well. Though one will use the scratching post, the other one just prefers carpet.

My cat used to dig at the carpet by the front door. I put down a carpet remnant and he scratched that. I used spray that is supposed to deter their scratching but that didn't work, nor did anything else. So this was my last option. If they're going to do it, I'd rather them tear up something of no value.