grrrrr.....roxy scratching carpet

ruby took to the scratching posts and trees right away.

roxy, on the other hand, scratches our carpet. specifically, the carpet outside our bedroom door, in the morning before we get up. i think it's her way of saying, "i heard the alarm go off, and you're still in there. my food is out here, but i can't open the can. GET UP!"

we put everything outside our door...double sided sticky tape, sticky paws, sisal mat, cardboard scratch box...nothing works. she moves them all and scratches the carpet at the door. and she lays down on the big sheets of sticky paws! nothing fazes her. and she LIKES the bitter apple spray. dang cat.

any advice to get her to scratch on mommy-approved items and not my carpet? she's 10 mos old, and has been in our home for 2 1/2 months now. the carpet scratching thing is about 3 weeks old now. we keep her claws clipped. she scratches other areas of the carpet throughout the house, too, but nothing like this. help!

They make nail caps and I am hearing great reviews.

thanks! that may be my next step! lol

i was hoping to train her what is appropriate to scratch and what's not. but i think i've got a very headstrong little miss on my hands.

I think so too They say girls are more stubborn then boys

Don't laugh...this will probably work.

Put your vacuum cleaner on your side of the bedroom door. Have the switch set on "on". The instant you hear her scratch the rug, plug in the vacuum. This will scare the beejeebers out of most cats without hurting the cat. Usually you will need to do this only a few times before the cat learns not to scratch at a closed door.

Good luck!

That is a great trick I need to use it, but water from the bath and the vacuum NOT... Skittles likes to scratch at the door when am in the bath only. That is a great idea.

i forgot all about doing this! i'll give it a try tomorrow morning and let you know how it works! thanks!

I know it worked to get her off the counter and I didn't even try to.

i also figured out that cutting up a lemon, and placing small bits of the fruit on or jsut near the area they are scratchin/eating works well too! they dont touch the lemon, but also stop touching the thing they were destroying!

then, when the lemon is dry, remove it. the smell is still there, and they will still avoid the area

Hmmm...the first thing that comes to mind, and sticks out like a sore thumb, is that there's possibly something in the carpet there that's attracting her attention to it, and making her try to get it. Have you tried spraying (or pouring) an enzyme cleaner on that particular section of the carpet? It could literally be anything, from another animal's urine, to blood from the former tenant's who knows what (that is, if you're renting or the carpet is from a previous owner), to an animal having died there in the past...who knows?

Anyway, you might try that, and see if it makes a difference.

Let us know how it goes!

Originally Posted by momof3rugratz

They make nail caps and I am hearing great reviews.

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OOH...I didn't even think of Soft Claws...GOOD IDEA!!

I have read on this site they do work.

Originally Posted by momof3rugratz

I have read on this site they do work.

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Oh yes...they're GREAT. The reason I was surprised I didn't think to mention it is because my babes have them! Lol...

Cleo prefers the carpet as well. I don't notice her doing it as much since we put in new carpet, but she still does from time to time. She prefers the cheap carpet I have under my computer chair. It's a good thing it was cheap! I've also seen her use the scratching post occassionally.
Maybe you can get a small cheap area rug to put over that spot. If she'll start clawing that instead at least you won't be out a lot of money and it'll save your rug.

sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this thread! and thank you for all of your replies.

the digging has lessened, my carpets are still intact, and neither cat seems all that interested in waking us up at 4:44am anymore. i don't know what happened. but i'm enjoying my sleep.

i sprayed the entire area (carpet, door, walls, kitty carrier) with Zero Odor. i let it dry, and then put another sheet of sticky paws down. roxy has taken to laying in her kitty carrier and waiting patiently for us to wake up. ruby sits at the top of the stairs; as soon as our door opens, she charges downstairs and waits by their food cabinet. too funny.

i'm wondering if the whole episode was a "change of season" thing? or if they were going through a growth spurt and didn't know what to do with themselves? whatever. 9:15am was a blessing this morning. lol thanks again!

I love the zero odor. I noticed it takes the odor away right away. I hate the smell it leaves behind but then it is gone and smells fresh.

Originally Posted by mrspotts66

sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this thread! and thank you for all of your replies.

the digging has lessened, my carpets are still intact, and neither cat seems all that interested in waking us up at 4:44am anymore. i don't know what happened. but i'm enjoying my sleep.

i sprayed the entire area (carpet, door, walls, kitty carrier) with Zero Odor. i let it dry, and then put another sheet of sticky paws down. roxy has taken to laying in her kitty carrier and waiting patiently for us to wake up. ruby sits at the top of the stairs; as soon as our door opens, she charges downstairs and waits by their food cabinet. too funny.

i'm wondering if the whole episode was a "change of season" thing? or if they were going through a growth spurt and didn't know what to do with themselves? whatever. 9:15am was a blessing this morning. lol thanks again!

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Great to hear! Glad things are going better!