My adorable little Piwacket (Pi-Pi) is a pleasure to have in my home. He was a young stray who came into my yard last summer and eventually ended up living inside my home by the time the winter snows began. He was neutered in September of 2014 and they calculated he was about 10 months old at that time. I have been advised on this website and by my veterinarian to keep him in the house and he has been since late January of this year. I have a lovely screened and glassed in porch surrounded by a garden and he and my sweet dog Happy (Shih Tzu) love spending their days there.
Here is my problem. To access the porch you must go through the dining room. I have a wonderful wool carpet (8'x10') under the table and chairs. It's about 1" thick. Needless to say it wasn't cheap. Pi-Pi absolutely adores scratching it and it pills all over the place when he does. I am very concerned that he will eventually pull out the pile right down to the webbing. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to stop him. I have covered the parts that extend beyond the table and chairs with "Carpet Saver" which can be purchased in 15' strips. That works because it's not deep enough for his liking. But he just goes under the table where it isn't covered. I was told to put down aluminum foil and that too works but looks so awful. I have a scratching post in the dining room and 3 scratching mats. He uses all of them in ADDITION to my carpet. With all this stuff in there my dining room looks dreadful. Thank goodness I haven't had a dinner party since Pi came to live with us but I will eventually want to. He is a very good boy in every other way and has the run of the house. He doesn't scratch any of my furniture which is a blessing I know. His nails are very long because I haven't yet been able to get him into a carrier to take him to the vet. But I have one and am grooming him to get used to it by leaving it where he can enter it where he can frequently find a treat.
Anyone have any ideas? HELP! Please.
Here is my problem. To access the porch you must go through the dining room. I have a wonderful wool carpet (8'x10') under the table and chairs. It's about 1" thick. Needless to say it wasn't cheap. Pi-Pi absolutely adores scratching it and it pills all over the place when he does. I am very concerned that he will eventually pull out the pile right down to the webbing. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to stop him. I have covered the parts that extend beyond the table and chairs with "Carpet Saver" which can be purchased in 15' strips. That works because it's not deep enough for his liking. But he just goes under the table where it isn't covered. I was told to put down aluminum foil and that too works but looks so awful. I have a scratching post in the dining room and 3 scratching mats. He uses all of them in ADDITION to my carpet. With all this stuff in there my dining room looks dreadful. Thank goodness I haven't had a dinner party since Pi came to live with us but I will eventually want to. He is a very good boy in every other way and has the run of the house. He doesn't scratch any of my furniture which is a blessing I know. His nails are very long because I haven't yet been able to get him into a carrier to take him to the vet. But I have one and am grooming him to get used to it by leaving it where he can enter it where he can frequently find a treat.
Anyone have any ideas? HELP! Please.