Behavior:Kitty in desctruct mode with carpet

[artfer01]

I have a 1 yr old tabby cat that I adoped last year which has developed a strong desire to destroy our carpets in our house. We knew he had a tendency to dig and scratch at carpets when we adopted him and brought in several cat trees and scratch posts throughout the house. We have not had a problem in the year we have owned him until now.

He has recently taken to scratching and clawing at our carpet in the stairwell...successfully managing each time to pull the carpet up from the floor nails and pulling large carpet chunks loose. Most of the time this happens while we are either asleep or at work. We have tried everything we can think of to discourage the behavior...sticky paw double sided tape, no scratch sprays, to blocking the corners where he has scratched up the carpet to no avail. In each instance our loving cat either moves to another section of carpet in the stairwell and does the same thing or just ignores the barriers we put up.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with this?

 

[tnr1]

Originally Posted by artfer01

I have a 1 yr old tabby cat that I adoped last year which has developed a strong desire to destroy our carpets in our house. We knew he had a tendency to dig and scratch at carpets when we adopted him and brought in several cat trees and scratch posts throughout the house. We have not had a problem in the year we have owned him until now.

He has recently taken to scratching and clawing at our carpet in the stairwell...successfully managing each time to pull the carpet up from the floor nails and pulling large carpet chunks loose. Most of the time this happens while we are either asleep or at work. We have tried everything we can think of to discourage the behavior...sticky paw double sided tape, no scratch sprays, to blocking the corners where he has scratched up the carpet to no avail. In each instance our loving cat either moves to another section of carpet in the stairwell and does the same thing or just ignores the barriers we put up.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with this?

Hmmm....I would ask...what is it about the carpet that is soo alluring to your cat?? Is there a way to put a version of a scratching post in that area? Rub some catnip on the scratching post and see if he uses that instead (best to put it over the area he already scratched up. I know you have tried many deterents...sounds like he really likes the carpet feel. Also, do you trim his nails often? I know with my girl I have to trim her nails every week or she'll want to scratch everything in site.
Katie

 

[jennyr]

When Dushka decided to destroy one of my large rugs I bought several thick sisal door mats and scattered them round the house, then sprayed the carpet with a few drops of lemon juice for a few days. She didn't like the smell but occasionally kept trying, and I lifted her off and put her on the door mats. Now all three of them use the mats in preference to scratching posts and I have no more trouble.

 

[coaster]

I've had success with a carpet-scratching cat by spraying citrus-scented Febreze on the areas he liked to scratch. The citrus scent deterred him. But it's only effective as long as the scent lingers. Ultimately, the final solution was to replace the carpet, which it needed anyway. For some odd reason, I don't need to use the deterrent on the carpet any more, because he never scratches it. Apparently he doesn't like the weave or texture of the new carpet for scratching.

 

[lotsocats]

He might also be telling you that he wants a horizontal rather than vertical place to scratch. Try getting one of the cardboard scratching pads that you can find at most pet stores or WalMarts. They usually come with catnip in them. Most of my cats prefer these over the vertical scratching posts.

 

[coaster]

I have five of those cardboard scratching boxes. My two boys use them ONLY if they're propped up against the wall at an angle.

 

[hissy]

Hi art,

I would suggest you invest in a blacklight and shine it on that particular area of carpet to see if there are old pet stains or something there.

Then if there aren't, what is there is your cat's signature scent that comes out of the pads of his feet and tells him this is "his" spot and it is perfectly acceptable for him to mark it over and over.

Feliway Spray saturating the area will help to break down that signature.

Perhaps he likes the angle of the stairs as he scratches, it feels good on his back.