Help my kitten thinks she's spiderman!

[ladygananoque]

Hi all! My kitten has started trying to climb up one of the walls in my house(the only wall that has wallpaper grr) and i just dont know what to do. I dont think she's trying to use the wall as a scratching post, she can get half way up the wall now and im worried for her safety. Anyone ever have this problem? She does it in a corner where my xmas try is and she only started doing it when we put the tree up, do you think it is related to the tree at all? She has destroyed most of the wall paper where the tree is and when my husband see's how bad it is he will be so angry!Any help?
Thanks in advance

 

[strange_wings]

She's a kitten, trying to do things and go places they shouldn't is what a kitten does. Do you have proper cat furniture for your cats? It could probably be helped with the addition of a tall cat tree, or by adding another one if you have one already.

I'm not sure where you're at, but walmart has a $40 that will work in a pinch. If you're short on cash you can go to a home improvement center (lowes or home depot) and look for some plastic shelves. You'll likely need to glue them together for extra sturdiness, but they'll work.

 

[ladygananoque]

I have plenty of kitty furniture and she does use it but she prefers to climb my wall, it's only in one area of my home where she feels the need to do it. I would love to buy her more kitty furniture but im running out of space in my house, i saw some fantastic cat tree's yesterday better than what she has now and i will probably invest in one of those and try and find somewhere for it to go but im not sure if it will help. Well for now i have covered the area where she climbs up as best i can and im gonna see if she still wants to be in that area or if shes gonna find somewhere else to do it.

I know she's only a kitten and wants to go places she isn't supposed to. Maybe she knows that i hate the wall paper and shes helping me take it off

 

[strange_wings]

I can't promise that it won't harm your wallpaper.. more (

), but you can try getting some clear contact paper to cover that part of the wall. Matte would likely look better than a glossy finish. However, for it to do any good you need to keep her claws very short. The best solution would be just to use soft paws until she gets over this.

They cost over $100 (unless someone knows of a cheaper one) but you can get multiplatform trees that attach to the back of doors. I'd really like one of them myself, but the door I want to put it on (in the kitchen) opens the wrong way.

The $40 tree at walmart isn't very large, either, though it is floor to ceiling.

 

[ladygananoque]

Thanks for the ideas, i was looking at getting some of those soft paws things when i was in the pet shop yesterday but i wasn't sure how well they worked and if i would be able to get them on her because she never sits still

I have a big detached garage that im turning into a play room for my children and once that is done im gonna get the biggest cat tree i can find and she can play and scratch in there all she want's but until then i need to protect my wallpaper as much as i can. Im also having trouble trimming her nails because shes so hyper all the time, she like's to bite me sometimes when i pick her up but she purrs when shes doing it lol.

 

[strange_wings]

She's a bit of a brat, then?

They usually are when they're at that feisty stage. Be patient, but don't give up on trimming her claws. Try to trim them after you've worn her out with play or another time when she's sleepy.

The only problem with putting cat furniture and toys off in a separate room is that a lot of cats like to be around their people. So if you still spend most of your time in the living room that's where she'll want to be.
Around here this translates to cats preferring to use the litter box in the room we're in.

Multiple litter boxes around the house and they will always choose to poop in the box that's in the same room as we are.

 

[ladygananoque]

Well i never thought about that but im sure once the room is finished i will be spending a lot of time in there because i have a tv in there so i could sit and watch tv while she's busy being destructive.

My other kitty stella loves it in there and its not even finished yet so im hoping fable will feel the same way, if not then i guess i will just have to think of something else.

She is definitely a brat! A cute one though

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by LadyGananoque

She is definitely a brat! A cute one though

Aren't they all?

But yes, as long as you and Stella are around and the room is interesting enough she'll be in there.

One thing I do make sure to do is provide scratching surfaces all over the house. She does have a good scratching post and/or a cardboard scratcher in living room, correct? If not, see if you can find room for something and always redirect her to it when you catch her clawing the wallpaper. It won't solve the climbing issue, but it should hopefully teach her that the wall is not a scratching post no matter how nice the wallpaper feels to her claws.

 

[ladygananoque]

I have a open plan dining room/living room and she has a a scratching post in the dining room. She also has one in the kitchen, i might move her smaller scratching post near the wall she climbs and see if that helps or il probably just buy a new one as soon as i go into town again.

 

[strange_wings]

It might help. Scratching isn't just to remove old claw sheaths, it's also to scent mark - which is why it's hard to get some cats not to scratch in certain places.

And you know, as a last ditch effort, you could always move a piece of furniture in front of that wall or attach a piece of plexi glass (it would be amusing to watch her discover that) to the wall.

 

[my4llma]

Have you tried soft paws? Their the covers that go over the cats claws. The first time we tried it they came right off of Midnight, but they gave us the wrong size. Now that he's got the right size they have stayed on. Luna's stayed on the first time we tried. We had the vet tech put them on. Now when Midnight scratches the walls it makes that horrible sound you hear when you drag your nails down a chalkboard. But it's worked. The 2 kittens can play and not claw each other. They don't claw the walls (Luna never did). They come in different colors. Luna's are pink. Midnight's are purple.

 

[stephanietx]

Get some of those peel and stick corkboard squares and place them on the wall. I can't guarantee that they'll not peel the wall paper off when you try to remove them, but at least it's more attractive than a scratched up wall. She'll also be able to actually grip the surface and climb, so watch out for that.

 

[ladygananoque]

Thanks guys, you've all been a great help, im gonna give a few things a go and see what works best. She just smashed a tree ornament, the second one in the past 2 days but its not her fault i know she just wants to play all the time, im gonna stop whining about it and try out some of your ideas. Shes giving me the nicest cuddle ever right now to say sorry lol. I think iv been expecting too much of this little girl, shes only a baby after all, she will learn in time. Anyway thanks again.