Why cats scratch

Wednesday, 02 March 2011 11:51

Written by Editor

I have heard of two methods of stopping cats scratching wallpaper other than simply covering it. One is to bang in long nails into the wall above the scratches, and hang bits of string down so that the cat have to push their claws through the string. They don’t like this but then it’s not so good for the wall either! The second method is to get double sided sticky tape or wire netting or Prickler wall strips and put these on the floor, where the cat’s back legs are while it scratches. (You can’t really put this on the wall!) Thus the cat won’t be able to stand in the place and therefore cannot scratch. Remember to provide an alternative scratching area otherwise it will just scratch on wallpaper elsewhere.

SCRATCHING OUTSIDE DOORS

Cats scratch outside doors to get our attention. We then let them in. So scratching outside a door trains humans very well indeed. The only possible way to stop this will be stop rewarding the scratching, ie. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. It will take two to three weeks minimum for the cat to learn that scratching doesn’t pay off. I have to say that I don’t think I could manage this, because I would weaken.

This is going to take so much human self control that it will be difficult to manage. If it really matters to you, then buy some transparent thick plastic from a DIY store - the kind that covers carpets on heavily used walking areas. Tack this down in front of the door where the cat scratches. Then place double sided sticky tape on top of the plastic. Cats don’t like sticky surfaces. You could put tape directly on the carpet, if you are sure it won’t damage the carpet.

A Cats Protection League supporter came up with the idea to attach to the bottom of the door a flap of wood/plastic on a piano hinge which folds upwards and is kept up with some kind of turnbuckle. When the flap is up, you can move the door. But when you are shutting the door, you let down the flap so that it covers the carpet next to the door – ie the cat will not have a carpet area to scratch. A secondary flap from the main flap turns outward to protect the area just at the side of the door, if needed.
Strange.... but true!

WALKING ON MANTLEPIECES ETC.

To stop cats walking on mantlepieces, make seesaws from pencils and cardboard sheet. Booby trap one end with empty beer cans. The idea is to make the pencil the fulcrum with the cardboard on top of it. Cats dislike unstable surfaces. The beer cans are there so that they fall off with a clatter when the cat jumps on the other end of the cardboard.

Or try putting cooking foil along the mantlepiece. Cats dislike walking on it.