Nov
17
2009
My Cat Is Driving Me Crazy, I Seriously Need Advice Please!?
Posted by: Alan in Cat Health Problem, tags: Advice, Crazy, Driving, Need, Please, Seriously
She’s almost one, she’s been neutered, in good health, she’s an indoor cat (we live on the 4th floor). My problem? She REFUSES to use her scratch post. Instead, she uses my furniture- sofas, wardrobes, bed.. now she’s started using the walls and I’m at the end of my tether. I just dont know what to do anymore!
Also, to add insult to injury, she bites me, scratches me and for the past 3weeks has woken me up in the night scratching and biting my feet! I’ve truly had enough, if no one can help I have to give her up and I dont want that.
Entries (RSS)
November 17th, 2009 at 3:20 am
My daughter recently moved back home (as they do!!) and along with her came her 5 year old cat Ellie. She has a scratch post, which lies redundant while she insists on scratching my leather furniture, tables, doors etc. When outside, she scratches not the fence posts, oh no, that would be harmless, she attacks my wooden furniture and tables outside too!
I shall watch this question with interest as we have tried sprays that are supposed to deter cats, tapping her on the nose when she approaches everything that she is about to attack and even putting her outside when she does it – which results in my outside furniture taking another bashing!!
I too hope someone can help us!
November 17th, 2009 at 5:42 am
She is bored & you are not giving her enough attention at the right times.
You pay her attention when she scratches you & the walls – so she will keep doing it.
There are sprays you can get which she won’t like the smell of which will stop her scratching the walls & furniture (ask your vet for their recommendations or go to the local pet shop).
Set aside time to play with her, stroke her & groom her every day – if she persists in waking you up by scratching – shut her out of your room. It will take a few repeats – but cats learn fast that it pays not to get shut out of the comfortable places.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:30 am
get a water pistol or anything that you can fire a little bit of water out of, any time you see the cat scratching anywhere it shouldn’t be give it a little squirt. should stop after a while. as for the night thing just don’t let the cat in your room when your off to bed.
oh and try putting catnip on the scratching post that should make your cat more interested in it.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Buy this product called Soft Paws. They go over the cats claw and stay in place with glue. I just tried it a month ago and it works great! I just put them on the front claws. I use them because my cat is attacking my other one and drawing blood. Soft paws has completely stopped this now. They are dull, so there’s no way to dig their claws into anything. I got mine at Petco. I strongly recommend these now! There is really no way to go wrong with it. : )
November 17th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Maybe the kitten was mistreated or not handled much when it was very young. If you bought her from a petshop she may have been kept in bad conditions.
You need to see a cat behaviour specialist, your vet should be able to advise any to you.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
my new kitten is like this. we put a bit of catnip on the scratch post to attract her to it and it seems to work.
put tinfoil down near where she likes to scratch, cats hate this on their feet and they hate the sound of it so it should deter her
November 18th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I’d leave a radio on softly during the evening to give her some sound stinulation.
How about ‘cat tv’? A gerbil or hamster in a cat-proof tank will give her plenty to watch. Or a bird feeder set up outside the window.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:41 am
If she is an indoor cat and you are on the 4th floor, she is probably going stir crazy. Everyone else had great ideas too, but I think she will calm down if you get another kitty for her to play with!
November 18th, 2009 at 9:42 am
you can get these strips from the pet store its kinda like sellotape but not and it stoped my kitty scratching and clawing my sophas !!! go to yr local pet store we went to pets at home to buy them.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
try her with a few balls of wool
November 18th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Hi I have had this problem many times before, most recently with a foster cat of mine called Meg. What I did for her and many before her is simple. Feed her at before bed as this will make her tired, and less likely to cry when you close your bedroom door. Secondly I bought a toy, brilliant toy love it to bits, from the local pets at home that is basically a laser pen that spins round and round on a 17minute timer. This burns of a lot of energy and is great fun to watch. To get her more interested in the cat post, you can buy cat nip spray for less than £5 which works wonders. Spray on to the scratching post to attract her to this, and to discourage her scratching your furniture and walls, there is a spray called “get off” available from pets at home that is brilliant. Not every cat will respond to it but in my experience about 80% will. If your cat doesn’t respond to this try squeezing oranges or lemon on to the surfaces you do not want her to scratch. Cats don’t like citrus so this is a really cheap and simple thing to do…. I found by putting the peals under the sofa cushions it’s just as effective and doesn’t damage or stain the sofa. With the biting ignore the behaviour. I don’t mean let it continue, I mean move away from her, or put her way from you. Don’t show her attention during this just say no and be firm, almost like giving her a timeout. once she learns that she will get the attention from not hurting you, and gets it for being a good kitty she will stop all of the biting, although cats will nip, very gently as a sign of affection (which is still not a behaviour you want to encourage), it is important to show her better ways of giving you affection like cuddles.
I know you said a playmate is out of the question, this is a very good decision, and a second cat is likely to make her behaviour worse not better.
hope this can be of help, but if not and you do decide to part with her, please contact a local feline charity who will arrange to take her off your hands free of charge, and can (if some cases not all) give you progress reports on how she is settling down. The cat I mentioned at the beginning Meg started out with all of the same issues, she is now a loving lap cat who sleeps through the night in her own bed and doesn’t scratch people or furniture
November 19th, 2009 at 12:04 am
When i got my kitten perdy she was a darling, followed me everywhere, cuddled me etc. She had my 100% attention. But when we got some new kittens she turned and became very jealous and didn’t want to share me. To make sure she was noticed she attacked the kittens and wouldn’t let me go near her. I dont know what to do with her. But she has her own space and a lot of my time and getting use to the kittens and hopefully getting better.
I think with your cat she just neeeds a little more time.
The main think is you give her attention when she wants it, if she comes when she is called then fuss her, but if she ignores or walks away then leave her she wants alone time.
Is there any way she can go outside, staying indoors is never good for cats, they need the space to be a cat and hunt, play explore etc.
Don’t give up on your cat, she loves you no matter what she acts like. if she attracts you just firmly tell her NO, it is tempting but don’t hit her, that will make her worse.
Just giver her time and hopefully she will get better. Try letting her out every now and then, if you cant let her outside because of roads and the fear of getting lost then you can get a lead for a cat. It might sound stupid but if u get her use to it then u can keep hold of her whiles she runs around.
good luck
hope she gets better
x
November 19th, 2009 at 6:48 am
There’s a few things you can do– I’ve talked to my vet about this and cats are usually deterred by citrus scents. If you srpay orange and lemon scents where she is scratching, she is not going to want to be in that area.
If your scratching post isn’t secured to the floor [that is, it shakes or wobbles, or is a door-hanging post] she’s probably not going to like the post at all. Make sure it’s a firm secure scratching post first.
If it is and she still doesn’t like it, make sure it’s in her favourite scratching places. She likes the couch, set it right near the couch. Rub the post with dried catnip leaves and play with her near it. I’d also suggest giving her a treat as a reward when she actually uses it.
If she still uses it, loud noises and water bottles when she continues.
Hope I helped!
November 19th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Cats have got scent glands on their paws, so when they scratch somewhere it leaves a smell that they need to top up when it begins to fade. This is why she continues to scratch in the same places, and why scratch posts work once they become impregnated with the cat’s claw scent.
You need to temporarily conceal her claw scent by covering the places she scratches with something that has a smooth, shiny surface, such as sheets of thick plastic or aluminium foil. Another alternative is to disguise her claw scent by spraying those areas with something citrus scented. Feliway also helps prevent unwanted scratching because it mimics the scent found in their facial glands and cats don’t generally scratch areas that they rub their faces against. (For this method to work, you need to spray Feliway once a day for 21 days on the affected area.)
Cats have individual preferences for the textures they enjoy scratching. Not all of them enjoy using a scratch post because the sisal is wound horizontally around the post and most cats prefer something with a vertical thread. Have you tried offering her a few alternatives; corrugated cardboard, wooden log, heavy duty door mat etc., to see what she likes using? Have you tried rubbing the post with catnip or spraying it with honeysuckle? Cats are attracted to these scents and can be used to entice them to scratch there. Another trick is to trail toys or pieces of string over the post so that they have to grab for it with their claws. Once they’ve done that a few times, they usually get the idea it feels good to scratch there. Because part of the desire to scratch is to mark territory, both visually and with scent, be sure to place her scratch items in areas where she already scratches, as it may be the location that is part of the attraction for her to scratch there. Reward her using it with lots of praise and food treats as encouragement.
These links have lots of helpful advice on teaching cats to use a scratch post, trimming their claws and ways that you can protect furniture, wallpaper etc. http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20probl…http://www.catscratching.com/
She’s a young cat with a lot of energy to burn so you need to find ways to keep her both mentally and physically active. If you can tire her out in the evening, she’ll begin to adapt to your pattern of sleeping and won’t wake you up at night to play. Even though she has a lot of toys, do you set aside regular time to play with her every day? Cats don’t often play with toys on their own, they much prefer interactive games, especially ones where they get to practise their hunting skills.
This article has lots of ideas and suggestions on ways to keep an indoor cat happy, which you may find helpful.http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20probl…
Be patient, she’s in her teenage phase at the moment and will calm down as she gets older.
November 19th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I have 3 cats so I know by experience. You need to place maybe 2 scratching posts in different rooms. Also you need to watch her and as soon as she starts to scratch the furniture or bed take a spray bottle and spray her! That is how my cats learned. If she keeps waking you up at night buy a cat bed and place it outside the door to your room or by the couch and close your door. My cat slept on my face at night so I couldn’t breath! All I did was close the door and now he knows if he sleeps in my room not to sleep on my face or else he gets the boot!
Cats are very smart animals so if you start showing them what is right or wrong with water or something else they will learn.
But also remember animals take a lot of time and work!
But enjoy your cat, they are wonderful.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
The poor cat is BORED you are denying her a cats natural Instincts which is to go OUT.can you imagine being sentenced to 20yrs locked in your house ,never going out in the sunshine to play.
IM sorry but you have got a very unhappy cat that’s not wanting to be a prisoner.For the cats happiness RE HOME and get a gold fish.
I rescue and re home and unless the cat has a medical reason to remain indoors I insist they are allowed their natural instincts and go out.Just because you wanted a cat doesn’t give you the right to lock it indoors for 20yrs,
You at least get to go out of the house ,why deny the cat.?
It annoys me when I read letters saying `I WANT` with no regard whatsoever to the animals wants!!!
PLEASE DONT listen to DR KIAGCG its barbaric what shes recommending .Id declaw any idiot that thought it was Ok to mutilate a cats feet,,
November 19th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
well dont let cat in bedroom at night, leave her in a closed room [ with water and litter tray] till morning in locked room. mine are in living room all night, as for scratching, this stops eventually.i have three indoor cats as i stay in a flat. they used to do this not now they are older, i have wall scratchind posts in hall and in living room, i have a few scratched walls, which does not bother me, but i also have my cats still one is 19, she will soon stop crying all night if left in a closed door warm room, , i am glad i kept my cats, , who mean more to me than walls
November 20th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Hi, I am a cat behaviorist..
here is what you need to do…
when a cat is fixed.. a girl is called SPAYED, male is called neutered.
1. Get double tape at the pet shop to cover your favorite furniture, this is not harmful to your cat, and they will hate the sticky in their pay. Double stick tape will not hurt your furniture.
2. Get portable scratching post close to each furniture they used, if they see a scratching post, likely they will use it.
3. Get their nail trim every 2 weeks.
4. When a cat start to bites you or scratch, say the word “NO” firmly, and move your hand or feet away.
5. You need several times in a day for playtime to burn their energy…it will help them burn off those excessive energy!
Adding to my answer.. buying toy isn’t enough, unless you play with them. Get them the string toys, where they cat chase it from one end of the room to another spot. Their are so many toys out there that does not do a good job then a string.
hope this help!
November 20th, 2009 at 6:35 am
um declaw her
if you don’t believe in it, get out out the water bottle and start hosing her down when u catch her in the act…it works for SOME cats
November 20th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I don’t know if you want to do this, but I knew of a mule trainer. IDK of any cat trainers.
Down here in Texas, a farmer had a mule that was stubborn and he had lost control.
He took the mule to this trainer.
The first thing the trainer did was pick up a 6′, 2″ X 4″.
He walked over to the mule and whacked him across the forehead.
“Damn”, said the farmer. “Why in hell did you do that to my mule”?
“First, you have to get their attention”.
You might consider a smaller 2″ X 4″.