Help, I have a cat problem and really need some help. Any advice?

I have a cat, and I love her dearly but, she likes to scratch one specific door frame of my house. She has a scratching post and uses it. Here's the kicker, she only scratches at the door frame when no one is home, because she knows she's not supposed to scratch it. How do I get her to stop!?!?! Help!Help, I have a cat problem and really need some help. Any advice?
If your cat is doing it while you aren't at home, it is going to be hard to stop.





You can try taping up some aluminum foil over the area, as cats generally don't like the feel or sound of foil, and that might help dissuade him. You can also try rubbing the area with a citrus smell (many of the orange-oil cleansers or polishers are pungent enough) or a ';keep away'; scent. However, cats are clever, and if she stops scratching that doorway, she might mosey around to find another she can destroy.





One of my cats has picked a door to do the same thing, and I just got a piece of remnant carpeting that matches the house decor and tacked that up with upholstery tacks. He still claws the area, but now it is on the carpeting, and it is easy enough to remove when the Queen comes to tea, or to replace when it gets too tatty.





Good luck.Help, I have a cat problem and really need some help. Any advice?
First of all cats need to scratch it's part of their nature and and part of their grooming. They do it to keep their nails filed down. I have 11 cats indoor outdoor, and a couple of them insisted on scratching my furniture and walls weather I was there or not. I tried several different things, but here is what worked. I went to wallmart and bought a couple of Super Scratchers by SmartyKat, about 7 dollars a piece. I took some of their favorite catnip and sprinkeled it over them, they loved it. Now it is a regular game and treat for them. They no longer scratch anything except the scratchers. They seem to actually be adicted to them. Cats use scratching as a form of exercise and streatching. To the person who decided to declaw their cat..... To mutilate a cat by declawing it is unthinkable to me. If furniture is more important than the cat, give the cat to someone who will not mame it. Put yourself in the cat's place would you rather have your fingertips cut off and stay where your at? Or keep your fingertips and leave? You would at least have a choice.
I would try spraying the door frame with a solution of liquid chili pepper so when it scratches then licks it paws it will get the taste of the peppers.


You could also ttry and cover the frame with a piece of furniture when not home so it will get use to not getting to that area.
OMG! Do NOT declaw her! That's actually cutting the first digit of their little toes off! You can try the double sided tape, or even tinfoil. Or if you don't want to put something on the doorframe try Softpaws. They are little coloured plastic caps you glue over their nails. Initial application can be a pain but after that it's awesome! You just keep an eye on her nails and when one drops off you just glue on another. I put them on my 11 year old girl and they last a long time. About a month before one dropped. For the first 30 minutes she chewed at them but then it was like they weren't even there. After a while she stopped even scratching things. And I only used them for a year. She's 19 years old now, going strong and doesn't scratch a thing!
I second the double sided tape! Either that or a few drops of franks red hot sauce (i put that sh*t on everything) will do the trick!!! Cats hate spicy and sticky about equal ;)





Well I will just be the first one to pop in and edit my answer to say DO NOT DECLAW. Congrats poster below me on being proud of your inhumane act, glad you are so joyous at cutting off your cats knuckles and causing her pain for the rest of her life. I hope your ';stuff'; was worth it.
If you want your cat to stop scratching the door frame you should probably spend more time with her because you said she it only did it when you left home. Sometimes cats feel lonely and misbehave just to get attention. Another solution would be to train her not to do that.
Use some strong substances like vinegar or polish on the door. Don't punish her as she will see it as attention and do it more.
Put some double sided tape on the door frame. She'll hate the feel of it and won't scratch it anymore.
you spray the cat with water when it's near the post and it'll learn not to mess with it
Don't use pepper sauce - your cat will *not* associate the pepper with the door and you can hurt both the skin on her paws as well as her entire digestive tract.


Nail covers do cover the nails, but they can fall off. They are also only slightly less sharp than the real deal, so can still damage your wood.


The trick is to find something that will deter her whether you are there or not. Sure you can spray her with a squirt bottle, but she will still cme back to it when you are not there if she continues to get enjoyment out of it. Make the area unpleasant (in an immediate sense - a dleayed reaction will not deter her) and you will have a safe door frame.


Also, keep in mind that cats are marking their territory when they claw like that. She has scent glands behind her paw pads that are marking that area as hers. If there is a stray cat outside (that she can see through a window) or another cat inside that she is having a bit of a power struggle with, this behavior is going to be even harder to break...


If double-sided tape doesn't work, you can try getting some of those prickly green ';grass'; door mats with the 1/2 in deep plastic grassy spikes all over.Cut them to fit over the area. ';Tape'; them up with the 3M sticky things that don't damage the surface and are easily removable. (Most double-sided tape is going to leave a sticky mess on the wood you are trying to protect)


You can also try the repellant sprays available at pet stores, however, I found them to be a little over-powering, even to humans, so careful where and how much you spray.


Another option would be to enclose her in a different room when you are not home to prevent access to that particular door frame.


Good luck.
De-claw her- I know I'll get a ton of thumbs down but sometimes it's the only way. My friend gave me a terrible time about de-clawing my cat and said I was inhuman but then 1 year later- she gave her cats away because they destroyed her $3,000 sofa.


My cat ruined a sofa, curtains, WALLPAPER off the wall, and the last straw was my comforter and sheets- luckily she miss the mattress.