Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: sonya on January 10, 2007, 19:38:01 PM
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Does anyone have any ideas to help me stop my ginger lardboy Ozzy from tearing the walls in my hall to shreds!! This is exactly what he is doing to my wallpaper :scratch: and its driving me to distraction >:( . The cats have four scratching posts and plenty of toys to play with but he insists on using two particular parts of the wall to have a go at. We've lived here since April and he never bothered before but its been going on for about three weeks now, Im desperate to decorate as it looks terrible but am sure he'll just do the same!
Any ideas would be appreciated!!
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sonya just a long shot . Have you wet a finger and rubbed it on the wall and tasted it ?
could it be salts in the wall coming out due to damp ness and he's licking it ? One of my cats used to do that.
Either that or your wallpaper is upsetting his aesthetic sensibilities lol :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
you could try placing a sheet of clear acrylic (plastic) against the wall.
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Try sticking some strips of double sided tape on the bits he scratches on .... the stickiness will soon put him off.
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my cats did this we gave in and put wood on walls for them to scratch
and we put up wood flooing sounds daft but did the trick as they just slid off
The stickiness would not put my abby she has what we call a sticky fetish!!!! :rofl:
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Yeah could be that Nick, it is a rather vile wallpaper , ive been tempted to scratch it of myself :rofl: , but seriously I dont think its the salt thing cos both the walls are not solid if you get my meaning, I have been thinking since we moved in of having the walls panelled and painted but am a bit loathe to spend money to have him shred the wood as well, hes a bit of a monster size wise and his paws and claws are huge, think I may have to give the acrylic thing a go and the sticky tape just to see wat happens, either that or he'll be getting some funky softclaws things :rofl:
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its the wallpaper :) :evillaugh: ;)
Actually it could be salts. Salts are in the bricks and stone and mortar . When walls get wet they dry out again by evaporation from the surface which draws salts out to the surface by osmosis . Its called efflourescence ( probably spelt wrong) and is a classic indication of damp in brickwork.
here ya go. read ol abaht it
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/efflorescence.htm
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Thatsb an interesting site Nick.
I think I got some of this salt problem cos wall in an alcove got damp due to them being packed tight with books and the walls getting hot/cold and then damp. all dried out now and need to giver books room to breath am thinking about putting wood against the wall.......would that stop this happenoinmg again, do you think??
All my best books got damp grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
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putting something against a damp wall is actually the worse thing to do Gill because it prevents air circulation and promotes condensation and mould growth.
If its rising damp then you may need a chemical injection system
If its penetrative damp. (ie through the wall from the outside) then you need to investigate why. Is there a broken /leaking gutter over the wall? is the flower beds too high up the wall ? the damp proof course must be a minimum of 6" above the earth so you may need to reduce the height of the earth against the wall.
Its probably going to be due to condensation I should think.
You need to think about keeping your bathroom and kitchen doors shut whilst showering or cooking.Use the extract fans Try to avoid drying cloathes in front of the radiators . Think about where all that water and steam goes to!...It condenses on all your cold surfaces at night time when the temperature drops . That provides the perfect enviorment to support mould which is a living organism. If you have a condensation and mould problem then wallpaper will make it 10x worse because mould loves to eat the wallpaper paste yum yum
Also try to leave a slight air gap behind furniture particularly on external walls .
sorry but I have to give that advice 3-4 times a day to social housing tenants :-:
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This is in alcoves in the study which is a totally internal room. I have book cases................lol............in both alcoves but bottom layer in one was just books against all wall sides with no space and other was that I packed calendars in space between wall and end of book case.
Was in DIY shop locally , well about 10 miles awy which is local here LOL, and the guy was on the phone tosomeone talking about the same thing and I spoke to him about it and he said its cos walls are cold.......its ajoining wall with next door..........and the heat gets locked in the alcoves which are cold and then it gets condenasation which cant escape cos there is no breathing space. Its is not rising damp but I reckon next door dont heat downstairs LOL cos the walls are all so cold.
Its only happened where the paper was against the walls and its all dried out now, cept flaming books are everywhere and sme;ll bad. They apparently need sun to kill the spore..............well with our weather you gotta be joking.
I wanna refill one side cos I need the space , so what would be best to do put in wood ends with a gap to edges and what about the back wall........will a space between the wall and books be good enough?
I was thinking of a polystyrene panel, all nice and warm LOL,, but dont know if wall will sweat behind it.
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Well I couldnt stand the state of the hallway, so yesterday I papered the bottom half of it and today I have come in from work and hes been at it again GRRRRRRRRRRR. Ive had to rip out two pieces of paper and will have to do it again when im off work. Ok , the paper wasnt expensive but im not happy , I dont understand why hes just started doing it now ????????? we've been here nine months now , looks like im gonna have to give in and have it panelled or summat.
Im not a happy Sonya tonight :mad2:
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put him on dry food for a week and stop his pocket money :evillaugh: I hope you've grounded him lol :doh: :rofl:
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Hes been sent to bed with no supper after a stern telling off Nick, not that it did that much good I fear, he just walked away with a most disdainful expression on his face and basically told me to talk to the butt :rofl:
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I can sympathise Sonya, Charley's started scratching at the wall by the hall door and she's ripped a big chunk of paper off... I had a bit of a surf and someone's suggested attaching thick plastic sheeting to the bit where they scratch as they'll just slide off and hopefully eventually get out of the habit. Might work for us as there's just a couple of places where they scratch, mostly where the previous owner's cat had already scratched which makes it easier to understand I guess, but like you we're reluctant to re-paper until the problem's been solved.
On a side note, I last night applied generous amounts of cayenn pepper to the surfaces in the kitchen. Nobody peed on them overnight or during the day, wonder if we could be onto a winner....
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Im going to have to do something like that Em I think, Smudgey suggested a piece of laminate flooring which I duly put up a bit where he was going for the most , didnt attach it to wall just stood it in front and now hes gone back to the other two bits he was using, >:( Does anyone think if I kept a water bottle handy and sprayed him with that when I catch him doing it will help????
Im at my wits end with this, I like having a nice house after living in a dump for eight years :rofl: and would like to keep it that way, having said that hes such a big ginger lardboy that I cant say mad for long :evillaugh:
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Sonya, giving him a quick squirt with a water pistol might be an idea but it might also just make him move to a new scratching point (like the corner of the sofa!!!)
http://www.vinegarbook.co.uk/Stop_cats_scratching_furniture_with_vinegar.shtml
http://cats.consultinghealth.com/article_40.html
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Thanks for those Sam, some good tips on the cat health one ;D
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On a side note, I last night applied generous amounts of cayenn pepper to the surfaces in the kitchen. Nobody peed on them overnight or during the day, wonder if we could be onto a winner....
I hadn't noticed the puddle on the cushion on the chair in the corner of the kitchen >:(
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Oh Dear Em :scared:
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I think someone wasnt happy :rofl:
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My cat used to climb my (horrible 70s) textured wallpaper then eat it! I took her to the vet who said it was behavioural and offered me feliway - maybe that would help?
I've also taken to skooshing her with water when she climbs that wall - but I've stopped that now because it feels cruel.
The thing thats worked best for me is every time i see her on that wall or scratching someplace she shouldnt, I move her. Without saying anything, I pick her up and move her to the scratchy post. Once she's at the scratchy post, I tell her she's clever :shy:
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Peeps the crucial thing about using water as a deterant is that the pet MUST NOT see you use it.
If your pet see's you using it then they asociate you with the scalding which will backfire. They will then be scared of you and not the act.
You need to spray them from round the corner or disguise what you do so that they assciate the act itself with the jet of water and not you.
Also it must be done simultaneoulsy with their action and not even a second afterwards. Again they must be absolutly clear that it is the action they are doing that rewards them with the water spray or again it will have little or no effect.Worse they will just think you are hurting them and that will break your special bond of trust.
You cannot spray them a few moments after the event as you might smack or chastise a child because animals will not associate the scolding with the event.
Sonya is it possible to construct something as an alternative ? it seems as though Ozzy is really enjoying the experience and nothing else will do ie corner of the bed and sofa lol ;) >:(
You could try pasting a double layer of wallpaper to a sheet of wood or plastic . It might work if its similar enough surface . Tell him if he's coming on holiday to the West Country this summer then he is going to have to pull his socks up and listen to his Mum !
Good luck anyway.
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On a side note, I last night applied generous amounts of cayenn pepper to the surfaces in the kitchen. Nobody peed on them overnight or during the day, wonder if we could be onto a winner....
I hadn't noticed the puddle on the cushion on the chair in the corner of the kitchen >:(
To put it in perspective, Charley's got a cut paw so probably doesnt like the feel of litter at the mo. See new thread...
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Nick you are so clever!!! :Luv: :Luv: Why didnt I think of that , the wallpaper board thingy! Definitely gonna give that a try and Ozzy says he will be on his best behaviour and just beat Ginge up for you :rofl: :rofl: (Will work for Tuna he asked me to add)
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Hey no worries .....we have a tuna farm ;D ;) :rofl:
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Nick, just to let you know, I gave your wallpaper board idea a go and its worked a treat :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :clap: I may have to kiss you :lick:
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Mmmm a smackeroony on the lips I hope :Luv: :Crazy: ;D of course you will have to kiss Peanut and Lardass too lol :doh: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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Big smacker Nick :) guaranteed