Scratching problem

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

leave all doors open!

mind you sasa my semi-feral still uses the door and carpet. she uses doot to tell me that she is ready to play and that i should come immediately 

[moiramassey]

I had a cat activity centre when my kittens were young eight years ago. Once they grew up I converted the 'pillar' parts of it to two really tall scratching posts. They are each about 1 metre tall. I have one on the landing and one in the kitchen and all my cats love them. If it were me, I would get many scratching posts, dot them about the house and see which ones get used. Scatching posts are a cheap alternative to damaged wall coverings and furniture.

[tigerbaby]

We got Jameson a scratching post from Argos, and he is really good and use it, although he also likes using our brand new bedroom carpet.
Try rubbing in catnip on the scratch post to encourage scratching on it! Good luck.

[blackcat]

you can get cat repellent sprays that are citrus based, and probably more concentrated than anything you could manage at home - although those bottles of lemon juice you buy at the supermarket may do the trick ...

[kentcatlover]

Thanks peeps.

Yes she does have a scratching post which she does use but it isn't really tall enough for her to stretch out now so I've recently ordered a larger one so hopefully the doors won't look so tempting!
Dawn, I do tend to let her in the bathroom with me sometimes as its easier but she is shut out of the bedroom at night as otherwise she wants to sleep on my chest which isn't exactly comfortable! haha.

Plus i have been using the water spray method for the past few days, which she definitely doesn't like but it takes a few times to stop her for any length of time. Maybe its just a case of keeping at it and hopefully she'll get the message? I also heard that cats hate citrus smells so I wondered if spraying lemon juice on the doors will have any effect? Any thoughts?

[kris]

She needs something to scatch on and she clearly likes the upright ones so make sure she had a good solid one to use, punish appropriate scratching and praise appropriate scratching so lots of praise and hugs when she uses her post or those scratch mats and either a firm no and no further attention when she uses the wall or door, a water bottle spray can be effective for some cats, a quick spray (avoid her face) can often deter cats from that sort of thing if you use it consistently for a few days 

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

With her scratching on the bathroom door whilst you're in there, wouldn't it be easier just to let her in with you?  I know anyone using the loo in our house has to have a trail of cats following them in    You said she wakes you up in the morning, is she also locked out of the bedroom?

[Maddiesmum]

Does she have scratch posts? Cats need to scratch

[kentcatlover]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to stop my young cat Rosie from scratching on our walls and wooden doors. She has ruined one patch of wallpaper already!

Also whenever she wants to go in the bedroom when I'm in there she scratches the hell out of the door. They are solid wooden ones so the damage doesn't show too much yet but its getting there! Plus she is now doing it to wake me up early every morning (mostly for attention I think as she will still do it even if I leave biscuits out for her).

She will stop if I say a firm No but then will just come back 30 seconds later for another go! Also all the doors and walls have been covered (at least 3 times) with a non-scratching spray but this clearly doesn't bother her.

Any ideas please people?! I'm getting desperate!