Clawing through the door!

[Karen]

I am glad you are not considering declawing, thank you! Have you tried a baby gate outside the door to just keep her away from it? Can you play some white noise or music so you won't hear her as much, or wear ear plugs? Could you put some scratching posts near the door so she can vent her frustration on them, and then gradually move them further away from the door slowly? Any hope of wearing her out with heavy playtime before bed so she's too tired to try, or taking the opposite approach and shutting in another room, like the kitchen for the night?

Does catnip mellow her out?

How does she feel about fans? Would a big window fan set up blowing air at her keep her deterred from the door? (I know some cats think fans eat delicate little kitties and others just HATE their fur being ruffled ...

[Moesha]

What about trimming her nails? I know that won't stop the problem, but it may help prevent her from doing more damage.

[Aimala]

Wow! Thank you both for the great ideas. We had not thought of any of them. We are going to try the scratching post and cat nip tonight. Wish us luck!

[Karen]

Do let us know how it goes!

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I've got shredded carpet in several doorways from the same thing, LOL. When they want in or out of a closed door, they really want in or out of a closed door! My guys accidentally shut themselves into my home office once and my brand new carpet paid the price. Havoc was probably playing with a toy between the door and the wall and pushed the door shut from inside.

Cats don't like the smell of mothballs. You might want to put one near the door, if you can stand the smell yourself. But it might be too strong for kitty's nose to be in the house at all. Then again if you've already tried other repellants, this might not work anyway.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi and welcome to PT. You could also try spraying some Feliway near and around your doorway. It's supposed to help calm cats and maybe it would help her with having to be separated from you at night. You can buy both the spray and plugins at most pet stores. Good luck.

[moosmom]

KrazyAboutKatz,

Great minds think alike!!! Feliway is a great product!!! I have the concentrated spray at all times, as my guys have a tendency to go nuts when I'm trying to sleep. Just a few squirts high up in the air (don't spray directly on cats) and they calm right down.

Have you tried isolating them in a room with their food and litterbox??? Another great product is Soft Paws. They're nothing more than "lee press-on nails" for cats!!! They can scratch all they want and it doesn't do damage.

I tried shutting my RB MooShoo out of my room at night, and he did the same damage as he was so used to sleeping with me.

Good luck, keep us posted and WELCOME TO PET TALK!!!!