Cats and Carpet

February 27, 2012 9:15 AM

What other types of scratchy things can I give to my cat? How can I train her (an infrequent scratcher) to use it?

This is Oliver, and this is Madeleine. They both came home with us about a month or so. Oliver is around ten months old, and Maddy is around ten years. They are not friends, but relations are improving.

Oliver is mostly a vertical scratcher, and caught on to the cardboard scratching post we already had set up right away. We have to stop him from scratching something inappropriate every couple of days, but he's learning fast, and we're not worried.

Maddy, on the other hand, seems relatively uninterested in scratching. She turns a stretch into a scratch once a day or so. The problem is, she only scratches horizontally, and on different areas of our carpet every time. There is no consistent location, and no consistent time. We've sprayed Feliway everywhere, and it seems to have no effect on the scratching.

She has shown no interest in the cardboard scratchers, horizontally or vertically. Even when it's covered in catnip, she'll lay down next to it and chew it a little bit, but won't touch it with her claws.

We figured she liked the feel of carpet, so got them a half-sisal and half-carpet (with two textures of carpet) horizontal scratch structure, and, again, she won't touch it other than to lick the catnippy areas. Fortunately, Oliver likes to play on it.

The other issue is that Maddy does not like to be picked up. So, if we try to move her from where she's scratching to an appropriate place, she just freaks out. At this point, we are just reprimanding her for scratching the carpet, but I feel terrible that we haven't provided her with an appealing alternative.

What else can I try as a good scratching surface for Maddy? That hopefully won't break the bank if she ignores it? How can I train her to scratch appropriately when she does it so rarely?

posted by freshwater to pets & animals (13 answers total)

You might want to get a cat tree (they are much cheaper online at Amazon and if you are a prime member you can get them shipped for free). They usually come with a carpeted base that's vertical and they have nooks to perch and nap on.

I have a herd of cats and they all love these cat trees and use them to scritch upon, but sadly in 12 years we have never really been able to train the whole "streeetch, scratch scratch" out of the ones who like to do that. We just keep their nails trimmed (1 x per week when we're being responsible) and squirt them with water when we catch them or make a loud noise to discourage it. It's not all that frequent, but it still happens. It's kind of heartbreaking to do that to a skittish cat, I know, but in my experience providing alternatives doesn't always work.
posted by Kimberly at 9:22 AM on February 27, 2012

* carpeted base that's horizontal
posted by Kimberly at 9:23 AM on February 27, 2012

We've had good luck with our cat Deutzia and doormats. We picked up a couple of different options at Ikea and she chose her favorite.

A coworker of mine tells me that cats really don't like scratching objects that move. Could that be part of the issue?
posted by sciencegeek at 9:24 AM on February 27, 2012

Clip the tips of her claw regularly. She seems to want to scratch when she's alone, so make sure there's a carpeted scratching post in a solitary area. For training, a sharp 'No' and a squirt bottle of water will help with saying no.
posted by theora55 at 9:25 AM on February 27, 2012

Try to figure out what triggers her stretch-scratch behavior. If its from when she gets up from sleep, or is just looking for attention because she's bored, or whatever. That might help not only curb it, but maybe help you put scratchy things where she does it. Any chance for positive reinforcement of good scratching behavior is key.

Seconding the Ikea rugs. They make polypropylene doormats that are very cheap and are rugged and are perfect for cat scratching.

Also seconding trimming her nails. I understand she doesn't like to be picked up, but you can teach her to tolerate it if you keep doing it and treat her after you are done. You don't have to trim much, just the needle-sharp tips off of the end.

Interestingly, I have had some success by ... pretending to scratch cat-appropriate surfaces, you know, so the cat sees that its a good place to scratch. Copy-cats. YMMV.
posted by jabberjaw at 9:33 AM on February 27, 2012

My cats absolutely love this thing. I brought it home and sprinkled some catnip on it to attract their attention and it's been their best friend ever since.
posted by something something at 9:41 AM on February 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding the cat tree. We've had a few scratching posts and cardboard pads over the years and none were big hits but the tree is ripped to bits and all three cats have frequent games of king of the hill on it as well. Best cat purchase we've ever made. Ours is about 5 feet tall and came from petsmart. My daughter found a locally made 8' tall one in Seattle via Craigslist - made by a local artist and it looks totally amazing - much more attractive piece of "furniture" than ours.
posted by leslies at 10:03 AM on February 27, 2012

something something, that is the carpet and sisal thing I bought. She has no interest in it.

Kimberly, we don't really want to spend the money on a cat tree if it's not going to be popular, especially as space is an issue. Neither cat is super interested in high places at this point, though that may change.

We have been clipping her claws (she's a lap cat, so that's no problem), so she isn't doing much damage, it's just not a habit we want her to keep.

We use no and the squirt bottle for reprimands. She usually responds to a no without needing to be squirted.

We would love to use positive reinforcement, but she has yet to scratch anywhere appropriate.

She does seem to like to stretch and scratch after a nap, but she'll do it anywhere.

We might try a cheap door mat.
posted by freshwater at 10:06 AM on February 27, 2012

It may be relevant that she doesn't scratch every time she stretches -- maybe one time out of four.
posted by freshwater at 10:13 AM on February 27, 2012

You could try laying down a few squares of Flor modular floor covering in various places and see if she takes an interest.

They're incredibly durable, inexpensive, and exactly the kind of tight weave carpet cats love to sink their claws into. They come in a huge variety of styles and colors, too, if you decide to get decorative, and the darker shades are very forgiving as far as wear and tear go. Our young male cat uses the two remnant squares we use as a doormat as scratching pads all the time. He shows little interest in the sisal door hanger our female cat loves.
posted by TryTheTilapia at 10:37 AM on February 27, 2012

We've got a really thick sisal doormat. All the cats love it and tear the hell out of it. It holds up much better than the card board scratch mats, though ours is pretty old so we end up picking up a few fibers that get torn out here and there. It's worked better than anything we've bought at a pet store. I seriously recommend it!
posted by stray thoughts at 4:02 PM on February 27, 2012

What is the texture of the carpet that she DOES like to scratch?

Maybe you could pick up some carpet remnant (ask at a carpet store if they will let you have/buy cheaply some remnants) of the same texture and keep it in an out of the way place?
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:13 PM on February 27, 2012

Something occurred to me. Does your cat respond to the "disapproving" tone of voice? Not just "No!" but "Maddeeeeee" said in a slow, low voice, rising tone. When I do it, my cats look at me in a "What? What am I doing that is potentially wrong?" The disapproving tone is a warning tone that precedes the "NO!" command. It comes in very handy when dealing with the gray area.

Anyways, what I've discovered is that if they are about to do something bad and I use the disapproving tone, it stops them from doing it. Like, Spotty Cat will put his paws up on the side of the couch, stretching. "Spooottttyyyy Caaaat," disapprovingly. He will stop, look at me, then play it off like "I wasn't doin' nothin'." If he proceeded to scratch, I would yell "PSSST!" and then he gets freaked out. Eventually, he stops scratching the side of the couch. (When I'm looking, that is.)

Or, Stripey Cat will look up at the countertop, poised like she wants to perch there. "Striiipppeeeeyyy," disapprovingly. Stripey Cat thinks better of it and walks away (leaving the counter tops for when I'm at work, evidenced by paw prints).

Where I was going is that you can give the disapproval warning every single time the cat stretches. If she doesn't scratch, then you praise her, no harm no foul. If she does scratch, then you spritz her with the spray bottle or whatever. She will eventually learn that it is the scratching part of the stretch that is bad.
posted by jabberjaw at 4:25 PM on February 29, 2012