New Cat is De-carpeting the Carpet! Bonus: poo, pictures

bear

The missus and I recently adopted a 3-year-old grey and white cat from the Humane Society. Nell is pretty and playful and like people, so she's a fairly good match for us... Except I have allergies. Now normally my allergies are not a problem. I take Zyrtec regularly and the most I'll suffer is a tickle in my throat and a sneeze or two. But I'd rather not risk worse symptoms at night. So the missus and I close the door to our room when we go to bed.

Nell doesn't like this.

Over the past couple of nights I've been woken up by her clawing at the carpet right outside the door. This morning, I noticed several tufts of carpet torn up and scattered in front of the door.

Here's my question: how do we get her to stop clawing the carpet?

Bonus question: how do i make our apartment not smell like cat shit all the goddamn time? Enclosed litterbox?

Pictures (because this IS a cat thread after all) will come when I get back home.

Richard_Dastardly

You could maybe spray some citrusy-stuff on the carpet in front of the door, or lay cardboard down, but really... either just wait her out or let her sleep with you guys. She's probably lonely at night. Or used to sleeping with people.

If your apartment smells like cat shit, then try to clean it out as soon as the cat uses it. Sometimes cheap catfood can make their crap smell really bad, so if that's the case maybe you could buy some of the better stuff. Like Sheba (kidding. That shit is expensive.). Or, you could try a higher grade litter and see if that helps.

Quoth

For the smell, I suggest this.

xa52

I'm allergic to cats. It went away a couple of weeks after I got my kitten. I didn't take any drugs though, so I'm not sure if that would slow the adjustment process.

The standard solution to cats scratching where they're not supposed to is to move the cat to a scratching post or pad whenever they're doing it. That won't work here, because she's probably only scratching because you're not there. The obvious answer would be to cover it up. Something like tin foil or double-sided tape would deter her, or you could just cover it with a scrap piece of carpet or cardboard to protect the spot until she grows out of it.

mts

typically, you will get used to your cats dander and become less sensitive to your cat. it worked for my wife and I , but we also got both our cats as kittens. so your mileage may vary if it an older cat.

you can try an air filter. we had one going nonstop the first couple months in our bedroom.

as for th ecarpet. its one of two things. its wants to be with you and hates that it can't so its scratching to get in. or 2. the carpet there is the perfect spot for a bit ofa scratch. you can try getting a small scratching post and putting it in that area as a diverson. or you can let the cat in with you.

as far as pooh smell goes. just keep the box clean. we scoop ours twice a day and the only time it ever smells is if both cats go before we get to it

Namel3ss

I would recommend getting something like a chair mat (those thin hard plasic mats with the carpet grippers on the bottom) to put in front of the door. If the cat then just starts scratching the carpet next to the chair mat, lay down a cheap rug, or spare piece of carpeting on that in front of the door.

FyreWulff

If you don't have the money for a fancy air filter, you can also just strap a 20" furnace filter to the back of a box fan.

Works wonders.

Quirk

Double Sided tape worked for my cat when she was scratching the sofas up, she hates that stuff

bear

Thanks! I'm going to suggest we try leaving the door open tomorrow night (not needing to wake up at 6 on Saturday, so loss of sleep will be mostly ok), and we're going to look into some other kind of smell covering or whatever. Maybe an enclosed litterbox, maybe just a ton of air fresheners.

Pictures? PICTURES! Behind the spoilers.

Nell is curious!

Any other suggestions are MORE than welcome.

Gihgehls

I'll second putting a piece of carpet there. I actually don't have one so I stuff a spare blanket under the door. If she is keeping me up though, I just shake the airsoft gun. That sends her running.

eternalbl

It sounds like the cats clawing the carpet because it wants to be around you and the old lady. If you're going to stop it without allowing the cat in the room you have to get up when the cat does it and do something.

Personally I'd smack it lightly on the butt and close the door again. But I could understand some people not wanting to do that. There's always water too, apparently cats hate water.

dispatch.o

They make rugs out of coconut fiber or other such harsh material. They also make them out of sisal at pet supply stores. They're rough and painful for people but animals love them. You could put a small 12"x12" rug near the door in question and see if the cat will go after that.

Cats are lazy, they will not travel more than 4 or 5 feet to scratch on something if they feel like it. Put a scratch post near the entrance to most rooms your cat frequents and it should help.

zilo

We have 2 kittens and they both do exactly the same thing. It's like kittycat separation anxiety or something. We've taken to putting towels down since they like to gnaw on cardboard; if I catch them at it I spritz them with a water bottle from underneath the door. It surprises the hell out of 'em but it hasn't gotten them to stop completely; we still find the occasional tuft of carpet or wake up in the middle of the night to them trying to scratch their way in.

MetroidZoid

I can back the double-sided tape advice, it works great especially when the cat is clawing at one particular area. If you check your local pet store, they may sell it in larger pieces or wider rolls specifically for this purpose.

Also, big congrats on not only getting a great looking cat, but adopting it from the Humane Society as well. :^:

lizard eats flies

Also try using soft paws: http://www.softpaws.com/
They are little rubber coverings that you glue onto their claws and prevents them from tearing up your stuff. Handy if you are like me and not a fan of de-clawing. And you can get them in all sorts of colors to make your cat oh so pretty.

Gihgehls

I've tried double sided tape but it gets crapped up pretty quickly being on the floor and all.