# Help! -5 Month old Kitten started scratching my carpet non stop



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

I trimmed my kittens claws for the first time last week (previously were done at the vets). This may be a coincidence but he is now suddenly scratching my living room carpet every single day at every chance he gets. He has scratch posts but has never uses them.

As soon as he attacks the carpet,I take him to the posts and try and get him to scratch them. It just doesnt seem to register. I've even tried training him with treats but he just desperately pulls away his paws from any of the posts. Catnip on the posts is not effective either.

Can anyone help with this before my carpets are threadbare please.


----------



## Bertie'sMum (Mar 27, 2017)

Some cats prefer horizontal scratching areas to vertical ones (mine certainly does !) so perhaps he'd prefer one of the 'flat' scratching mats made from sisal or corrugated cardboard - they come in a variety of shapes and sizes; this kind of thing (lots available on Amazon !)


----------



## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

As the above post says. He has shown you he prefers horizontal scratching over vertical. Give him flat or angled scratchers. Give him multiple choices. Cover the spots he goes to on the rug with them, and/or use floor mats to cover the spots.

At some point he may want vertical as well so ensure your upright scratchers are very sturdy and tall enough so that he can stretch out fully as an adult cat. He'll need a tree or shelves of some kind for elevated space, as well.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

lorilu said:


> As the above post says. He has shown you he prefers horizontal scratching over vertical. Give him flat or angled
> scratchers. Give him multiple choices. Cover the spots he goes to on the rug with them, and/or use floor mats to cover
> 
> 
> ...





lorilu said:


> As the above post says. He has shown you he prefers horizontal scratching over vertical. Give him flat or angled scratchers. Give him multiple choices. Cover the spots he goes to on the rug with them, and/or use floor mats to cover the spots.
> 
> At some point he may want vertical as well so ensure your upright scratchers are very sturdy and tall enough so that he can stretch out fully as an adult cat. He'll need a tree or shelves of some kind for elevated space, as well.


He has a horizontal corrugated one but just sits on it lol. Also has vertical ones on his cat tree but not interested. Have sent off for some more this week. He's started on the curtains and backs of my dinning room chairs today!!! Wondering why hes only just started doing it after 6 weeks. Good idea about covering the area of the carpet he seems to scratch, as he doesnt do it in any other areas.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Annealise - is that your kitten in your avatar?  I didn't realise you have a BSH Silver Tabby, he is gorgeous! He reminds me so much of my beloved BSH Silver Tabby who went to Rainbow Bridge 8 yrs ago at the age of 18. What a character he was! I still miss him loads.

Has your boy been neutered yet? If not, his increased scratching (for scent marking) could well be to do with his hormones, i.e. he is maturing and becoming more aware of the need to protect his territory.

I found with my BSH cats (I had two Silvers, a spotted as well as a tabby), I needed to provide a lot of different choice of scratchers, different textures, e.g. compressed cardboard, planks covered with carpet offcuts, plain pieces of soft wood, and lots of different kinds of sisal covered posts.

The scratchers were spread about the house, about 2 or 3 to a room, always one near the door of each room as the cats liked to scent mark as soon as they entered the room.

Some of the carpet covered planks were screwed to the wall, both vertically and horizontally, and were very popular, Others were placed flat on the floor.

To protect your dining chairs I would hang fleece throws over the backs and tape the fleece to the chair at the bottom using double sided tape. (so the tape is hidden). This should prevent your boy being able to get underneath and scratch the chair fabric.

Rub all the scratchers every day for now with powdered cat nip. If you see your boy go to scratch carpets or furniture, say nothing but pick him up and take him to the nearest scratcher and gently paddle his front paws up and down mimicking the movements he would make himself. You may need to continue with this training every day for several weeks until he understands there are specific places it is OK to scratch. Give him lots of praise when he uses a scratcher of his own accord. 

He may still have the odd slip up even once you have trained him, but a couple of gentle reminders (with the paw paddling) should have him back on track.

Photos of your cute boy would be lovely!


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> @Annealise - is that your kitten in your avatar?  I didn't realise you have a BSH Silver Tabby, he is gorgeous! He reminds me so much of my beloved BSH Silver Tabby who went to Rainbow Bridge 8 yrs ago at the age of 18. What a character he was! I still miss him loads.
> 
> Has your boy been neutered yet? If not, his increased scratching (for scent marking) could well be to do with his hormones, i.e. he is maturing and becoming more aware of the need to protect his territory.
> 
> ...


@chillminx Yes, that's my boy Shinji ( Japanese for ' second son') . Oh you had a BSH Silver too! Do they tend tohave long legs.? I look at 'Blues' the same age and he looks like a giraffe to those little legs. The Silvers sure are characters and very active aren't they!

That's interesting about the hormones connection with the scratching. He's due to be neutered next month. I darent go over 6months in case of spraying... Well, I have a variation of scratching posts for him but he's just not interested. I used a catnip spray but it didn't do anything... If the powder will adhere to posts then I'll give the powder a go. The flat on the floor scratching board - he just sits on lol. I am down on my hands and knees mimicking a cat scratching at the posts ( I'm desperate lol) and take him every single time he scratches the carpet to various scratchers. I met a cat owner friend today and told her I'd cut his claws. Apparently I've cut them incorrectly and practically gave him a human manicure!!! Whilst he was sleeping and facing away from me I cut the claws with the scissors positioned horizontally instead of using them vertically. I'd had to be a contortionistto do that the other way. I'll get help next time I do them. Some did claws did look a bit straight across looking - he must be trying to file them back ?

I have had to get chair covers for the chairs now - loads of pinpricks all over the faux leather.......

That's nice you requested a pic of Shinji - where do I post it please? What cats do you have now?

More cat scratchers are on the way in the post , let's hope he likes one of them!


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Annealise - to post a photo, just click on "Upload a file" in the reply section and then transfer the photo from your computer. What a lovely name Shinji is! (My boy was called Jespah.)

Yes, my boy had short legs, as did the BSH Silver Spotted. I think that is usual with some lines, though their mother was a bit longer in the legs.

As Shinji is not yet neutered I am sure the scratching is due to scent marking. Is there any reason why you are leaving his neutering until 6 months old? There is nothing to be gained by doing that, in terms of his growth or his health. Icat Care and the Cat Group now recommend neutering males and female kittens at 4 months old, before they reach sexual maturity.

There is a risk the longer you leave it he may keep any unwanted habits he develops due to becoming sexually mature, even after being neutered. This includes spraying (if he were to start that) or attempting to mate with his toys, as well as scratching your furniture and carpets.

Powdered cat nip is more effective than the spray type. You need to rub it in well. But not all cats are sensitive to cat nip and he may be too young still. Some cats don't react to it until they are 6 mths old. Keep trying though!


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

Post deleted


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

@chillminx - something went wrong when I tried to post a pic yesterday


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Annealise said:


> @chillminx - something went wrong when I tried to post a pic yesterday


Aww, that's a pity! Maybe try again?


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> Aww, that's a pity! Maybe try again?


 @chillminx I'll try from my phone instead soon . Do you know how I actually delete a post of mine I did in error please?


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Annealise said:


> @chillminx I'll try from my phone instead soon . Do you know how I actually delete a post of mine I did in error please?


Just click on the "edit" facility and the delete the text from your post. It will just leave a blank space. If you want to you can type "post deleted" in the blank space, but some people just leave it blank.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> Just click on the "edit" facility and the delete the text from your post. It will just leave a blank space. If you want to you can type "post deleted" in the blank space, but some people just leave it blank.


Thanks - I was actually deleting my text until there was a blank space but it kept reappearing back. Hopefully I'll get the hang of everything on here soon.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Annealise said:


> Thanks - I was actually deleting my text until there was a blank space but it kept reappearing back. Hopefully I'll get the hang of everything on here soon.


Oooh that's strange! I've never had that happen to me if I've deleted a post! Maybe it was a temporary 'blip' in the system!


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> Oooh that's strange! I've never had that happen to me if I've deleted a post! Maybe it was a temporary 'blip' in the system!


 Strange - Really frustrating, so i hope so.

Pics of Shinji this week


----------



## bogdog (Jan 1, 2014)

Have you tried showing him to how to use the posts? Lifting his paws onto it and moving them down a couple of times? Worked with my Persian years ago.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Awww, he is gorgeous @Annealise ! Such a sweet face! I love him!  . If you ever get fed up with him I will happily take him off your hands, LOL 

Have you spoken to the vet and asked to bring forward the date of the neutering? There is no need to wait until Shinji is 6 months old. In fact it is not a good idea to wait so late, as bad habits can develop which are hard to get rid of later.


----------



## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

We put sheepskins down where the cats liked to scratch and they love to paw at those instead of clawing the carpet.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> Awww, he is gorgeous @Annealise ! Such a sweet face! I love him!  . If you ever get fed up with him I will happily take him off your
> 
> Have you spoken to the vet and asked to bring forward the date of the neutering? There is no need to wait until Shinji is 6 months old. In fact it is not a good idea to wait so late, as bad habits can develop which are hard to get rid of later.


 @chillminx Awh, thank you for the nice comments about Shinji. He has a face I can never tell off no matter what lol.

I am planning to call the Vet this week to discuss neutering. A lot of BSH breeders seem to advocate neutering later (about 9 months) when they have grown and the head is formed more, rather than younger? There seem to be pros & cons for sooner AND later so it has confused me a bit.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

bogdog said:


> Have you tried showing him to how to use the posts? Lifting his paws onto it and moving them down a couple of times? Worked with my Persian years ago.


@lillytheunicorn Yes, I've showed him how to scratch the posts endless times. Two more different ones arrived in the post last week and he wont go near them - totally uninterested. I even put treats on the sisley flat one and he found a way to navigate the treats without stepping on it lol.Thats good your cat took to it after you showed him.


----------



## bogdog (Jan 1, 2014)

Perhaps little Feliway spray where he scratches?


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Annealise said:


> @chillminx Awh, thank you for the nice comments about Shinji. He has a face I can never tell off no matter what lol.
> 
> I am planning to call the Vet this week to discuss neutering. A lot of BSH breeders seem to advocate neutering later (about 9 months) when they have grown and the head is formed more, rather than younger? There seem to be pros & cons for sooner AND later so it has confused me a bit.


To make any difference to the size of his head, I believe you'd need to postpone neutering until he is at least 12 months old as that is the age around which the males develop and keep the wider face and the jowls.

If you want him to have the thicker neck, shorter legs and stocky body that are typical of entire male cats, you'd need to wait to neuter him until he is about 18 months old as that is when the long bone growth plates will have closed. In cats neutered before the growth plates have all closed they develop into bigger cats with long legs, long bodies and smaller heads. Though size will depend on the breed as well.

Many scientific studies have been done on this, and the conclusions are that neutering at 4 months, 7 months or 9 months makes little or no difference to the cat's eventual size. At 9 months many of the growth plates will still not have closed. I have a list somewhere of when all the different growth plates close, and will see if I can find it for you later.


----------



## Quartermass (Nov 25, 2016)

My cat wouldn't use a scratching post for a long time, but eventually - perhaps 12-18 months after I got him he started and now he uses it from time to time. I still need to trim his nails though but he does use it.

My thinking is that he learned by himself when he was climbing up his cat tree, the posts are wrapped in the same sisal rope that scratching posts are done with.

So maybe eventually your cat will.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> To make any difference to the size of his head, I believe you'd need to postpone neutering until he is at least 12 months old as that is the age around which the males develop and keep the wider face and the jowls.
> 
> If you want him to have the thicker neck, shorter legs and stocky body that are typical of entire male cats, you'd need to wait to neuter him until he is about 18 months old as that is when the long bone growth plates will have closed. In cats neutered before the growth plates have all closed they develop into bigger cats with long legs, long bodies and smaller heads. Though size will depend on the breed as well.
> 
> Many scientific studies have been done on this, and the conclusions are that neutering at 4 months, 7 months or 9 months makes little or no difference to the cat's eventual size. At 9 months many of the growth plates will still not have closed. I have a list somewhere of when all the different growth plates close, and will see if I can find it for you later.


@chillminx That is very interesting - thanks for that info!
As neutered cats seem to gain weight (and Shinji has such a little face and head, but a long big body already) I was thinking of holding off until his face filled out a bit more. But theres no way I could hold off until 12 months lol......

I read on here recently that you mentioned you had an indoor cat in an apartment once, that became distressed and wanted to go out AFTER being neutered??? I thought they were like this before and not afterwards?

I would be most interested in your article when you have time to dig it out please.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Annealise - I will send you the articles by PM as they are from a journal of vet medicine with restricted access.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

chillminx said:


> @Annealise - I will send you the articles by PM as they are from a journal of vet medicine with restricted access.


Thanks very much.


----------



## Annealise (Nov 29, 2015)

Quartermass said:


> My cat wouldn't use a scratching post for a long time, but eventually - perhaps 12-18 months after I got him he started and now he uses it from time to time. I still need to trim his nails though but he does use it.
> 
> My thinking is that he learned by himself when he was climbing up his cat tree, the posts are wrapped in the same sisal rope that scratching posts are done with.
> 
> So maybe eventually your cat will.


Well there's hope after all then. Hopefully I will not have a threadbare carpet by then lol.


----------

