Cat (bengal) scratching carpet

[MagicMelon]

One of my bengals has always been a carpet scratcher, not horrific but enough to see some damage. Now we have brand new carpets in some rooms its driving me insane. She's a very opinionated bengal and will go out of her way to do annoying things just for attention (even if its to get shouted at / put out of the room!). She thinks everything is a game. Does anyone have any ideas as to how to stop it? Ive tried ignoring it and Ive tried shutting the doors to the carpeted rooms (but thats not practical as my 5yo son just leaves them all open as our house is a long cottage so have to open doors to get to hallways to bathrooms etc.). The house is certainly not small, she has loads of space, another bengal who she generally gets on with and our dog who she beats up along with plenty of toys. I thought about getting her a scratching post but we had one before which she never used. Im not one for negative reinforcement however Im considering getting a spray bottle with water and spraying her on her body if she starts to do it but that might amuse her even more as she likes water! Anyone sort their carpet scratcher??

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Mine really love the cardboard scratching trays with catnip and I’ve found they use those and haven’t thankfully scratched my new leather sofa. They do a bit of carpet scratching but very little there is a spray you can use to deter them.

I keep at least two trays going at any one time.

 

[Britestar]

You could try feliscratch to guide her to somewhere you want her to go. Its made by Feliway.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Have you tried using a cardboard scratcher as suggested above, or simply putting a couple of cardboard boxes down for her? Mine fortunately uses a scratching post for the most part but she does love having a scratch in one of her many cardboard boxes! If you are going to get a scratching post ensure it is as tall as possible, as the short ones are really no good - they like to stretch up when they scratch. They also like to scratch their claws when they wake up, so maybe position scratcher/post/box near to her bed. Could you buy a cat tree? They have lots of scratchy posts, so if she sleeps in the tree she may scratch when she wakes up on the post. If there is an area of carpet she seems to prefer, stick the cardboard there and see if she has a go on it. Other than that, I'm out of suggestions!

 

[Shady]

I had this problem years ago with a cat and the only thing that worked was the OH making a scratching post out of branches in a sort of v shape so she could climb it too, she loved it and never scratched anything else again. A bit drastic i know but needs must sometimes.....

 

[Umbongo]

I would try again with a scratching post and spray it with catnip spray, and/or feliscratch.
My friend also made a scratching post out of an old log and branches. Her cats loved it.
She needs to have somewhere else she can scratch and go about her normal behaviour/relieve stress etc.

https://icatcare.org/advice/problem-behaviour/scratching-furniture-and-carpets

 

[MagicMelon]

Ok thanks all, will try the scratching post route and see how we get on. Will try her with a cardboard type one and a log! The only other slight issue is that occassionally one of them who is particularily stupid does eat things it shouldn't... she will sometimes eat cardboard and she already had a vet trip last year as she'd found some little foam things my child played with and chewed them up eating them causing a blockage! She really is a strange character.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Ok thanks all, will try the scratching post route and see how we get on. Will try her with a cardboard type one and a log! The only other slight issue is that occassionally one of them who is particularily stupid does eat things it shouldn't... she will sometimes eat cardboard and she already had a vet trip last year as she'd found some little foam things my child played with and chewed them up eating them causing a blockage! She really is a strange character.

One of mine likes ripping up anything paper or cardboard lying about and has destroyed several cardboard boxes, not sure if it’s ever ingested though. At least cardboards biodegradable.

 

[Sleighfarer]

Are there particular spots where she always scratches? We once had a cat who scratched in the same place all the time and my dad cut a square of carpet from the original carpet that had been left over. We put the square on top of the actual carpet and it completely foxed the cat, who carried on scratching the square as if nothing had changed. It was near a wall, however, which made it easier to keep in place.