For the past 8 days or so, Feeny has come to the bedroom door between 3 and 5 AM and scratches over and over and over again on the door until we wake up and open it and then he runs away. How can we get this to stop? He has Taco to play with, tons of toys, water, is fed before bed... we don't let them in the bedroom at night because they would always wake us up hourly and it was never a problem until randomly last week he started this. Is there a way to discourage this scratching? I am a very gentle sleeper and once he wakes me up I usually can't fall back asleep for another hour or two if at all and it's becoming a big problem with every day functioning.
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help - feeny won't stop scratching on door
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With such a dedicated scratcher I would put something outside your bedroom door to give sweet Feeny pause. Something like the vacuum comes to mind. If not is there something that could keep him from getting to the door,a distraction of some sort. If he gets a reaction at all(your opening the door) that is enough of a payout for him to think it's worthwhile. So barricade the outside of your door and maybe get earplugs and ignore the heck out of him until he decides that there are better things he can do with his time.
Hope this gave you a few ideas.I know you don't need this on top of being sick. [[[hugs]] -
Oh my Gini. If Taco isn't eating every weird thing a cat can find, Feeny is trying to run into the hall or squeeze into the catbed he's outgrown. I used to have the same problem and used to take a large couch or chair cushion and pull it close to my bedroom door when I closed it. When my kitty started meowing because of the big cushion, I brought the other cushion into my bedroom and propped it against the door on the other side. It really muffled the meowing pretty well. Before I resorted to "padding" my door I was getting out of bed at 2 and 3am to see what the urgency was. Litter boxes were clean, water bowl was full of fresh water, snacks and toys were in place. I never figured out what these phases were all about but it seemed like she just had insomnia and wanted company. I had to be at work by 5:30 and just couldn't stay up with her. Kitties keep us on our toes don't they?
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BC thanks for the ideas. We'll try to ignore his scratches tonight and see if he gets bored of it.
KK thanks for the story; glad to know I'm not the only one! I'm not sure if we'd be up to moving the whole couch every night and even so I doubt it'd stop him. He'd probably climb on the back of it and scratch the door from there! LOL
I read online that putting aluminum foil on the door helps because they don't like the sound so we tried it last night and of course he scratched the door anyways and the foil made it so loud and annoying! ack!
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Thanks GD! Sorry to hear you are troubled too :( :(
He also not only did it for 20 minutes straight, but after he gave up he came back about an hour later and did it all over again only this time I didn't want to wait the 20 minutes so I just opened the door to make him happy, he ran away (probably giggling a little kitty giggle), I shut the door again, and all was well. I couldn't fall asleep again after it though so once more I'm exhausted.
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Gini...Cricket and Fred are allowed into our room and Fred still comes in and caterwalls at me...if he thinks I am even slightly awake he does it...drives me crazy...I ignore him...he wants to be either fed his wet food(not at 3am he won't be) or some attention...again..not at 3am..lol
Posted 2 years ago by cricketsmama #
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George did the same sort of thing when we first got him, when we also weren't letting him in the bedroom at night. He would howl and hurl himself at the door for what seemed like all night.
Feeny just wants to be where his humans are. By opening the door you're giving him what he wants, which reinforces the scratching behavior. We ended up giving in and letting George in the bedroom at night; it was the best thing we ever did. He comes to bed when we do, comes up on the bed for some petting from both of us, then usually curls up on the end of the bed and goes to sleep. Occasionally he's full of beans and wants to play, but we just push him off the bed and he goes away. No more endless yowling and trying to kick the door down.
I hope you find a solution SOON; I remember all too well what it's like to be sleep-deprived because of a cat.
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CM that's exactly why we don't let the boys in at night. The two of them usually go wild in the middle of the night and would bite our toes, poke our faces, and chase each other on the bed ontop of our bodies. It just got to be too much. The boys stayed out in the other rooms for over a year and we NEVER had a problem even once until just last week when Feeny started it. I just don't get why this happened. What could have caused the change?
KR the boys go too nuts for us to let them in :( We used to but they just go way too crazy. George sounds so sweet at night :) You are lucky! Thanks for the good wishes.
I don't know what to try next. Do you think that sour spray that they sell in stores would keep him off the door or is that just to prevent cats from nibbling on things?
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If the finish on your door would hold up, try putting some wide strips of that double-sided sticky tape on it. You can get it in big pieces at some pet stores and online. You would have to cover the whole door, just put a piece from side to side, then put another strip about 5 inches above the first. That way Feeny wouldn't have enough room between strips to get a really good scratch in.
Maybe he just wants the laundry so he can wash a load of unmentionables while you are sleeping. ;)
Posted 2 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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Bump- this is REALLY becoming a problem. NOTHING is working. We've tried the vacuum cleaner(doesnt work), we've tried ignoring it (he keeps coming back and goes nonstop for like 40 min each time), we've tried foil(he scratches anyways- its louder), we've tried citrus spray on the door(nada), we've tried spraying him with water when he does it (but he runs too fast to be squirted), we've tried leaving the door open so he can come in (but the cats go NUTS at night and keep us even more awake when we do that)..
I haven't tried CBM's suggestion yet, but next time I am at the pet store I am going to look for that tape (if they sell it there? if not maybe I'll try to get it online)
he's now doing this 2-3 times a night and my sleep is COMPLETELY suffering. I have no idea what to do..
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Have you tried to play with him for a good amount of time before bedtime to tire him out? Regardless of whether he has Taco to play with or not, he still seems to want your company.
Posted 2 years ago by AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew #
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Gini...have you tried a Feliway diffuser? I had the exact problem w/the 2 females I have to keep in my room..Lacy & Winnie...sorta. They aren't related but,refused to get along (I have nowhere else I can keep them w/all my other rescues). The Feliway diffuser was a Godsend. I never realized how well it worked until it dried up of liquid. I'm now back to no sleep at all because Winnie gets so riled from pent-up energy that she scratches every surface she can like a scratchpost(even tho there's one in there). she can't do any damage because whoever her past owner was had her declawed then let her escape. Grrrr! But,her starting up again from the diffuser running out had stripped away any chance of sleep. The squirt bottle doesn't work. when I reach for it,she zooms into a dark corner only to come back out when I put the bottle down(the little tabby scamp) lol. I know what your going thru.
I can't,but,If you can afford a diffuser,I Highly recommend one. They worked when all else failed to. Good luck! -
Have you tried leaving the door opened again? Maybe he is trying to tell you he is older now and responsible enough that he won't bug you any more but to please leave it opened.
How old are they.
I had a kitty that did that, she would scratch the carpet outside the door to come in, she would come in and climb on the bed and not let us sleep, but I pushed her off everytime and she learned.
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