Hi everyone, I've got a one-year-old cat who scratches at the doors every morning to get me up. Not only is she damaging the doors—which is a real worry as I'm in a rented place—but she’s also driving me up the wall. I wake up feeling just as tired as when I went to bed; that 4am wake-up call is far too early.
I was wondering if any of you have a miracle cure to get her to stop scratching? I've already tried a repellent spray from the pet shop, but it hasn't made any difference at all; she just carries on as if nothing's there.
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At that age, many cats still have bags of energy and quickly work out that scratching at the door eventually gets a reaction. The most important thing is to avoid getting up or opening the door when she scratches, otherwise the behaviour just gets reinforced. Try to really tire her out in the evening with a proper play session before bed, followed by a meal, to help her settle during the night. You can also temporarily protect the doors with some film or plastic guards to limit the damage. Calming diffusers can sometimes help, but what's most important is consistency and making sure her environment is enriched enough. If the behaviour becomes very intense despite your efforts, a vet can check to see if there's an underlying anxiety issue.
Hey! I read a Reddit thread where some people were sharing their experiences, and https://spinbetter.com.de was mentioned. I thought I'd just give it a go. The interface seemed really straightforward right away, which is important to me. I didn't have much luck at first, but I stuck with it and was rewarded later on. In the end, I was happy and felt like it was time well spent.
Hi there, I’ve got 4 cats in a flat and I’m having the same problem – they keep waking my daughter up all the time. I’ve tried the tin foil trick at the bottom of her door, so I’ll let you know how it goes a bit later ;)
I’ve found a solution too! I put aluminium foil all over my door and he hasn’t scratched it since... I’ll admit it’s not exactly pretty, but it works like magic – no more scratching since! :-)
I’ve found the solution and it works a treat.
Every morning at 5am my cat would scratch at our bedroom door... it was a nightmare.
The solution: I made a sort of mat out of a piece of cardboard. I stuck some double-sided tape on it and put the mat in front of my door.
My cat hates the feeling of the tape so much that he hasn’t scratched at my door since.
Here’s to peaceful nights!
I’m going through exactly the same thing... from 4 am, or even 3 am, he starts scratching and it’s getting so annoying! Every morning I’m even more shattered than when I went to bed, honestly. And I can't leave the door open, I’ve already tried but it’s a total nightmare; he wakes my two girls up and they’ve got school, so they need their sleep... he jumps all over them – oh yes, his lordship wants to play! :'( He plays with anything he can get his paws on, so leaving the door open just isn't an option :-(
He’s just doing what cats do, that’s just the way it is; the only solution is a bit of DIY to protect certain areas and putting up scratching posts near the spots he’s marking.
Hi everyone,
I’m having exactly the same problem with my boy, who’s just over a year old. He gets up and starts scratching at the doors and cupboards every single night from 4 am onwards. We live in a studio flat with a mezzanine bedroom, so there’s really no escaping it, especially since he scratches at the front door. His bowls are always full, so I’m starting to think he just needs a bit of reassurance.
It’s getting really tough because we haven’t had a full night’s sleep in 18 months. I’m at my wits’ end... Every now and then I’ll get up and put him back in "his spot" on the bed with us, and that seems to settle him down, but only until an hour later.
What can I do?
Thanks
I’ve just spotted this thread and it’s definitely a situation I’ve been in too!
My lovely puss had even learned how to jump up at the handle to open the door!
Even when it was locked, the noise it made woke us up every single time. Plus, he would scratch at the door for hours... we found two solutions:
- Turn the door handle vertically (there’s usually a screw to undo the handle, then you just put it back on a quarter-turn round).
- Stick some double-sided tape everywhere he scratches! Cats absolutely hate having sticky paws! But a word of warning: don't put the double-sided tape directly onto the door (it's a nightmare to remove!), put a layer of masking tape down first.
Anyway, I hope that helps someone. It worked a treat for us, but there's no denying that cats can be incredibly stubborn!!!
