cat behaviour

[stormy]

Hello

A friend of mine has adopted a rescue cat and he has started scratching her wallpaper. She was away for one night and came back and he had attacked different areas in her flat. I have advised the feliway difuser and also a scratching post. She says that he has been crying since she got back and only stops if he is on her lap and she has both hands on him. He is very nervous and wont come out of hiding if anyone else is in her flat. Any ideas how to stop him scratching the wallpaper and calming him down?

Thanks very much

[lilynmitz]

It sounds like he's bored and lonely and simply wants attention, so get your friend to interact with him a lot more when she's with him. Has she considered getting a second cat? That might be the answer if he's on his own a lot.

[Willowgill]

Over the years I've had cats who have done this - especially if the wallpaper is nice and soft like blown vinyl where they can get their claws in and have a good tug Was the damage near his litter tray as that might explain it as he's scratched to cover his business? I would certainly recommend a tall scratching post - a sturdy one which won't fall over when he reaches up to the top of it. Also if she had only just got him and left him overnight he would probably have been pretty stressed - new surroundings and then shut in on his own. Lots of toys, play and attention to distract away from the wallpaper should soon stop it.

[Jacks]

Our 6 month old kitten started doing this and we were aware she was lonely as we were out most of the day at work. We got her a companion and toys and the scratching stopped. She had scratch posts, I think it was a frustration thing...