Hi our 5 month bengal Otto is scratching our doors badly!
They are wood and we live in rented accommodation so are worried this will cost a fortune!!
My partner is ready to pull his hair out - please help?!

Otto has an extensive climbing tree and we play with him often.

Anything we can put on them to put him off? Any old wives tales?

Thanks in advance!!

Which doors? Inside or outside? There is an attraction for some cats as they can reach under the door and sometimes I will play with Raiden with a toy under our doors! Scratches can be sanded down and the door repainted if it gets too bad. The other thing is to put aluminum foil under the door and see if that turns Otto away from them. Lots of play time for a bengal is usually not enough. 24/7 playtime is more like it! I'd definitely try to distract him with toys when he starts on the door. You can also try rolling up a towel and placing it at the bottom of the door and see if that keeps him away from the door.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Thanks all.

It's not the bottom of the door it's up the door - he basically jumps up from the floor into the wood or onto the handles... Like he is trying to climb up or in some cases trying to open the door by the handle.

This is in the lounge French doors and occasionally the front door (which is wood not glass so he can't see out). Perhaps he does claw at the French doors to get outside but I don't know... Sometimes it's just as if he wants to get higher...

Will try foil - see if that does anything and continue grabbing any toy when he goes near them..

Thanks.

Are these both doors that lead out of the house?

Hendrix did this at that age, but I don't recall him doing any real damage, although the doors he did it to were glass, and I was always removing him from the handles. Any door in our house that was closed to them annoyed them and made what was on the other side all the more enticing.

Not sure foil will help, ours didn't care less about foil - I wrapped power leads in foil to try to deter them, but it didn't work.

If Otto can see out of the French doors, have you tried putting a cat tree near there to give him a better view? Or you could hang a scratching pad from the door handles and try to move his interest to that instead? You can easily get these from a pet shop. It may be that he just wants to be higher, ours like to walk across the top of the doors.

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Our door handles are levers and Raiden tried for a very long time to open doors. He finally succeeded one time as the door opened in and he put his weight on the door at the precise moment he pushed the lever down! I've seen pictures of bengals on TOP of the doors. I honestly don't know what fixation a cat would have, especially if the doors are open and don't lead outdoors. If the doors are closed, he may be wanting to get into the next room. But, all cats are different and he finds these doors fascinating. A cat can understand the word "NO" quickly. I would use that on him any time he starts with the doors and then grab a toy and see if you can lure him away from the door. I understand your not wanting scratches on the doors.

One of my cats used to leap up at the wall and slide down making her nails screech on the way down. It was a phase she went through when she was younger usually after she came in the house for the night. She still does it sometimes but from the very top of her climbing tower. Sort of like she is jumping up towards the ceiling.