quick question can I ask what a scrat mat is please and what are they used for.TIA

It's a small mat that operates with batteries. When the pet steps on it, it gets zapped. It's supposed to be a training tool to keep a pet away from a certain area. But you know bengals ... they just find another area to use. I'm not in favor of zapping pets, period! I do know some kitties simply will not learn or listen.

I personally think anything that gives an animals a shock of any kind it cruel.

I have taught mine not to scratch by clapping my hands.

They still do it occasionally but that's a bengal.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

thank you that is great I had not heard of it before and I wasn't sure if it was something that we have in England or not. I don't think that I will be using it though I am too much of a softee!!!

We have a Bengal who refuses to learn to leave the bedroom door alone. We cannot allow him in the bedroom all night because when he decides he wants us to get up, he will knock everything off the side tables (the lamps that are stuck down with heavy-duty velcro, too), try to shove the TV off the dresser, and wreak havoc on our sleep. He will also sharpen his claws in the door jambs. This is all for attention. So now we have the larger scat mat in front of the bedroom door (duct taped to the hardwood because he has learned how to pull it away from the door) and a smaller on across the end of the entertainment center. He stands on it to rattle the doorknob. The tape has to be replaced every few days because he peels it up with his claws and teeth.

We keep them on the lowest setting. Having stepped on them repeatedly for years, I can promise you it's more startling than painful. Plus, he still messes with the dang things so I know he's not getting hurt.

Our only other option would be to lock him up at night, which I think is crueler. Plus, he pulled the carpet and the padding out from under the wooden transition piece from the bedroom to the hardwood when we tried closing them in the cat room at night.

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I think putting down aluminum foil or getting a motion-sensored air canister might be more effective. I honestly don't know how much power is in a zap. I think if it just vibrated, it might scare the cat away. Bengals, in particular, are determined cats. They will find a way around anything and everything.

LOL I tried aluminum foil...didn't work. The more you try to keep them off areas, the more they will go there because you are turning it into a game. You will try things until one day you give up and accept you live in their house.

Bengals are definitely persistent and challenge all the boundaries. Raiden knows what the word "no" means, but ignores it! Just like a toddler! I just wish he would grow up. I could probably deal with the teenage years better.

Thanks all for the ideas. I have a no bark air can for my dog and this works really well so I think that I might give that a try. Apparently the theory is animals make a hissing noise as a warning and that signifies danger so the cat will avoid it. It has worked wonders with my dog and now I only have to show him the can and he walks away or stops his bad behaviour. I am loving reading about the clever ways these cats work ways around things they sound very playful. I may not be so pleased if they are waking me up at all hours lol.

Max tears up aluminum foil with teeth and claws. As for air canisters, he throws everything that isn't permanently attached to an immovable surface. I wish we could find something else, but it's what we've got!

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