My cat tears up the screens, what can I do?

[Indygrrl]

He has mutilated the screen door, popped out the screen in another window, and torn another to bits. He’s an indoor/outdoor cat, so he needs his claws, but this screen thing is driving me nuts. It’s so destructive.

I know that tons of people have cats and still keep their screens intact. How do you accomplish this? I’m about to replace all of mine so I need a system to make him stop this.

Thanks.

[Dung_Beetle]

My boys do the same; CrazyCatLady recommended that I make absolutely sure they were properly neutered. Turns out they are; I’m just sort of hoping this problem goes away as they get older. But if your kitty’s not fixed, try that.

[Indygrrl]

He’s been fixed for years.

[Mauvaise]

Whenever an adopter (potential or otherwise) has a question about redirecting inappropriate scratching we always refer them to catscratching.com

http://www.catscratching.com/

There is a section on (re)training your cat to use a proper scratching post.

Lesson 6- How to get Kitty to prefer the post.

Remember that an important part of scratching is the cat’s desire to mark a territory, so a scratching post should be in an area that’s used by the family, not hidden in a back corner. After a time you can move the post away to the periphery of the room, but you’ll need to do this gradually.

Initially, put the post where your cat goes to scratch. This may be by a sofa, a chair or wherever Kitty has chosen as her territiory, and you may need more than one post to cover her favorite spots. Security is a major factor in making the post appealing to your cat. If it topples or shakes, she won’t use it. It should either be secured to the floor or have a base wide enough and heavy enough to keep it stable.

Encourage Kitty to use her post with clever enticements. Feed her and play with her by the post. Rub dried catnip leaves or powder into it. Make all the asssociations with the post pleasurable. Reward her with a favorite treat when she uses it. Have her chase a string or a toy around the post or attach toys to it, which will result in her digging her claws into it. Eventually she will learn to love it and regard it as her own. It’s also a good idea to put a post where Kitty sleeps. Cats like to scratch when they awaken, especially in the morning and the middle of the night. If space permits, a scratching post in every room of the house is a cat’s delight. The most important place is the area of the house in which you and Kitty spend the most time. I have many sisal posts in my house, yet often in the morning my cats line up to use the one in the living room.

If at first Kitty is reluctant to give up her old scratching areas, there are means you can use to discourage her. Covering the area with aluminum foil or double-sided tape is a great deterrent. These surfaces don’t have a texture that feels good to scratch.

Remember too that Kitty has marked her favorite spots with her scent as well as her claws. You may need to remove her scent from the areas you want to distract her away from. You will find pet odor removers in pet stores and many supermarkets as well.

Cats have an aversion to citrus odors. Use lemon-scented sprays or a potpourri of lemon and orange peels to make her former scratching sites less agreeable to her.

There is more information on the site. However, as your cat is indoor/outdoor I would not recommend exploring the Soft Paws suggestion.

[Dogzilla]

I protected the screens in my doors by stapling hardware cloth over the fine mesh screen. It’s much stronger than mesh screening, but isn’t as aesthetically pleasing. This also offers the added benefit of preventing my dogs from head-butting the doors to get out and barreling right through the screens, creating impromptu doggie doors!

[Hanna]

My cats for the most part leave my screens alone, but I have had screen problems in the past. No solution, I’d just get them replaced (the screens, not the cats) when they got too bad. My cats are indoors only, so most of the damage comes when a bug alights on the opposite side. Maybe if you trimmed the claws so that they are blunter, and can’t hook into the screens? Be careful though - trim to short and your cat will hate you, and it will bleed like crazy.

[Wonko_The_Sane]

Threaten them with two words:

“Stir-Fry”

[jastu]

My cats did this to my window screens to attract my attention when they wanted to come inside. I was unable to install a cat door at the time but that would have solved my problem.
I finished up removing the screens from those windows, a little inconvenient but my only option.

[myrnajean]

Terrible I know, but
When I had a dog that did that, he would push and push and chew until he broke through the screen door leading to the patio, I bought some habanero peppers, sliced them in half and rubbed them on the screen.
I know… I’m mean

[tomndebb]

I simply replaced my screens with the rip-proof/pet-proof screens. It was not that much more expensive and has survived several years of a Boxer demanding to be on the other side of the screened door as well as three cats that delight in climbing to the top of the door in the vain hope that they will actually catch the birds landing on our deck.