I am at my wits end with one of my two tabbies, Millie.

She will scratch the wallpaper in the hall and up the stairs (but not on the landing!). This behaviour has been going on now for several years. She can suddenly calm down and not do it for some length of time then it starts up again.

I plugged in one of those things from the Vets to calm her, but to no effect, so stopped using it.

I would dearly love to have the hall, stairs and landing redecorated, and again, in paper but won't have it done whilst this behaviour continues.

Does anybody else experience this behaviour from a cat or any ideas why Millie actually does it?

Here is Millie in one of her quiet moments.

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Have you tried a scratch post? Daft question probably.

cats hate the smell of citrus fruits. have you tried smelling a citrus cat deterrant onto the walls to see if that helps??

There is a scratch post permanently in the hall and I never move it, however, she has never used it! She goes out a lot, never housebound, perhaps it is sheer boredom that makes her scratch the wallpaper. It never happens in the other rooms!!

What a cat, she will NOT eat tinned cat food, likes tinned tuna and ham or chicken roll!
She is a very vocal cat who likes to talk to you.

Anything is worth a try! Thanks.

I recommend 'Get Off' spray. One of our cats Poppins used to scratch our sofa, and we now spray Get Off on there periodically to stop her. It's got a horrible smell. You can smell it when you initially spray it on, but afterwards you can't & the cats can!

Alternatively a scratch pole in the area she scratches. Then slowly move the scratch pole to a more 'desired' position.

I used lemon jucie in a spray or rubbed a lemon on the spot where they scratched...it drives you mad sometimes...
my cat now is stratching my wood..so i have to go buy couple lemons...lol that sounds funny....

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R.I.P ...Mesha xx Never Forget you xx
I will be back! i need to fight the BIG "C" atm!

She has scratched the entire length of one wall in the hallway and the short wall. The scratching post is close to both walls. The scratches are sometimes high as though she has jumped in order to get up there. I really do not know why she does it. Sometimes there are bits of paper lying on the carpet then I have to stick them back on. What a minx!

It is so maddening I know. This may not be suitable for your hallway, but I've put carpet on the corners of my hallway as that's where they always scratch. They now use that, especially when I come they both run to a bit of it to scratch. It's a marking thing for them you see, she is just marking her territory and it becomes a habit after a while. My other furniture is also scratched, so I guess you can't only limit the damage.

Mary