I moved my 2 cats and myself in with my boyfriend 4 months ago and from the start they were never allowed to sleep in the bedroom with us as my boyfriend is slightly allergic to fur.

Over the last week or so Chewie has suddenly started scratching the bedroom door at all hours of the morning. I know I am slightly at fault for this carrying on as I did get up to feed her, but my other half gets up for work at 6am so I was conscious of him being woken up.

Chewie is an affectionate cat and when we first moved her she loved her cat bed and always slept in it, now she doesn't go near it and started sleeping on the dinning room chair, then after 4 months of her not coming anywhere near the sofa to be with is she has suddenly taken to spending her sleepy time on the back of the sofa and become much more sociable.

We are both out at work all day so could she need more playtime in the evenings and before bed? She has lots of toys like Da Bird, mice, balls, string toys etc but because she is a very intelligent cat she gets bored with these quickly - any ideas on toys that will entertain and very clever cat for longer than 30 seconds? To give an idea on her cleverness she has learned to sit, stand and touch my hand to command both with and without treats, she seems to like mental stimulation with a reward at the end.

Any help would be appreciated, should I have a play session with her before bed, feed her and then ignore any scratching?

Thanks, Sarah

It does sound like she wants attention.. and cats are notorious for being active at night. Try the play session before bed. If that doesn't work try putting her in a separate room at night. Maybe one that closes off?



Also your boyfriend isn't allergic to your cats fur, he's actually allergic to their saliva. Cats are constantly grooming and can be known to shed. So his symptoms will be active when he's around the fur only because the fur has been licked down with their saliva over and over again.

I've heard of several medications that have supposedly worked from some people who are allergic to cats. This wouldn't fix the door scratching problem, but it would allow you to open up the door to avoid it.

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Thanks for the advice, that's interesting about the allergy to the saliva not the fur, I didn't know that so thats interesting. I bought a room spray and fabric spray which was useful, he's not severely allergic as he can pick them up and sleep in bed when they have been laying on it, it's just Chewie sleeps up near our heads and his eyes are really sensitive to the fur/saliva.

Last night I only fed her one pouch when I got in from work then we had a mamouth play session through the evening with the laser pointer and Da Bird, we also put her bed (that she loved then wouldn't touch) in the little space at the top of the stairs on the landing, fed her as we went to bed and hey presto..........

.........no scratching, even when our alarm went off and one Chewie laying in her bed when we opened the door so the same again tonight I think, not counting my eggs before they hatch but it's definitely progress.

actually your bf might be sensitive to the sensation of the loose fur, rather than the saliva, like me. try using a sticky-roller to get up most of the fur on his pillow, the mattress sheet near his face and the top 2 feet or so of the duvet (any movement will dislodge some hair and might land near his face).


the other option is to cover the top of your bed with a throw to catch the majority of the cat hair, regardless of which bit he's allergic too.

good thinking on the bed near your door we never thought of that.. neeps decided the bathmat was a good substitute though lol, so now we just make sure it's under the radiator at night for her. bubs gets to sleep on a beanbag in our room, otherwise she does what chewie does.. but for different reasons...neep avoidance.

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You know, I heard the saliva thing on TV and was so intrigued by it that I didn't even think twice about the possibilities of other allergens in cats!

I did a little googleing and it turns out that there are 5 known allergens that are produced by cats. The most common one, called Fel d 1, is mostly found in the cat's skin and saliva.

Interesting! .... Sorry I get all excited when I learn new things.

I hope the progress with your cat continues! Keep us updated!

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put a plexiglas panel on the door to eliminate the scratching noise, and protect the door from damage - and put a piece of trim at the bottom on the outer-side to prevent her/him from running a paw under the door to rattle it in the jamb.

tiring a kitty by playing fishing-pole games for 10 or 15-mins, twice each evening (no closer than an hour before bed, so kitty can wind-down) can help. Feliway spray put on the cat-bed can also help make it more appealing to lounge there.
cheers,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Let her in. My cat does that and won't give up till he's in. He settles down after a while and goes to sleep

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standard size pillow

Yeah, that was the only way I could deal with my cat's active night-life. He actually spent the nights in our basement -- finished basement with comfy sofas and chairs on which to lounge! And his scratching post/jungle gym thing was down there, too.

When he got older and he wasn't so active anymore, then he spent the nights upstairs. Then he would sleep all night in my bed.

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Turn on, tune in, nod off...

Wait until he learns how to open the door

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