Outsmart Your Clawing Cat with Orange Oil Room Freshener

Several years ago, we adopted our cat, Snoopy, from the local animal shelter. She was a very strong-willed feral cat, and there were a few times when we were tempted to give up on her. Now, we wouldn't part with her for anything.

Probably the biggest obstacle we had to overcome with Snoopy was her tendency to scratch everything except her scratching post, which had been purchased from the local pet shop, especially for her.

She scratched and clawed at windows, walls, doors, bedspreads, curtains, chairs, and anything else that came across her path. I said, "No Snoopy!" so many times in that firm voice all the articles recommended, that my voice almost disappeared, but to no avail. Snoopy kept on scratching.

My newly set out petunias in the garden didn't stand a chance. Snoopy clawed and dug until they all lay drooping on the ground and died. I was beginning to wonder whether or not having a cat to sit on my lap while I watched TV in the evenings was worth it.

I bought several brands of sprays that were supposed to discourage animals from behaving in such an anti-social manner, but they seemed to have the opposite effect on Snoopy. I wondered if hiring a trainer would work, but I didn't know where to find one, or if such a person even existed in our small town.

When I replaced the shredded curtains in our living room, for the second time, I watched her like a hawk. If she so much as ventured within 5 feet of the living room window, I screamed, "No, Snoopy!" so loud that my neighbors must have wondered if my husband was beating me. I sprayed the curtains with every cat-proofing concoction known to man. I stationed myself on the sofa near the window so I could swat her with a newspaper if she dared mosey in that direction.

Finally, when the curtains were about a month old, I felt like I could chance leaving them alone in the house with Snoopy while I made a much needed run to the store for groceries.

Not so. When I returned, the curtains were history.