How can I prevent the cats from clawing/scrating the front door frame?

You can use double sided tape on the bottom of the door. Cats do not like having stuff stuck to their paws and will not scratch the protected door frames.

i thought of the double sided tape too. This would be temporary until they learn. Also provide them with some other vertical scratching post. A cat tree or verticle corrugated cardboard.

Aluminum foil isn't so subtle, but they hate clawing on that, too. You can give your doorframe that trendy "Plan 9 from Outer Space" look.

I just saw that cats don't like the smell of Vicks vapo rub. Not sure if this would affect the finish on your frame though.

Cats also don't like citrus oil, so if the door frame is stained rather than painted use an orange based furniture polish on it. If it is painted test the product on an inconspicuous area.

Sorry for chiming in to this thread so late, but I just had to share this in case it helps someone out. I wish I had gotten this advice years ago as a cat owner.

My best advice?

Give the book " Ultimate Cat Secrets" a read.

It really is the only long-term solution to discipline your cat, OP.

This might come as a surprise to you, but your cat actually wants to obey you.

It’s kitty’s independent, sassy nature that makes you fall in love with him, but it’s this very attitude that makes it frustrating to train fun behaviours into your favourite feline.

Cats respond best to positive reinforcement – yelling, punishing or disciplining your cat just won’t work.

In my opinion, Ultimate Cat Secrets is a must-have for all cat lovers. It's not just a cat training manual – it’s one of the quickest and most comprehensive guides to living with a cat that I’ve ever seen.

The easy access audio format makes it a breeze to digest from your computer or your mobile device and the lessons inside are easy to implement. And if that’s not enough for you, ordering now will score you FIVE great bonuses:

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4) Downloadable transcripts of the entire program and all the bonus materials.

5) 100 recipes to pamper your feline friend.

I HIGHLY recommend it.

Here's a link to their site