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At Christmas last year, we adopted an older car form a rescue group. She is about 10 or 11 years old. Now I love cats, I have had them all my life, but this cat is too much. First of all, she did not get on with the existing cats, who are former ferals & mostly avoid me & Dh. Lots of fighting & hissing. Now that has calmed down, & thye are ignoring each other, not friends, but not fighting.
But this cat is destroying too many things. I keep glass canisters of pasta, beans, legumes etc on a counter near my kitchen, as my kitchen is too small, plus I think thye look decorative. Anyhow, cat decides she wants that counter for her stretch outs. Knocks them all on the carpet, so I have rice & glass to clean up. Ok, no biggie, I move the containers. Then she moves to a shelf on a cabinet, knocking off my knick knacks. So I clear that shelf & others on the wall unit, which she also sleeps in. Now she has decided she wants to sleep in the bedroom, fine, sometimes she is on the bed, which is no problem, but now she has decided that the nightstand is a better option, so she stretches out on that, knocking off the phone & the lamp. I like to keep the land line charged, as no cell reception up here. Of course it is cordless, so she knocks it of. I also wear eye glasses, & have had to start putting them elsewhere ( first thing on when I wake up) Not content with all these rooms, she has now headed to man cave & is disrupting hubbies hobby. It is like she wants to stake out a spot in every room.
eta: at one stage we were up to 7 cats inside, ( 4 kittens & 3 older cats ) & we did not have as much havoc & destruction as we do with this one cat.
I want to put pretty things on shelves but I am afraid she will break them. She can be very lovey dovey if she wants to come for a cuddle. She also wants to ger out & fight with a stray we are feeding on the deck.
I'm torn, I don't really believe in turning in animals, but she is really stretching my limits.
Last edited by evening sun; 08-01-2017 at 02:59 PM..
I have nothing on my nightstand anymore. That is part of their route in a game of chase. My glasses go in the nightstand drawer at night. You can figure it out. Mine is a bully and has come very close to going to the Vet and not coming back, but plugging the Feliway back in has solved that. I keep working with him because the alternative is terrible.
It is like she wants to stake out a spot in every room.
Of course, that is exactly what she is doing. Cats are territorial creatures. Your house already has cats so all the good cat spots have already been taken.
Not only that, however long she was at the shelter, she certainly didn't have any spot to call her own there!
I would suggest adding new elevated perches in all rooms. She obviously likes being up, where she can see what's going on and feel safe. Put some cat shelves on the wall, add a few other elevated surfaces, set things up near where she has chosen spots that you don't want her to have.
For instance in the kitchen give her a little table, or a shelf, near the counter she claimed. Feed her up there so she knows it's hers. Put toys up there for her to knock down to satisfy her gravity experiment needs.
Do this in your husband's den and any other room where people hang out where she needs her own Spot. I'd be inclined to give her the bedside table. Put your glasses in a glasses case to protect them. That's what I do.
Put something in front of a window too, and a bird feeder outside the window.
She's just feeling her way, making her place in the family. Imagine how devastating it would be to her to lose another home. You weren't really serious about returning her were you? These are not big problems and can be resolved.
With cats, the secret is to redirect and positive reinforcement. Pick her up off that counter, or block it until she's trained, and put her gently on the spot you've created for her. Give her a nice treat (or her meal) and praise her for being there. Make her feel like Queen of the World, every time she gets on the spot you want her on, even if you have to move her there yourself, but especially when she gets up on her own.
Make sure she is getting enough attention. How often do you engage in play time with her? Grooming sessions, lap time/cuddling?
Oh one more thing..invest in some quakehold to keep things in place
All I will say is that we once adopted a barn cat, who was as wild as could be. He broke a lot of things in the house. It turned out the poor guy had serious worms. After treatment for roundworms, he was still infested with tapeworms, and just didn't feel good. Once we cured him of all his ailments, he was a great cat. Calm and normal..We, however, only had one other cat, not a lot.
Of course, that is exactly what she is doing. Cats are territorial creatures. Your house already has cats so all the good cat spots have already been taken.
Not only that, however long she was at the shelter, she certainly didn't have any spot to call her own there!
I would suggest adding new elevated perches in all rooms. She obviously likes being up, where she can see what's going on and feel safe. Put some cat shelves on the wall, add a few other elevated surfaces, set things up near where she has chosen spots that you don't want her to have.
For instance in the kitchen give her a little table, or a shelf, near the counter she claimed. Feed her up there so she knows it's hers. Put toys up there for her to knock down to satisfy her gravity experiment needs.
Do this in your husband's den and any other room where people hang out where she needs her own Spot. I'd be inclined to give her the bedside table. Put your glasses in a glasses case to protect them. That's what I do.
Put something in front of a window too, and a bird feeder outside the window.
She's just feeling her way, making her place in the family. Imagine how devastating it would be to her to lose another home. You weren't really serious about returning her were you? These are not big problems and can be resolved.
With cats, the secret is to redirect and positive reinforcement. Pick her up off that counter, or block it until she's trained, and put her gently on the spot you've created for her. Give her a nice treat (or her meal) and praise her for being there. Make her feel like Queen of the World, every time she gets on the spot you want her on, even if you have to move her there yourself, but especially when she gets up on her own.
Make sure she is getting enough attention. How often do you engage in play time with her? Grooming sessions, lap time/cuddling?
Oh one more thing..invest in some quakehold to keep things in place
I agree with most of this and while yes cats are territorial, in a household I think it's best when cats can learn to share all spaces including special cat spots. If that means taking the other cats out of certain rooms they like temporarily and letting the new cat in to explore, then that's what needs to happen. Part of her behavior probably stems from insecurity about the presence of the other cats. They don't have to be best friends but need to at least be able to share the same spaces, even if not at the same times.
I'm wondering if you have any cat trees? She may want her own space and may prefer being perched on something. Our Lucy (formerly outdoors) is like that. She likes being up high.
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