My cat's an outdoors cat inside

Me and my dearly beloved own a cat that shows all of the signs of being a highly active outdoors-type cat...

The problem is that we live in an appartment. We've owned this cat for 2years now, spayed, vaccinated etc... But we are both students and don't have the means of locomotion or money to bring him to the vet to get him de-clawed (and I beleive declawing him would make him miserable)

This cat claws and jumps attacks everything (our feet, arms, carpet, corners, bed.. the list goes on.)
He comes 2-3 times during the night and attacks our feet to wake us up
He forrages for food in every possible corner of the house, even turning over the trash, trying to open the fridge and grabbing our food when we leave it unattended even for a second.
If glasses are left on any surfaces, he proceeds to actively batt them to the floor.
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We've tried everything to dissuade him using water bottles and cans, hiding our trash etc...

We can't seem to be able to keep him from any of these bad behaviors and are thinking of giving him away to someone with a much more spacious house and/or farm of some kind

I love him to bits but it's frustrating both of us to keep him here and I don't think anything will help him to be a better cat.

What would be your thoughts on this and/or do you have any methods you think we could use to try and get him calmed down?

How old is he? Yes declawing is the worse thing you can do because if he bites now, he probably will bite even more if declawed. Can you adopt another cat to keep him company? Sounds like he's bored/lonely if you both are not there all day. He's probably sleeping then and when you come home, he's ready to play.

You need to learn how to trim the nails once a week or get the Soft Nails caps to put on him.

Do you also have a nice size tree house for him to run and climb on? If not, go buy one - it will help a lot

Hello and welcome to the site

Oh I am sorry that you are feeling like this about your kitty - what his name ?

Firstly please don't even consider going down the road of declawing - its a hideous cruel procedure that will not answer the problems you mention.
See this link explaining about declawing - also if you haven't had chance yet, check out the forums on Cat Care and Behaviour, theres lots of tips and ideas about some of the issues you mention.

I agree with Goldenkitty, it sounds like your cat may be bored. I dont necessarily think your cat is bad, cats are very active usually in the evening when their natural instinct drive them to 'hunt' but you can easily address this need with other things that will entertain and tire him

It sounds like you are out for most of the day, so he will want attention from you when you are home, which of course, is bad timing for you as I imagine you just want to relax after a hard day studying, but if you can play with him for an hour or so when you get home then before you go to bed, this might help with his routine and of course tire him out

You dont mention whether you have any toys for him, they dont need to be expensive and you can easily make some of your own You can make 'scratch mats' from old carpets or by wrapping thick rope around a piece of wood, a friend used an old chair leg to wrap the rope around, its was just the thing and only cost the price of the rope, when it gets worn they just re-do the rope
Old boxes are great entertainment for cats, they love to jump in, play and bite the edges, some cats will even use boxes to scratch , so thats another cheap way of having fun with your cat

Also if he access to a window he can watch the world go by which will also fill some of his time.

I am sure with a few changes he will soon get into a routine and you will certainly feel better about things

Keep us posted and good luck

I also agree he sounds bored. If you can, splurge on the biggest, highest cat tree you can afford. My cat loves to nap on his and always uses it to scratch as well.

How about throwing around some toy mice? Find the toy your cat loves the most and play with him for a few minutes everyday. It might really make a difference.

Me too, he sounds bored. He also sounds smart which means you've got a really fun cat on your hands but you need to teach him to channel his love of fun into toys that make both you and he happy. You may be delightfully surprised at how much fun you'll have teaching him new games too.

I've a theory that the cheaper a cat toy is the more cats like it. A favorite toy for my 3 is a cardboard box. I cut holes in the sides just large enough for them to fit their paws in. They bat each other through the holes but will also bat toys both inside and out of the box.

Never underestimate the power of cat nip. When my crew is stir crazy I pull out a pile of toys: mice, tin foil balls, whatever, and I scatter them all around. Then I give them cat nip and let them go crazy. If I do this right before bedtime they sleep soundly.

If your cat is knocking water glasses over he may be looking for fresh water. I'm not suggesting that you don't keep a fresh bowl. Cats are super picky about water and many of them will drink from your glass. To curb that consider a cat fountain. You can find threads about which brands people like under the Care and Grooming section.

I agree with the rest of ya'll. Sounds like he just needs a way to burn energy!
I am sure that it's inconvenient for you; he's been at home all day, waiting for you, and you come home and he attacks you, begging you to play, and all you wanna do is rest! But trust me, playing with cats is really fun, and your cat will be happier and therefore so will you and your partner.

*-Tin foil balls with cat food/cat nip inside make excellent toys
*-Wads of paper (copy, notebook, construction, cardstock)
*-Mice, stuffed animals, especially the ones you put catnip in, are very fun!
*-Invest in a toy that has a string or rod, and a toy at the end, keeping you safe from teeth and claws, but letting your cat have lots of fun!
*-Scratching pad or post sounds like an excellent idea. Like mooficat suggested; you can go to Home Depot or some sort of hardware store that sells carpet; they're bound to have some cheap junk there or some scraps. You can wrap around some PVC pipe and bolt that to some plywood for a base, just staple or glue the carpet to the pipe. Or just buy one, or there are those cardboard pads, very entertaining.

I hope I helped and please keep us updated on your kitty!

A laser pen is a cheap and lazy way to entertain your cat..... they go mad for it and chase it all around the place until they are worn out. (just don't shine it into their eyes!)

Also... my cat really enjoys a tape measure!... strange but true... maybe to do with the sound of it and the way it moves when he attacks it... he will follow us all around the house and over furniture with it!

I forgot about the laser light Ours go nutz when we get it out - including the dog

He's 2 years old now. So de-clawing is a nono.

A cat tree might actually be a good idea. I have a large corner of the house that isn't being used and I'll try and get one/build one that'd occupy his clawing/climbing needs.

I have a chain and a small teddy/toy that he chases after all the time.
The cat's so smart though that he knows that *we* (the hand attached to us at least) make the things move and he often completely ignores the 2-3 foot long string and attacks our arms instead.

As for clipping his nails andf putting caps on em... we tried twice.... both time we needed to wear full body armor (which include oven-mitts and winter cloths&gloves and proceed with 2 people since he threw up a fight that a simple mortal wouldn't be ablet to handle.
(Not kidding: he absolutely hates nail clipping to that extent)
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I love him to bitts but he has so many evil/mean quircks that sometimes it's difficult to live with him.

I'll talk to my dear about getting a 2nd cat... I think that would be the the bestess thing to keep him company during the day,

Originally Posted by howtoholdacat

Me too, he sounds bored. He also sounds smart which means you've got a really fun cat on your hands but you need to teach him to channel his love of fun into toys that make both you and he happy. You may be delightfully surprised at how much fun you'll have teaching him new games too.

I've a theory that the cheaper a cat toy is the more cats like it. A favorite toy for my 3 is a cardboard box. I cut holes in the sides just large enough for them to fit their paws in. They bat each other through the holes but will also bat toys both inside and out of the box.

Never underestimate the power of cat nip. When my crew is stir crazy I pull out a pile of toys: mice, tin foil balls, whatever, and I scatter them all around. Then I give them cat nip and let them go crazy. If I do this right before bedtime they sleep soundly.

If your cat is knocking water glasses over he may be looking for fresh water. I'm not suggesting that you don't keep a fresh bowl. Cats are super picky about water and many of them will drink from your glass. To curb that consider a cat fountain. You can find threads about which brands people like under the Care and Grooming section.

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I follow this advice, and do NOT declaw him! That would be cruel to do so. But he sounds extremely bored.