Need some help please

cmn

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I adopted a cat (was about 5 months old at the time) last fall. About two months ago he has gone on a very destructive path. He has fully destroyed the following...

Couch, Coffee Table, Office Chair, Office Desk, Box Springs, Mattress, Goose Down Comforter, Tons of DVDs - he'll jump on the DVD rack tipping it over and then start to tear up my DVDs, among those that were lost were a collector's edition of Alfred Hitchcock, Several Pillows, Several Duvet Covers and now he is starting to scratch up my walls and the trim on every single door frame (I rent, this is a serious issue).

He has the following to scratch on that he does use, he just scratches other things as well...

Cat house thing with several scratch services, 4 of those cardboard scratches, several toys and then 2 scratch posts.

He lives with one other cat, I bought this cat and felt guilty for buying so I had to adopt him a brother. The cat that I bought doesn't do any of this destructive behavior (or if he does he doesn't when I'm around). The little destroyer does it right in front of me and just looks at me. Also, the cat I bought does know the word "no", if he's doing something I don't like I'll just say "no" and he stops whatever he is doing.

Also, I don't know if this helps address the destroyer's behavior issue, but when he's laying next to me and I start to pet him and give him some lovins (I love and hate him at the same time!) he'll start to flex his claws, but he'll flex them way too strong and will actually puncture my skin. The other cat seems to know when to stop when it comes to his claws with me, I have never been scratched by him at all.

Please any help would be great, he starts to scratch the walls around 4am and meowing like crazy...sounds like nails on a chalk board and I am on the verge of getting him declawed (really don't want to do this) or getting rid of him (don't want to do this either). What I have tried is the spray bottle, plastic claw things I bought from Drs. Foster and Smith and that scent stuff you buy by the bottle all to no avail.

I need sleep and I want to actually own stuff that doesn't get destroyed
. My lab was never this destructive when she was a puppy and they have a reputation for chewing through dry wall.
 

white cat lover

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Welcome to TCS!


Sounds like you've got your hands full. What are your kitties name? Before resorting to declawing, lets see what we can do to help! First off - has this kitty been neutered yet? Am I correct in guessing his age to be about 1 year old now? Some cats get into the "terrible teens" phase right about 8 months - 1 year.

Sometimes cats become destructive because they are bored, or lonely. Sounds like he has plenty of scratchers, and a kitty companion. I suggest devoting 15 minutes both morning & night to specifically playing with the "problem child". Invest in plenty of cat toys, both furry mice types & interactive ones. Get a wand toy to play with him - my cats *love* Da Bird. Do whatever you can to provide a very mentally stimulating environment for him - some cats require more to keep them busy. To protect your trim, and other places, have you tried Sticky Paws?

When you say you tried the plastic claw things, were they Soft Paws?
 
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cmn

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Thank you so much for the quick reply! Really do appreciate it as I want to keep him, I feel bad for hating him (I don't hate him, just this behavior I guess) and I need some sleep at night!

His name is Speedy and his brother I call K-Man, they have tons of toys and get daily Da Bird fun (they both seriously go nuts over this toy, usually have to buy several each month).

I haven't tried sticky paws, but I have tried the soft paws. The problem I foresee with the sticky paws, as you can see from the list, it's not just the couch type furniture he goes after...so I'd have to sticky paw my entire bed...lol sounds interesting.

Oh and both cats are indoor cats and neutered.
 

strange_wings

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It sounds like you have done everything right so far, actually.
Hyperactive kittens, though, defy logic.


What do you live in? Apartment or your own home?
 
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cmn

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I rent a house, during the day I keep several key spots open with the blinds so they can look out. And when I get home I open the windows (if it's warm enough) as they both like to lay up against the screen and look out.
 

strange_wings

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Hmm, so you may or may not be able to add anything outside. If you absolutely cannot get him to settle down inside you could look into small enclosures that would back up to a window or backdoor outside. There are kits.

I only suggest this because it's a good, safe, way for cats to wear themselves out. No one really cares if they go shred something outside.


Very temporary type solutions. Another one, that could be taken apart, but is a bit more permanent.
 
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cmn

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You mean something like this? Lol yeah I can't do anything along those lines. And even though he is fixed and UTD on all shots, he really can't be an outdoor cat as we have coyotes and I'm sure he'd turn into a midnight snack (don't have any stray cats out where I live).

Something like this might actually work, but sadly it's something that I can't afford.
 

strange_wings

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There's coyotes everywhere in the US (or should I say there's people everywhere?). And yes, those are both great. If you can ever afford something like that you could lock them back inside at night and make sure to never leave any sort of food outside.


And yes, those are very expensive. They take advantage of people wanting easy kits. Creative people find DIY methods to make the same thing. We have a member on here who used PVC and netting to make a small enclosure to attach to a window.
These aren't meant to be a replacement, as in stick the cat out for good, but to serve as enrichment. Let destructive cats go "kill" leaves and chase some bugs, in other words.


Until he calms down with age.. which could be 2-5 years from now, you just have to find a way to redirect all that energy he has. Too bad many cats won't use a cat wheel.
 
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cmn

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Until he calms down with age.. which could be 2-5 years from now


Not sure I can last 2-5 years with this sort of behavior.
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by CMN

The problem I foresee with the sticky paws, as you can see from the list, it's not just the couch type furniture he goes after...so I'd have to sticky paw my entire bed...lol sounds interesting.
I kind of
at this - it might work for some of the things he goes after, but you don't want to be taped into your bed!
Does he destroy your bedding when you're sleeping in bed, or when you are gone? Are all of his destructive behaviors occurring when you are gone, or both when you are gone & home?

I don't know of too many more suggestions off the top of my head that you haven't tried. A few more toys perhaps worth trying if you don't have them already - my guys love the Kong Kickeroo. You could try something like a cat treat ball to make him work to get his food out - keep his mind busy (or else he'll just destroy the ball
). I've always admired the Peek-a-Prize toys, but never bought one. And my cats go nuts over their Turbo Track & Turbo Scratchers.

You could also try a cat DVD. Perhaps basics like installing a bird feeder outside might help? (A word of caution - it may just make him more frustrated/bored - it does for one of my cats)

Do you think he might accept harness & leash training so you could take him outside (supervised) for adventures?
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by CMN


Not sure I can last 2-5 years with this sort of behavior.
It's no worse than raising a kid! Better, actually. He doesn't wear diapers, open things and squirt/dump them all over the house, or color on your walls. And you'll never have to pay for schooling - or hear "can I borrow the car?".


I hope you can find a solution. Maybe later some of the breeders and owners of very high energy cat breeds can suggest what helps keep theirs from destroying everything in sight.
 
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cmn

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Both when I'm gone and when I'm home. Sometimes he even destroys the bedding with me in it! (this is rather painful). I understand the whole going after things that move under the covers thing (classic kitten move and all) but he literally tears it up and I have many battle scars from it.

I'm checking out some of those other toys you linked as I'm willing to give several options a try (just those that don't cost $400+).
 

flisssweetpea

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Do you clip your kittie's claws to keep them short? I read through the posts but couldn't see any mention of it anywhere.

When Lily's nails are getting long she starts to scratch at the carpet and looks at me while she's doing it. She doesn't do it when her nails are short.

It could also be that kitty doesn't like certain material to scratch on - our two indoor kitties are not great fans of sisal which most scratching posts are covered in. But they do love course material (which my office happened to have been covered in at one point
) and carpet - so scratching posts covered in those materials work better with them.
 

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Wow, you've tried almost everything... Has he been to a vet recently? You may want to take him for a check up and talk to them about other options. I don't know if they'll prescribe Valium type drugs for this kind of kitty, but it seems as though you've tried everything else. It sounds like the sort of behaviour that would have him kicked out onto the streets if wasn't in such a good home with an understanding owner.
 

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What have you done to redirect his behavior (other than toys)? Have you taught him what is right to do rather than saying no to things you don't want him to do? I'm going to throw out this idea for you - it's worked for me in the past.

Think of when you were a kid in school and trying to learn math. If you didn't know the answer to "what's 2 plus 2", would you learn if you were reprimanded for saying 5 and not given the right answer of 4? Cats are not all that different than young kids in how they learn. They are opportunistic creatures who are motivated by "what's in it for me?" rather than trying to please you.

I retrain destructive cats by showing them the things they should be doing rather than scolding them for the bad behavior. When you see a cat going after the wrong surface, give them a firm NO, then carry them over to the scratch post, place their paws on it and then rub that surface with your fingertips. When you see them doing the right thing, reward them immediately with lots of praise, love and treats (carry treats with you if you have to). You need to be 100% consistent when you do this and I suggest you pick a time to start this when you aren't working for a few days and devote those days to retraining him. I've never had a cat go for more than 3 days when I started this process (even the stubborn ones). I keep cat trees throughout my house so I don't have to go far when I'm redirecting them.

Once they learn the lesson, it usually takes a simple NO to stop them from doing the destructive behavior if they fall back on it. But they have to learn the positive first.

I have a few cats that get over zealous when they kneed me (claws into my flesh) and have constant scratch marks on me. When they start that behavior, I don't want to scold them for showing affection, I just place a fingertip within their paw pad and let them kneed around my finger. More often than not this prevents a scratch, but I do have 4 of them that do that. My empathy is with you on that one.

He sounds like a little love muffin. I know, easy for me to say!


(and btw, my OTB German Shepard mix puppy ate through 3 walls and my current border collie mix ate 3 sets of drapes before I was able to correct that behavior)
 

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You've gotten lots of really great advice. You might try a Feliway plug-in diffuser to help with calming him down some. Also, can put one of those suction cup bird feeders out on a window where he likes to lay down? That might keep him occupied for a little while. Lastly, as the previous poster mentioned, redirect him when you see him doing something WRONG. Take an empty soda can and put a layer of dried beans in it. Tape it shut. When you see him scratching inappropriately, shake the can to get his attention, firmly tell him "NO!", then physically move him to a more appropriate location. Also, try various types of scratchers (carpet, sisal rope, cardboard) in various positions (hanging from a doorknob, laying on the floor, and etc).

Remember, he's still just a kitten and "in training". He's entered the terrible teen years and is really testing his limits.
 
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cmn

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Thanks for all the advice, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can.

I do try to redirect his behavior, this is how lil K-man learned not to scratch things up. And I do reward positive behavior for scratching on their pads or with their toys - same basic principle applies for house training puppies...reward positive behaviors.

I haven't trimmed his claws, should I be looking into this?

I picked up a bunch of new toys this Saturday and some more catnip for their current scratches (my dog likes catnip too). They both went crazy for them and the toys that my lab didn't eat they had fun with. However, didn't direct his attention away from his favorite claw targets.

Also the past few nights he's been scratching at my walls at 3am, when I get up he bolts then when I go to lay back down he starts doing it...I get maybe an hour of sleep between 3am to 6am - Any thoughts with this? This so isn't cool...

--EDIT--

Also with the scratching at my walls at night, this freaks the crap out of my dog. My dog is a rescue dog (pulled her out of a place within hours of her being put down) and she starts shaking when she hears this noise (completely serious). So I know she (my pup) has her own issues but this is really making a severe impact on the household as a whole.
 

fats mcgee

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You may try pulling the catnip. Some cats are "angry drunks" (forgive the poor phrase) and go ape on it. It's a small thing, but I know my cats have to be locked up when they're all nipped out because one because aggressive with my dogs and hyper active and the other is just generally agitatable when he's on the nip.

ETA: i had a friend with a similar problem and what really helped was getting a laser light and playing with the cat until the cat was physically exhausted. She knew the game was over when the cat was obviously winded. It worked.
 
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