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Cat "answers" phone

post #1 of 11
8/3/10 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
My cat Zeke (almost 2 years old) is obsessed with our phone that we keep on the kitchen countertop. He pushes the receiver off the hook when he's trying to get attention or wants food so the phone makes that loud busy signal noise. He "answers" the phone whenever it rings by throwing it off the hook and sometimes pressing various buttons and disconnecting the call. If the answering machine goes off and he hears someone leaving a message, he literally pounces on the phone and presses every button he can. Other than moving the phone, any ideas on how to stop this? This happens throughout the day and he keeps coming up with new things to try. It was cute at first, but it's getting very annoying and we're missing calls since he sometimes does this when we're out. He has lots of toys, a big kitty condo to climb on, turbo scratcher, another cat to play with, many birds and other animals to look at out the back window and more, but he's still a bored little troublemaker....
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post #2 of 11
8/3/10 at 8:36pm
mine don't 'answer' the phone - but Cable comes running when she hears it ring & jumps on my lap!
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post #3 of 11
8/3/10 at 9:00pm
Ku Ku doesn't do this but my friend's cat does, actually her cat does not "answer" but often press the button & hang up the call
Another friend of mine also told me that her cat does press button and actually "answered" the call few times.

It's cute when I imagine the view but yeah...I know what you mean.
When I got hang-up on or found out my message I left was erased, then it wasn't that funny anymore.
I used to phone her at home but since this incident kept happening(with or without her knowing it), I tend to phone her on cell.
Sorry, it wouldn't be of any advise but you may also consider using different phone(s) other than home phone.
I ditched land phone to prevent this long time ago...
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post #4 of 11
8/3/10 at 9:43pm
Hi there,

He sounds like a rascal

If the answer machine is an actual box you could spray it with bitter apple spray - that way he'd get the stuff on his paws and eventually associate the yucky bitter taste on his paw with the machine and stop playing with it (it's safe for him, just very bitter). It's quite potent though so only put it on the phone if you have another one somewhere else in the house you can use during the retraining process.

I used to put this stuff on house plants and electric cables to stop our two playing/ chewing them they don't go near them at all now.

You could also try distracting him when it rings and rewarding him if he leaves it alone...
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post #5 of 11
8/3/10 at 11:36pm
hang it on the wall high enough or in different room and buy cordless.
no exp with cats just a determined young girl I babysat who did the same...
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post #6 of 11
8/4/10 at 5:48am
Oh, my. I'm sorry - I know it's really annoying, but reading it made me laugh - I can just picture it.

And I'm afraid I have no advice. All the advice mentioned above sounds good.

But it did remind me of something. Many years ago, I was supposed to meet my friend Kathy for a concert. I got there.....no Kathy. I waited and waited, the time was approaching - nothing. I called her and heard the phone answered, but then .....lots of shuffling noises, no voices. I got really scared. I pictured her lying on the floor, injured, unable to speak, trying to answer the phone, but not being able to say anything. I almost called the cops. I went in to the concert, thinking, "she'll show up, maybe it was just trouble with the trains," but I still had this little thought that something might have happened. (Yeah - nice - I went into the concert anyway! )

A few minutes after it started, she slinked into her seat. (Subway problems) I was happy to see her, and waited until a break in what they were playing, and told her about the phone. She said it must have been Nacho (her cat). She said he does that all the time. Sure enough, when she got home, Nacho had knocked the receiver off the cradle.

We still laugh about that.
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post #7 of 11
8/4/10 at 4:53pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys for the suggestions. I haven't thought of bitter apple. I'll have to try that. Right now we have a big metal bowl over the whole phone so he can't get to it, but its just a temporary solution. If he doesn't stop we'll have to move it. Last week he knocked the receiver off the hook while I was on an important call on another phone in the house. I thought someone else in the house picked up the phone line until I heard meowing in the background lol. Embarrasing to have to explain to someone it was my cat. He's also reaching into kitchen cupboards and knocking everything down in them, opening drawers and trying to rearrange the silverware. We tape them closed with duct tape, but it doesn't stop him.
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post #8 of 11
8/4/10 at 6:56pm
Sounds like he may be getting a bit bored? Have you tried adding in any new/different toys, or giving him "brain teaser" toys like treat balls (pending he doesn't have any weight issues)? That may help distract him from being destructive.
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post #9 of 11
8/5/10 at 2:41pm
I have no advice, but it is heartening to know someone's cat is giving them more trouble than mine are giving me.

I was going to suggest a big mixing bowl, but you already thought of that.

Good luck. I hope the bitter apple works.
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post #10 of 11
8/5/10 at 3:02pm
If my husband is home, my cat Majel will scream until he puts the phone down to her so that way she can talk to me on the phone. Then she screams a bit, tells me about her day, then chews on it. What a sweetie pie.
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post #11 of 11
8/5/10 at 3:32pm
Maia usually comes running when the phone rings, speaker phone puts her into high gear! She always comes running when speaker phone is on, and she will rub then mouth and sometimes get overly aggressive...... I look at it as this is an object they observe us giving attention to every time it rings, so they are either curious as to why or looking for the same attention......Kitties are such entertaining mysteries. If you don't want the phone to be disturbed when your not home, simply put it out of reach
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