Will cats ever mature once they get older?

As in when can i stop cat proofing my apartment? i dont know about you guys, but once i leave my house, or before i got to bed, i literally do a redocaration of my living room, i close all the the doors in my apartment but leave that open to her, but i remove end tables, and chairs, and even my dining table, and make sure nothing is there on my cofee table, i put pillows behind my entertainment center since she loves to chew on cords, and i put sticky tape on the edge of my carpets, and also make sure that there is nothing for her to put inside her water which she loves to do for some reason, but then when i come home in the evening, or wake up on the weekends in the morning, i put everything back, and remove the pillows and etc, to watch her carefully of what she does, when can i stop this?

By the way she is 1 year and couple months old

That seems like an awful lot of work. Neither of my cats were bad to the point that I had to go to those lengths. They do grow out of it though, it took one of mine about a year to calm down and the other one is still a kitten so he's still rambunctious but I am consistent with him and he knows where he is and isn't allowed to be and what he can and can't play with. Have you gone a night to see how she reacts when you don't do it? You could just think all of that is required when it might not be.

I wonder if you have a bored cat?  Do you play with her?

@nikkidee  yep i have tried countless time when leaving some stuff out, like my tables and chairs etc, i wish i had pictures when i tried this multiple times, but anyways, i wake up and find that she had an awesome happy hour the night before, lol, my end table is down, and dented, i use to have these decorative balls in a bowl that was on the the table, cause i didnt even think it would be knocked down, and the table is right next to my front door of the apartment where there is tile, anyways those balls broke, my lamp was down, bulbs broken, she had a blast with my cords, the only thing that sort of worked was the sticky tape, cause she use to just bite the tape up, and put the little pieces inside her water bowl, every single time, but now i just spray it with some pledge and that keeps her away for awhile, till i just spray some more, but then once i stop the tape thing, she just finds something else to put in it, and i mean anything, she will find a spec of lint on the floor, a crum left over from my food, or her dry food, anything, she loves to do this

@OrientalSlave  this cat must be bored then, but i dont see how she has 3 scratching posts, 3 carboard scratchers, about 10 of stuff animal toys, and 2 balls, and i brought this stuff like a month apart from each other, and i even move them around alittle bit, so that she thinks its new, and yep i play with her too when i get home from work, and on the weekends when im off, but majority of the times when im around, she doesnt do anything i describe, mess with my tables, and lamps, chew on cords, cause she knows better not to do it, well at least around me, all she does is just stare at the scenery and sleep and eat, my best friends cat is way different, they have stuff all over the place, and she doesnt mess with them, the only thing she does is scratch there leather funiture from time to time, but thats it, and she is the only cat, granite though  they did pick her up from the humaine society, and mines came from another guy who had a house full of cats including the mother when i got her at 3 months old

Whats also funny is that when i first got her at 3 months old, she was not like this at all, from the couple of days i had her, i could leave anything out, but it changed somewhere in that first week when i had her, and i have been doing this ever since

For the toys i just put them in the cat play pen before i leave or go to bed, the walls are high enough for her not to get anything out, and the only way for her to get in is by getting on the couch to jump in

Also i would love to get a cat tree for her, but if this she what she does every time i try to do this, im not to sure

You keep the toys in a pen? That could explain it. Cats like to chase toys all around the place, so leave the toys out when you leave. You see, a cat is most bored when they're alone. Get creative. Hide catnip infused toys around, rig some things.. strings, feathers tied to doorknobs, springy toys stuck on random places... a robot vacuum with a spring toy... hell, even empty boxes will do!! Get empty boxes. Cut out holes, duct tape them together, make it into a tunnel maze of cardboard. Unsightly, and takes up room.. but if the place is intact.... small price to pay, right?

I always have two cats, they will often chase each other and play, and wear themselves out. So you may want to consider a companion for your cat.

ok thanks for the advice, i heard about the boxes thing to for cats, my only only only reason for keepng the toys in the playpen, is cause she puts them in the water, and i can tell she is dehydrated, cause she wont drink from her waterbowl that has stuff in it, thats why i do that, also about the boxes, i use to have to condo thing that she liked to be in, and the inside was made out of carboard paper wrapping in the inisde, and she would claw that part, and put the wrapping inside the water, im afraid she can do this with regular boxes, this is why i dont give her scratching posts with little pom poms on top, cause she will eat it

any advice on this?

Oh and also if anyone asks, this is the playpen, she plays in


its actually quite large in person

Don't put her toys away. She needs to have them when she wants them.

Cats need to run and jump and play. She needs interactive play, several times a day, with you. What you are describing is a cat that is very very bored.

She is not getting enough attention from you. Queen Eva is over two years old, has two other cats to play with, but she still requires 3 interactive play sessions with me, every day, to keep her out of mischief.

I play with her before I leave in the morning, when I first come home in the evening, and right before I settle down for bed. The morning session is only 15 minutes, the after work and bedtime sessions are half hour play times.

Since she likes to put toys in her water dish (very common cat thing to do ) put out more water dishes.

Feeding a canned diet will prevent dehydration.

If you need ideas on how to play with her, I have plenty.

Is she spayed?

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oh no, i do not put her in the pen, i put her toys in the pen, not her, and she can jump in and out of it at anytime, she is in the living room, the only room i have blocked off is my bedroom and the guest room, she can go into the guest bathroom, cause there is nothing in there for her mess with, but thats about it, and my living room is the room i cat proof before i got to bed and leave work etc,  and your interactive sessions are basically the same as mines, before i got to work, when i come home, and then bed time

I also feed her dry and wet food at the same time everyday, one small of can of wet food everyday in the evening, and she has her dry food to eat when she finishes the wet food while im away, im not sure when exactly she finished, cause i be gone from 8:30am and get home till 6pm est time

And i have lasers to play with her, and little feather wand things, i have more time to play with her on the weekends, but mostly she sleeps during the day, so i never bother her in those hours till night time

Also thanks for the advice, about having more water bowls, i will try this, and see what she does

And yes she is definitely bored,since she does all this stuff before i go to bed, and and when i leave work, thats why i do this every night and day, she is the only cat and has always been that way since i had her at 3 months old, but im just trying to figure why is she bored, i do the sessions, she has toys, and new ones i get her almost every month, im at a lost?

Wake her up and play with her. You want her to sleep at night, when you do, not during the day.

If possible, put a bird feeder up near a window, this will help keep her mentally stimulated during the day. Leave a radio or TV playing softly, so she has sound around her, too.

Play with her before you leave the house in the morning, because this will stimulate her to play by herself for a while after you leave. Play with her as soon as you get home. And then, play with her one last time, before you go to bed. Wake her up and make her play, on your schedule. She will adjust.

The more you play with her, the more she will play by herself, when you aren't there. She needs that mental and physcial stimulation.

Is she spayed?

Vary the Games you play. String on a stick games are good. Get on the floor. Drag it under things (newspaper, or a throw rug) for her to stalk and pounce on. Drag it slow, drag it fast, see what she likes.

Stand up and flip it in the air for her to leap after. Run around pulling it up and over furniture for her to chase, jump and climb.

Get on the floor with a bunch of toys to throw. Throw them one at a time for her to chase down. Throw them places that offer her a challenge. Throw them in a way that she can leap up in the air and bat at them or catch them. Gather them all up, position yourself on the other side of the room and throw them again.

Try crumpled paper balls. I use the envelopes bills and junk mail come it. The cellophane windows make them all crinkly sounding, cats love that.

Sit on the floor and pull a wand toy or string on a stick around your body. So when she chases it, shes running around and around you.

Give her tents and forts. Cats like forts.

Remember to talk to her all the time, talk to her during Games, cheering her on and laughing and stuff, to encourage her, but not just during Games, but all the time. Use her name a lot, and involve her in everything you are doing. The more attention you pay her, the more content she will be.

The first week she was there, she was adjusting to the change in her circumstances. You can't make comparisons to other people's cats. All cats are individuals. Your cat (really, she's still a kitten) seems very intelligent, and she needs you to really engage with her, a lot. The bond you develop with her will be worth it, I promise.

lol thanks for the advice, and yep she is spayed, spayed her at 6 months old, but this is really good advice, you know if i was to leave the remote on the couch, she will just cut it on her self lol, and i actually i play with her in the morning when i work up, and havnet played with her right before i leave for work, so this is a good idea, very much appreciated

I just hope i can finally stop putting pillows behind my tv and taking away my end table, and removing everything from the cofee table, including my laptop, this does get tiring

Looks like we posted at the same time. I added some Game ideas, right above your last post.

lol yea i just saw this, very cool games, yes this is one thing i dont do very often is mix up the games, also what i would do sometimes is i would just rub my hands through the carpet or rub my feet on the carpet and she just instantly go into playmode, so adorable

By the way this is my first pet ever in general, so i am still learning

Never ever use your hands or feet! You will teach her that it is okay to pounce and bite human appendages! No one wants a biting attacking cat! Always, always use toys for these Games.

Yes, I really have to mix things up for Queen Eva, and I did for Mazy cat when she was younger too. Queen Eva does have set Games she expects me to play every day at the same times. But the rest of the Games need to be varied. I rotate Box Forts and tents too.

Congratulations on your first pet. Your willingness to learn tells me you and she will be fine.

PS put string on a stick toys out of reach when you are not home.

ah that explains that then sometimes when she is in play mode, and when i try to pet her she will sometimes try to bite me

and you know this whole time, i thought you was referring to my cat when you said queen eva, cause i was reading back and i dont remember saying her name, but my cat name is eva lol

I sometimes call her princess eva, and when my mom comes she calls her queen eva 

mrflash23 said:

ok thanks for the advice, i heard about the boxes thing to for cats, my only only only reason for keepng the toys in the playpen, is cause she puts them in the water, and i can tell she is dehydrated, cause she wont drink from her waterbowl that has stuff in it, thats why i do that, also about the boxes...

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If she is dehydrated her skin won't ping back if you lift the scruff of her neck.  I bet it does!  Putting toys in the water is nothing to do with if she is dehydrated or not.

Since you feed her dry food, try hiding it around the place.  You can also get treat balls to put a few bits of dry food in.  Lots of other good ideas above, but the overall message seems to be 'environmental enrichment'.

mrflash23 said:

ah that explains that then sometimes when she is in play mode, and when i try to pet her she will sometimes try to bite me

and you know this whole time, i thought you was referring to my cat when you said queen eva, cause i was reading back and i dont remember saying her name, but my cat name is eva lol

I sometimes call her princess eva, and when my mom comes she calls her queen eva 

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Oh how funny! I was wondering what your girl's name is. My little girl told me her name was Eva the day we met (she was about 4 weeks old, and in a very bad situation) It took me four weeks to get her out of the place she was in, but on the morning I took her home she informed me very loudly that her name is QUEEN EVA, not just Eva.

She is a very spirited cat, still much kitten behavior even though she is almost 2 1/2. She had four adult cats raising her and doting on her and playing with her (one is gone now), but still required/requires so much of my time.

If she doesn't get enough interactive play she gets into mischief. She climbs curtains and tightropes curtain rods, tips over litter boxes, gets into cupboards and knocks everything out (my cupboards are supposedly Queen Eva proofed, but she has WAYS :lol3 and so on.

Not all cats require that amount of attention, but the time you spend will be worth it in the end. And yeah, you want to stop using hands and feet right away.

OrientalSlave said:

If she is dehydrated her skin won't ping back if you lift the scruff of her neck.  I bet it does!  Putting toys in the water is nothing to do with if she is dehydrated or not.

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I havent done that before, but how i usually tell she is dehdydrated is i can tell by the level water, cause its the same level i put in that morning before i leave for work, also her nose gets really dry, and also as soon as i put down another bowl of water, she will drink it immediately, she is on wet and dry by the way everyday, not just dry, one can in the evening, and by the time i get home the next day, its gone, so i really dont know when she actually finishes it, but she does have her dry food always there once she finishes early, like i said before, if its not toys she put in the water, she will find something else, anything, crums her dry food, it doesnt matter, anything has to be in the water, and then she wont drink it, i always have to make sure that nothing is around for to put in, like lints and other things

Sorry but the only reliable way to see if a cat is dehydrated is with the tent test.  What you are seeing is an indication of how much she has drunk, which is a different thing.  She might drink a lot and still be dehydrated, or she might not drink at all and be fine.  Are you confusing dehydration with thirst?

Maybe she needs a drinking fountain that can't have things dropped in it.  Maybe even one of those hanging water bottles (like this one).  How is she putting things in her water, though?  Carrying it there in her mouth and plopping it in?  If the bowl were up high, maybe it would be harder to drop things in.  If she had multiple bowls, would she put something in all of them?  I'd give her multiple and varied types of water containers and see what happens.  Then you can leave the toys out.