My cat is 1 1/2 yr. old and lately she's taken up to doing something she's never done before. During the night, she will get articles of clothing, usually from the laundry room and drag them into our living room. The other night she even got up on top of our dryer and took a sweater of mine off a hanger that was hanging on a clothes rod next to the dryer and brought it out into the other room. She has drug a number of items in this last week or so that she's been doing this. Nothing new has happened at home, so can't figure out why she has started doing this. Anyone else ever had this problem? If so, what can I do to stop her, since she does this why we are sleeping!
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Strange Cat
- Thread starter slkanger
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- Feb 19, 2001
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Hi Sandy,
I think I just answered you via email, but I will transfer the answer here:
Is she spayed? What you are describing is a typical nesting/type of behavior exhibited usually by Queens prior to labor, or after they have lost a kitten. It is really an innate behavior, similar also to when they are stalking prey. They will pounce on their prey and then take it and drop it near their nest, then go back for a second kill, and third, dropping them all in the same pile.
If you cat is not spayed, getting her spayed will help. If it helps you at all, I have on cat who will steal shiny objects, watches, rings, even spoons and take them and drop them in the litter pan! LOL Our overnight guests are always warned to put their valuables in a special place-
I think I just answered you via email, but I will transfer the answer here:
Is she spayed? What you are describing is a typical nesting/type of behavior exhibited usually by Queens prior to labor, or after they have lost a kitten. It is really an innate behavior, similar also to when they are stalking prey. They will pounce on their prey and then take it and drop it near their nest, then go back for a second kill, and third, dropping them all in the same pile.
If you cat is not spayed, getting her spayed will help. If it helps you at all, I have on cat who will steal shiny objects, watches, rings, even spoons and take them and drop them in the litter pan! LOL Our overnight guests are always warned to put their valuables in a special place-
If Ullah ever finds scrunchies or hair ties she takes them and drops them in her food or water. She's been doing this for years. Is that the same reason for her?
Heather
Heather
Comere used to do this with paper money! When he was younger, we couldn't leave money laying around because he'd jump up on anything and steal the money and take it off somewhere. Any kind of paper money he'd take. (Now that he's older he can't jump up on our dressors anymore).
I have the same problem with Lion and Bear - two neutered male cats - not that it is actually a problem, just an occasional nuisance. Lion and Bear have always sucked and kneaded on my housecoat, several sweaters, a wool knit shawl, fluffy scatter rugs and things like that. They don't just suck on them where they find them, however, but carry these items through the house, walking with them still in their mouths and dragging the item behind them, stopping every now and then to knead a little on the item, then move on to another location, purring the whole time. I find these items scattered all through the house, regardless of where they start out.
Dirty laundry is especially enticing to them - especially something that my husband and I have worn right next to our bodies. They roll around on the clothing, rub their heads against it, and then often will pick up items like underwear, socks and bras (yep!) in their mouths and carry them out of the laundry hamper or laundry room into another part of the house. This is what becomes embarassing!
They also like to carry their toys around and really like the little spongy foam rubber balls or the plastic coils. They will jump up onto the bed with one of these in their mouths and play with it there when we are asleep. We wake up to find the bed littered with cat toys:-).
When we had an indoor stairwell they spent hours carrying the balls to the top of the stairs, letting them drop down the stairs, chasing them down and capturing them at the bottom, then carrying them back upstairs and dropping them all over again. Actually. they picked this trick up from one of my other cats, Freija, who originally discovered it - and four of them would be involved in chasing and dropping and chasing and dropping - all together. I sure wish we had a stairwell now - it would keep them occupied!
When they were little and teething, anything on the ground ended up in their mouths. I remember one morning when my brother was visiting from out of town for an appointment, he took his watch off and left it beside the bed. It wasn't there in the morning and we frantically searched the house trying to find out where they had taken it in time for him to make his appointment. Finally, the alarm on the watch went off and we found it underneath a dresser:-).
Kathryn
Dirty laundry is especially enticing to them - especially something that my husband and I have worn right next to our bodies. They roll around on the clothing, rub their heads against it, and then often will pick up items like underwear, socks and bras (yep!) in their mouths and carry them out of the laundry hamper or laundry room into another part of the house. This is what becomes embarassing!
They also like to carry their toys around and really like the little spongy foam rubber balls or the plastic coils. They will jump up onto the bed with one of these in their mouths and play with it there when we are asleep. We wake up to find the bed littered with cat toys:-).
When we had an indoor stairwell they spent hours carrying the balls to the top of the stairs, letting them drop down the stairs, chasing them down and capturing them at the bottom, then carrying them back upstairs and dropping them all over again. Actually. they picked this trick up from one of my other cats, Freija, who originally discovered it - and four of them would be involved in chasing and dropping and chasing and dropping - all together. I sure wish we had a stairwell now - it would keep them occupied!
When they were little and teething, anything on the ground ended up in their mouths. I remember one morning when my brother was visiting from out of town for an appointment, he took his watch off and left it beside the bed. It wasn't there in the morning and we frantically searched the house trying to find out where they had taken it in time for him to make his appointment. Finally, the alarm on the watch went off and we found it underneath a dresser:-).
Kathryn
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
Thanks for the replies. I guess my cat isn't the only strange one out there! We use to have three other cats (all gone to kitty heaven now), and one of them loved to put her toys in her water dish. She was especially fond of milk rings from the gallons jugs of milk and twist ties. Missy, our cat we have now, just recently started doing this thing with dragging the clothes around after we go to bed at night. Cats are so curious and fun. Each one has their own personality.
Saki always puts his toy mice in his water and food bowls
Him and Zoey also carry around their toy feathers all over the house.
Him and Zoey also carry around their toy feathers all over the house.
I guess you will need to keep your stuff out of her reach. My youngest kitten Megan did this with my clothes for some reason for a couple of months. To be honest, I think she just liked them because they had my scent of them and it was a comfort thing. I'd come into a room a catch her asleep on a shirt/tank top of mine that she had drug out of closet (she used to jump up and pull them off the hangers).
