NEED HELP!! at wits END!!!

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP!!!!!!

Icis is my younger cat, about 5-6 months old now. My front room is OFF LIMITS to the cats. Its my computer room, and my room with a bay window for my flowers ( aloe plants, christmas cactus, etc). well for some INSANE reason, Icis HAS to get in there, no matter what i do!!! She likes to get on the window and chew my poor aloe plants. I block the room off, and she cries and tears at the blanket i use till she gets in, i want to THROTTLE her!!! I have tried blockin the doorway with a blanket and babygate over it with orange and lemon scent all over it, and it DOES NOT stop her, dosent even phaze her! I know i need to get a door, but i have to redo the doorway for that, and its going to be a few weeks before i can do that with my husband out from neck surgery for a hernated disc. is there ANYTHING i can do?

It sounds like your cat wants at the plants. You can try giving it its own plant, a pot of cat grass, to chew on.
I hope you know that they are poisonous and someone has just posted in another thread that their cat is sick after eating aloe vera plant.

I hope your husband feels better soon!

She also might just want to be with you. One of my cats is like this... and I've basically given up on plants (can't cuddle them anyway).

The cat grass is a good idea. Maybe also try spending more time with her outside of the room, treats and such, so she feels secure when you leave?

Hissy also suggested (for cats not allowed in the bedroom) keeping a vacuum near the door and turning it on for short bursts when she's being pesky to discourage her.

Just curious, is it the plants or the computer you are worried about with her in there?

its the plants, and the computer cords.

Also, she does this with me sitting here on the couch watching her!!! i am sitting here watching tv, and she does it then. She will do it anytime!!! i can spend all day with her, it dont matter. she HATES being told no. I have tried the citrus, i have tried STAY OFF, even Bitter Apple, nothing deturs her, and im going nuts!!!

i am trying to grow some cat grass for her, but if she keeps knocking the plants down to play in the dirt, imma throttle her,,lol. SHe made me so MAD the other day! She got into the room, and of COURSE i yelled " ICIS!!" and she was on the window. I told her to GET DOWN, and she looks and me and uses her paw to DUMP my sprouting strawberry plants, i was LIVID!!! So i picked her up, told her NO NO NO and put her in her cat kennel ( XXL dog kennel size) for a few minutes, then let her out. That doesnt seem to detur her either.

Could she be wanting a spot on the bay window? Princess loves windows, and she would knock plants off to make room for herself. She eventually stopped because the sound of a pot breaking freaked her out. We also made the windowsill wider so she had space to maneuver around the plants.

You may want to switch to other plants. Something that's less cat friendly for eating. I had African Violets without any problems. I guess the fuzzy texture was a pretty good deterent.

she does have her own window in the tv room where we spend most the time. thats why i cant get over why she wants in that room,lol

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

It sounds like your cat wants at the plants. You can try giving it its own plant, a pot of cat grass, to chew on.
I hope you know that they are poisonous and someone has just posted in another thread that their cat is sick after eating aloe vera plant.

I hope your husband feels better soon!

Click to expand...

Aloe Vera plants are poisonous?? I had never knew this, I had a cat once that ate aloe vera all the time and never got sick. Where can I get more info on Aloe plants and cats if they eat it?

Thanks...

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

is a list of all the plants poisonous to cats. There are more all over the place but this is the longest one I've found. Then, there are some "alternative" medicines people recommend for cats that say to use it--for things like cancer. It's also in lots of shampoos for cats, and other topical sorts of things. I would assume it's not up there with lilies and such, but it is on the list.

Then, there is this:
http://mainecoonrescue.com/poison.html (scroll down pretty far to plants)

which lists it as potentially fatal as well as causing "Respiratory - Signs: Coughing, sneezing, difficulty breathing"

I would say, please, get rid of your aloe plant. Now that you know it could be fatal, wouldn't you feel bad if something, forbid, happened to your cat?

She wants to get in there because she can't, that's all! Cats are insanely curious, and will inevitably want to get in anywhere they're not allowed! It's pretty hard to have a cat and not let it in most places, or you will end up with the troubles you're having now

My suggestion is not necessarily going to be very helpful to you. I would find a way to keep the cords out of her reach - there is a product you can get - here's the link:

http://home.flash.net/~stpshock/

I'd move your plants, and I'd let her in there. After a while she'll probably give up!!

how about hanging the plants from the ceiling in those plant holders?

Move the plants and let her in the room. Our spare room is off limits to the girls and because of that, they are always hanging around the door wanting in. I let them in the other day (under supervision) and once they had had a good nose around they lost interest. It was the same with out previous cat, Mittens - she was always curious about the room she wasn't allowed in but once she realised she really wasn't missing out, she lost interest

BTW, shouting at your cat won't help - she has no idea why you are doing it. If you really want her off the window ledge, try putting double sided sticky tape on it. She'll stop soon enough

It's much easier to change your own expectations than to change your cats' behavior. For the sake of my cats, I've had to give up live plants, sheer curtains, beaded pillows, fringed lampshades, and privacy in the bathroom. Worth every bit of it! :-)

it's part of her territory, it's challenging to get into and there might be something interesting in there! (Mine spend hours working on flipping the catch to open the wardrobe and they don't even particularly want to be in there, they just know they can open that door if they try hard enough and they object to all closed doors on principle).

You might really be on a loser until you can put in a door that she can't get past no matter what she tries - if she knows that fussing at the blanket will eventually mean she gets in if she tries for long enough then she's consistently being rewarded with success if she persists. The only thing that will really make her give up is finding something that she can't get past. I wonder whether Hissy's idea of the hoover plugged in in front of the blanket might be worth a try?

About this whole cat grass thing. I use to have cat grass - outside when I lived with my parents years ago (they had a farm and 3 outdoor cats that loved it). I then had some at my apartment that I lived at for 5 years - outside as well. My cat went out only when I did and rolled in it. Thing is my home is in a slightly busier area and obviously I don't want my babies to get hurt, so they are all strictly indoor now. How do you keep cat grass inside and keep it semi neat? I mean, mine use to roll in it in the dirt. I would imagine that if you have it in a pot, or low container, or anything it would be just a mess waiting to happen. What do you typically keep this in?
My babies have run of our cellar as a kind of "cat playground" so having some down there wouldn't be that bad, but I still don't want dirt all over the place. I've got enough of a mess to clean up already between the fur, the tabby that brings me laundry, and the DLH that brings up pieces of poop to play with... . I can just see them dragging up pieces of the grass with dirt falling off it to play with in the house....

Originally Posted by Pui Hang

BTW, shouting at your cat won't help - she has no idea why you are doing it. If you really want her off the window ledge, try putting double sided sticky tape on it. She'll stop soon enough

Click to expand...

I tried double sticky tape with a plant with my foster girl Jill. She just spilled dirt on it so it wasn't sticky anymore, and it was a mess to remove. I say move the plants until you get a door. You are currently in a battle of the wits with a very intelligent cat...and being human, you are unlikely to win!!! Put the plants away for now. Or buy computer cord covers and a glass screen for over the bay window to protect the plants. Or put them all in terrariums.

I hear your frustration, but really, she does not understand that you don't want her not to come in the room. She thinks it is a puzzle to work her way into the great room that Mommy loves, and she is very pleased with herself. She is enjoying the challenge, and isn't likely to give up.

My advice would be to remove the plants and tie up the cords until you can get that door put on. Your kitty sounds very onery and despite what others are saying, I think she knows EXACTLY what you are saying and she KNOWS you don't want her in there... she's just being onery. For the sake of your SANITY, you should just remove the plants to another room where you CAN shut the door and work on getting that door on!

Good luck!

i would LOVE to move the plants to another room, only problem is, there ISNT another room to put them into,lol. that is the ONLY room i have left that taken up,lol. she has been there there quite a few time before with me whn i was using the computer for downloading photos. Letting her in to sniff around dosent seem to detur her from wanting to get in when i am NOT there. I am going this weekend now that i have my tax check and will see what kind of door i can get. Ty for the replies!!!