New and need alot of help :-(

Hi everyone, before I begin let me say I have searched and read through articles on the net, but have come up with vague information and other info that is basically contradictive.

I have 2 cats, they are 9 months old, and are turning into hell raisers.

They are constantly climbing up on top of everything and anything, dragging kitty litter across the entire apartment, dipping their paws in the water bowls and running around on top of tables, counters, etc, and breaking expensive glassware. Theyre wandering has gotten out of control and I try and keep them off the counters because I have a flat stovetop that they could very easily be burned on. I have used a spray bottle (yes I know your gonna tear me a new one) but that is the only way I can get them off of counters, etc.

Now they only do these things when I'm not home or go to bed. I come in from work and they quickly run from whatever they were busy destroying and pretend to be sleeping somewhere in a corner. I wake up in the middle of the night to pots and pans falling on the floor, but they suddenly are on the couch with squinty eyes.

They have completely destroyed carpeting in one area of my apartment which is now going to come out of my security deposit, but I refuse to declaw them and have heard that the alternative method (soft paws?) doesn't work well at all.

I'm at the point where I feel like I have to choose between them or my life and i'm having a real hard time because despite the aggravation, I love them to death.

Any help on any of these issues would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Kane

They've reached the toddler equivalent of "the terrible twos".

Our cats have a "room" that's all theirs (and supposedly our office!). They stay in the room at night and if we'll be gone from the house for a long period of time. As our youngest is currently becoming less and less destructive, we're letting them stay out more and more during the day, but they still go to bed in their room at night. They actually know the phrase "time for bed, time for bed!" and will come running into their room when I call.

You may want to try that to limit the destruction and when you are at home, be consistent with not letting them on counters and such. Make sure they have lots of appealing toys and cat furniture to destroy.

I would also kitten proof your house until they're older and more calm.

Hopefully others can speak more about the effectiveness of soft paws as I've never tried them.

Welcome to TCS!

~Julia

You really can't prevent them from doing those things when you're gone, but at night lock them in your bedroom with you.

My cat NEVER goes on the table or counters when I am home because we have ALWAYS used a spray bottle on him and that gets the point across right away. He does get on the counters when we're gone if he can find a good snack, so we keep the bread and chips in a bread box. You can try putting tin foil on particular areas you know the cats are going to a lot, but really you can only prevent them doing it while you're home.

At night I suggest locking them in a room.

As far as the carpet, buy a rug and put over it, a dollar store rug or something so they can claw on that and not the carpet. You could also invest in a nice scratching post, doing that may also get them more interested in playing with the post and not on the counters. I would also get some toys for them to keep them occupied during the day.

Originally Posted by jlutgendorf

They've reached the toddler equivalent of "the terrible twos".

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thats EXACTLY how it feels. haha, thanks for the input

Yeah I have put something in front of the carpet (it's on stairs) so that they cant get to that spot anymore. It's weird, thats the only spot they scratch at other than their little carpet house thing that theyre allowed to scratch.

As far as locking them up during the night, really cant because I live in a loft, it's basically one big room other than the bathroom which is tiny and unheated. I could lock them in there at night because its been warm, but when they arent being bad at night, they usually sleep under the covers with me, so I dont know if it would be bad to lock them up every night or not.

I agree that this is pretty typical behavior for cats this age.

If you have not yet neutered the cats, please do so. They typically will calm down a little once neutered. But, remember that they are still kittens despite their big bodies. And, kittens will be kittens......

It is time to both cat-proof and booby-trap your house. As you know, you can't squirt the cats when you are at work or asleep, so you need to set up booby traps that will do the job for you. For example, on your kitchen counters (and especially on the stove) place a bunch of cans with a few pennies or pebbles in them all over the counters. When the cats jump up and hit the cans it will make an awful noise and scare them off the counter. Small paper cups of water placed on the counter will work as well, but will make a mess. On other surfaces, put double-sided tape on pieces of cardboard or heavy paper and then place the cardboard on the surface, sikcky side up. When the cats land on the cardboard, their feet will get this sticky tape on them. Cats hate sticky stuff on their feet which will teach them to stay off.

Also, make sure you put away anything and everything that the cats can damage. Older kittens can be destructive (as you've seen) so just cat-proof your house for now. You can put everything back out once they've gotten a little older.

Regarding the carpet. It sounds like they need some cheap cardboard scratching pads in the corner that they have ripped up. Almost all cats love these cardboard scratchers. They have saved many a rug and chair!

Regarding soft paws, quite a few of our members have had tremendous success with these nail caps. Give them a try -- they just might work.

Good luck whith your wild children. Your description of your cats is why I only adopt adult cats!

Do you have toys for them? and perhaps a cat tree that would help, I have 8 inside cats and they don't bother anything, maybe try playing with them alot in the evening and wear them out some There are diffusers you can get to plug into the wall and they give off a smell that is calming to them, I have never had to use them but lots of folks swear by them, Other then that there's stuff you can get to spray that may keep them from tearing up your carpet. I'm not bragging but my cats are just the best, I have 1 older male that has peed on a couple of area rugs but not all the time. They do love to romp, I have a 2 story house and it sounds like a herd of cattle upstairs sometimes...Hope you find a solution, Good Luck

Thanks! the booby trapping with the cans sounds like a good idea and I'm going to try that. The water, not so much. I don't know if it's normal but my cats love dipping their paws in the water bowl. Lately I have just been monitoring them at the bowl and yelling at them when they go to dip their feet in. It's cute but after they run around, it looks like I have paw print wallpaper all over everything.

oh and they are neutered too.....and it didn't calm them down!

wow 8 cats? how many litter boxes do you have? crap, thats crazy!

I do have toys for them, mostly just balls though and they have a carpeted stoop house thing that they can go into and scratch on, but thats it. I bought the spray to turn them off from scratching an area....doesnt work. I have never heard of the plug in though, maybe I can give that a try. I need your success with cats! I only have 2 haha

when i read you post the first thing I thought was "I wonder if they're altered?" if they're not, I would suggest doing that ASAP, for health reasons as well as hopefully calming them down a bit other than that I don't have much advice, for some reason I always manage to be lucky and get the lazy cats that just lay around

if by altered you mean neutered, then yes they have been.

Go out and buy a cat tree that is really high. I just got one for my cats and they LOVE it. Buy scratching posts and put them in places around the house, and spray that with some cat nip or other good kitty smelling stuff. The booby trap stuff works as well.

Originally Posted by kane250

wow 8 cats? how many litter boxes do you have? crap, thats crazy!

I do have toys for them, mostly just balls though and they have a carpeted stoop house thing that they can go into and scratch on, but thats it. I bought the spray to turn them off from scratching an area....doesnt work. I have never heard of the plug in though, maybe I can give that a try. I need your success with cats! I only have 2 haha

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Litter boxes I have 6 but I am home most of the time so i keep them up.Mine are all ones I rescued except 2, maybe there good because there glad to have a nice mommy and house to live in, They were all 5 spayed, and 3 neutered, had shots, tested, wormed and they have 2 cat trees and 100s of toys, they love the little furry mice but only the black, brown or grey they do not like the white ones It is alot of work but I Love them all dearly
They are such sweet babies well there not babies anymore the youngest are about a year or more 2 are about 2 1'2 and Mickey is about 16 Cammie is about 8...Good luck, there sure not perfect but Lovem anyways..

I wouldn't leave anything real expensive out with these two! Anyway, I agree with the suggestion of a cat tree. An inexpensive one can be found at wal-mart for about 35 bucks if price is an issue,though I don't think they last at long. I've had the same one for about two years, and it has taken all four of my cats through kitten hood.. One of the last two kitties, cookie, has enjoyed finishing it off... Soon I will be buying a deluxe one from one of our sponsors.. Anyway a tree also provides some entertainment for them and I also suggest putting by the window. Another way to distract them from trashing your house it put a bird feeder near the window. When I lived in an apt I hung it right below the cat perch.

Ok, so I know I'm really late--but I noticed that you said their other scratching post is a carpeted playhouse thing.

That might be the problem with them destroying your actual carpet--they probably aren't distinguishing between carpet sanctioned for scratching and carpet that makes mom mad when scratched. Try the cardboard or sisal scratchers instead.

Originally Posted by krissie

Ok, so I know I'm really late--but I noticed that you said their other scratching post is a carpeted playhouse thing.

That might be the problem with them destroying your actual carpet--they probably aren't distinguishing between carpet sanctioned for scratching and carpet that makes mom mad when scratched. Try the cardboard or sisal scratchers instead.

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wow I actually didnt think of that at all. Now that you mention it, the carpeting on the playhouse is almost exactly the same color as my actual carpeting. I guess I never put 2 and 2 together. Thanks!