Can't Pinpoint the Problem

[starlit rose]

Hi everyone! New member as well as a new cat owner here. I have only been around dogs and a bird my whole life, and when I got into my new apartment, my boyfriend and I decided we really wanted a cat to be a playmate for our small dog.

Our cat (kitten, really) is now 8 months old. We got him when he was about 3 months old from the same shelter we adopted our dog, so his history before adoption was very short, and any behavior problems that have arisen have happened after the fact. But he didn't start these problems until more recently (2-3 months ago).

I checked other threads addressing these issues already, but my main problem is that I don't know what the source of my cat's behavior is. Here is what has been happening lately:

1. Food: At first, we had dry food sitting out all day, but then he got really fat, so we started just feeding him on a schedule (3 meals a day). His weight went back to a good weight, and he was pretty good with the schedule eating. He was always excited about meal time, but was normal. Then, about 2-3 months ago, we switched to canned food (on the same schedule) per our vet's recommendation. Ever since then, he has been CRAZY about food. He constantly begs for more, even when he just finishes eating. When gone for a few hours, we will come home to ripped up paper towels, turned over trash cans, etc. I wanted to put him back on the dry food so I could leave it out for him to hopefully stop his obsession, but when we did that for a couple of days while we were out town, we came back to see he had eaten almost all of the food we put down - and we put down quite a bit. So I don't think leaving food out is an option. Typical gluttonous cat I am told, but we have resorted to hiding our trash can in our kitchen pantry and stored our paper towels in a cabinet. We can't be under-feeding him though, because his weight is right where it should be! Is this normal to deal with? For the record, we feed him 1/3 of a can of Friskies, 3 times a day, so he eats 1 full can per day.

2. This morning I found my cat ripping a hole in the carpet. I don't think this is him just needing a scratching post. He was doing it out of play for sure. I can at least tell the difference because I know his scratching on our couch is more of his typical scratching. He just gets into these incredibly hyper modes and he'll pick at the carpet, and slide around on it. He discovered that if he pulls on it enough, he can rip up threads and chew on them and bat at them. Now I have a nice-sized hole in the middle of my floor. I am especially stressed because this is not my own house, but an apartment complex. He has toys, and even a playmate! Yet even with his toys, when I play around with him and try to entice him, he will bat at the toy for a little bit, but then get bored quickly. So even though we try to play with him and get this sort of thing out of his system, he acts like he's not all that interested. And then 40 minutes later he'll be running around the house like his tail's on fire. (Trying to play with him during these times doesn't change anything; it's like we're not cool enough to play with him and he prefers to run around/be chased by the dog.) As for his playtime with the dog - he tends to be too rough. They'll chase each other which is fine, but then the cat will often tackle the dog and start biting her. The poor dog has had her ear bitten hard enough to where she was bleeding everywhere. I know she often asks for it when she pesters the cat, but even when she's not pestering him, the cat will often just jump her out of no where and bite her to the point where she squeals, sometimes even goes off on him and starts biting at him aggressively in retaliation. I don't know if he does it on purpose, because otherwise he is not a mean-spirited cat, just very curious and mischevious.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to explain all my observations in the hopes that someone with more knowledge might have a better idea of what's going on. The carpet ripping thing started about the same time we switched to the wet food, so I don't know if one is causing the other. Any and all suggestions and ideas are welcome.

Also, for any product suggestions like catnip spray, I have to be sure that anything recommended is safe for my bird to inhale.

 

[c1atsite]

hi. for the catnip spray, you can spray a piece of cloth in another room and let the kitty play with the cloth in that room, away from your bird.

 

[fifi1puss]

He sounds bored and acting like a "teenager". Is he neutered yet? That can help bring down those hormones so he is less rambunctious.

As for the food stuff, is he is maintaining his weight then he should be fine. Knocking over the bins and tackling the pp towels sounds like boredom. I have a heavy trash can with a lid and keep the pp towels away too. I have three cats and between the 3, one always seems to get into mischeif occasionally if not getting enough attention.

Not all toys are created equal

For maximum wearing out get either da bird or a laser pointer. My really rambunctious kitty goes nuts with da bird and then gets a few crunchies and then sleeps the rest of the night....its the only thing that has worked for his craziness. He meows all night long if I dont tucker him out like this.

Getting him to play rambunctiously with an appropriate toy will hopefully over time get him to play less harsh with the poor dog. Contrary to popular belief cats really need good hard playtime on a regular basis.

He will probably still run around like a crazy cat but the destruction should stop.

btw: do you have a scratching post for him. My cats like a variety. Cardboard on an angle, sisal posts vertically, carpet vertically and horizontally (i have area rugs for this purpose though), try a good variety of scratching things till you find what he likes. There is a great thing called "the wave" (i think) it has carpet and sisal in a wave form that lays on the floor. The cats go NUTS with this thing! it has a dangly toy underneath too....its the best invention ever.

 

[auntie crazy]

The running around and playing rough with the dog sounds like totally typical kitten behavior. The fascination with paper towels is an individual thing - I have one cat who absolutely can't resist a roll of paper towels and it's a given that if I forget to put a roll away, I'll be picking up pieces all evening when I come home.

Have you thought of getting another kitten? They do really, really well when paired young, and give each other exactly what they need for playtime and learning boundaries.

The food obsession may actually be a bit of hunger. The amount you're feeding him (one can a day) is about the average for a full grown cat, and it's often recommended to feed growing kittens twice that amount. Why not start feeding him half a can at each meal and see how he does?

Best regards!

AC

 

[starlit rose]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

He is neutered. We got him fixed several months ago, before most of this behavior started happening, oddly enough.

He has a scratching post, though admittedly he wasn't too interested in it, so we ended up using it as a support beam for a home made cardboard cat house my boyfriend made for him, lol. He can still access it, but I think he forgets it's there. But like I said, he hardly used it anyway. Maybe he would prefer one that lays flat? They have some inexpensive ones that are shaped this way, so I think we might try one of these. (Or that wave one fifi1puss mentioned.)

The paper towel and trash bin mischief does seem like boredom, but at the same time, he only seems to target things that have traces of food, or things that were close to food. We have two other trash cans he can easily access that never contained food, and he only ever went after the kitchen one. So that's why I wasn't sure if it was related to his food obsession.

I might try giving him more food at a time, but I am afraid it will make him fat again. I never knew that kittens were supposed to have twice the normal amount, so maybe that will help. I have a feeling he won't change much though, lol. He really loves the canned food.

As for cat toys... I'm not sure what "da bird" is exactly, but I've been wanting to avoid toys that resemble birds since we have a pet bird, haha. I didn't want him to associate feathers with something that's okay to claw at. Maybe we should try wearing him out with lasers. I would like to be able to find a catnip toy that can endure lots of chewing on, since the dog likes to hog the toys and ends up ripping up the catnip toys easily.

For the suggestion of getting another kitten - unfortunately or fortunately, we are at the maximum with our pets in this apartment complex. Only 2 4-footed pets allowed in one apartment. We thought the puppy would be a good enough playmate to be able to wear him down and all that, but even though we got them when they were both babies (the cat was 3 months old; the puppy was only 2 months old), they still seem to not fully understand each other's boundaries. Their personalities are just different though, I guess.

Anyway, thank you for your responses. We will try some of these suggestions and hope that we can find a way to keep our cat from destroying out carpet more.

 

[bastetservant]

That age, 8 months up to a year or more, is a tough one for people to deal with kittens. Some of them are holy terrors. But, he will grow up and calm down eventually. So you can look forward to that.

Hang in there.

The toy, "Da Bird" is very popular with many cats. But, I agree, it wouldn't be appropriate for you with the bird in the house. The same company (Go Cat) makes a mouse on a stick toy that my cats like even better than Da Bird. It's called "Cat Dancer." Some cats seem to like laser toys. Mine don't. I think they frustrate them because there is nothing to catch. When I play with wand toys with my cats, I let them chew on them a bit. And at the end of the play session, they always get a treat or two so they think they "won." Any kind of wand toy would help burn up your kitten's energy.

For now, I would try to keep all danger objects out of his way, until he gets older.

The food thing, I can't say, don't feel like I know enough about it. He may be hungry, or he may just be bored. When you say "a can" of cat food, what size can do you mean? And is he eating kitten food, or regular food?

Robin

 

[Willowy]

I know someone who had her cat on an all-canned-food diet, and he was crazy food-obsessed like that, too. She added some kibble (I think she's doing 50/50 now) and he calmed down right away. Maybe the carbs keep him full longer? Although she's using Blue Wilderness which is fairly low-carb. Anyway, try giving him just a tiny bit of a high-quality kibble (maybe start with just 2-3 kibbles) and work up until he's not so starving all the time. Yes, canned food is best but not if your cat is going crazy from it!

 

[starlit rose]

Robin: So this is sort of like a "terrible twos" stage for a kitten?

Good to know that his rambunctious side shouldn't last forever, though my friend's cat is something like 2 years old now and kept all of his nasty habits. I hope that doesn't happen with my boy!

The Cat Dancer definitely seems like a better alternative. If it's durable we might give it a whirl.

The food cans are the 5.5 oz Purina Friskies "classic pate" variety. It says it's for kittens and adult cats, so obviously it's pretty generic. I thought we were supposed to switch him to adult food after 6 months anyway, so it seemed like the right way to go.


Willowy: Interesting! We are going to try the 50/50 thing out and see if that helps.


Thanks everyone for all the tips! I'm really glad I joined this forum. Very helpful.

 

[kittymom4]

I have a male Tonkinese who turned 2 in May - he is just now starting to settle. He's still my wild child LOL. Funny, but not. He gets into all sorts of stuff

And NEVER sleeps! That's the worst part - he's up all night HA! Just in the past few months he's starting to sleep normally.

Anyway - you just have to love them through it all. They will grow up. You have to divert them from the bad habits that can be harmful. Try getting a tall cat tree (or two). Find them on sale when you can. Not necessarily for the scratching, but for the climbing and vertical space. I agree it sounds like he's board. Can you put up a window seat? That's like kitty t.v. - put it to a window where there is some activity for him to watch - birds outside, people coming and going.

A toy called a fling-a-ma-string I heard was pretty popular about a year ago but I myself do not have one. I love my Bergan tracks!! You can get them online and get the plain circle or get pieces and build a custom track

Cats love them. Just get the light up balls (much better!)

I think you're going to have to start thinking mental stimulation for this guy. And some hard core play time while he's young. I had to get mine a harness and leash. On nice days we go out in the backyard to explore - he's secure and it wears him out!