Is this rare or does it happen a lot?

[missym23]

My cat Snuggles has always been a good girl, normally when she gets up on counters and we yell at her she'll jump down and stay down, or she'll get back up and look around and jump down when she realizes there isn't any food sitting out for her to eat.

But lately she has gotten really bad, despite being constantly scolded and being yelled at she keeps jumping up on the counters when she thinks no one is looking even if the dishes are clean and she'll dig at the trashcan lid trying to get inside it.

The other day my mom came into the kitchen to find she had gotten the bread down off the table, had torn a hole in it and was pulling pieces of bread out and eating them so my mom scolded her, put her outside and put the bread in the microwave so she couldn't get to it.

And just today (November 4, 2013) I heard a noise in the kitchen like boxes and bags being moved, if you stand up from the couch you can see the trashcan in the kitchen, so I stood up and looked, but she wasn't on it, I was about to sit back down when something in my head said, "Go check."

So I went in the kitchen and she had gotten on the table and after failing to get into the cereal boxes she got onto the microwave and pulled our soft taco shells off the toaster and tore a hole in it and was eating them.

She's acting like she has to hunt and scavenge for food because she has none and is starving or something, but we leave bowls of cat food out in plain sight 24/7 for her and the other cats and we refill it when it starts to get low.

Whenever we put her out to get fresh air and to go potty since she doesn't use the letterbox she'll get on top of the window air conditioner unit and meow when she's ready to come back in since she's used to being inside. We can't leave her outside because we can't afford to get her spayed.

My mom is trying to get my brother to come get her and take her to the pound which is sad because they'll put her to sleep, but what else can we do? Do all cats act like this, what can we do to stop it?

 

[aprilprey]

Could be boredom too.  Do you have active play sessions with her?  How old is she?  If she's still fairly young...could be a combo of boredom + kitten/teenage curiosity.

Also, have you looked into low cost spay/neuter in your area?

 

[Willowy]

It would be a shame to kill a cat just because people in the home can't be bothered to put food away in the cabinets . I don't know how "normal" it is, because I have a lot of cats, but I do have to keep my bread in the fridge and the bananas in the microwave and baby locks on the cabinets. It's a small inconvenience, not worth killing anybody for. I hope you can convince your family to make small accommodations to save a life.

Also, it's not healthy for her to go into heat so much. It greatly increases her chances of breast cancer and pyometra the longer she remains unspayed. Have you looked into low-cost spay clinics in your area? www.spayusa.org may have a listing for a clinic in your area, and if not, if you call them they may be able to find a voucher system for you. She might be scavenging food because her instincts are telling her to stock up to support a pregnancy, so if spaying stopped the scavenging that would be a plus. But mostly you should just put food where she can't get it.

Also, sometimes cats will scavenge because their food isn't very nutritious. What brand do you feed her?

 

[payaza2000]

They have like a can that detects movement when the cat jumps on the counter, and will blow out air. It makes the cat expect to get startled and not jump on the counter.

 

[prairiepanda]

My cat used to raid the counters when bored. The trouble is, she knows that doing so will attract attention, regardless whether that attention is negative. What worked for me was using an orange scented cleaner on the counters. She can't stand the smell and quickly jumps down as soon as she gets a whiff. But when she tries to go up there, I know it's a sign she needs more attention and play time. She rarely does this anymore, as I am home more often to interact with her.

 

[my-boy-jasper]

I've had the same issue with my cat jumping up on the counters. I put away food that he is interested in and clean the benches before I use them. I'd say it's pretty normal. And it would be really unfortunate to take your cat to the pound for acting normally. I certainly hope your mum doesn't think she can give away this cat and get another, because it's quite possible another cat will do the same.

Make it less attractive for your cat to get up there. There are threads on this site asking for help with the same issue if you use the search function. And Google is a wealth of information because it is such a common behaviour. Play with your cat or give her some distraction. Can you keep her out of the kitchen entirely? But you and especially your mum need patience to figure out what works. It's just a part of the responsibility of having pets. I sincerely hope you can change your mum's mind. Maybe you could do some research together? Good luck.

 

[missym23]

She's around 2 years old, mom has looked around and can't find any places that offer low cost spay/neuter.

 

[missym23]

We give her Special Kitty, the same brand she's been eating since she was old enough to eat hard cat food, she's still nursing her litter of kittens.

Small accommodations? How are we supposed to do that when she tries to get into any food you leave out even if it's in a box? She'll dig at it until she realizes she can't get in it then she'll look for something else.

It's not our fault that people around here don't really like cats and the shelters are full so they have to 'put them to sleep'.
 

 

[missym23]

Really? Where do you get this can, or did you mean cannon?

 

[missym23]

Well neither Tuggles nor Jasper get up on the counter/table unless Snuggles does it first, but they normally just lay around the house otherwise and act all lazy.

Snuggles doesn't really like to play, you try to play with her and she just gives you a weird look, like 'What do you want?'

 

[Willowy]

It's not our fault that people around here don't really like cats and the shelters are full so they have to 'put them to sleep'.

Well, yes, if you ever take a cat to a shelter, then it IS your fault that there are so many cats in shelters. If it's not the fault of the people who dump them there, then whose fault is it? If people didn't dump their pets for silly reasons and let their cats have unwanted kittens the shelters wouldn't be full.

Get baby locks for the cabinets. Put everything edible in the locked cabinets. This is a small accommodation.

The canned air is called Ssscat, but it isn't cheap. Baby locks are much cheaper.

Special Kitty is not very nutritious at all, and she's still nursing so she needs extra nutrition. Nursing mothers should be eating kitten food, and wet food too. Maybe that will help.

 

[catpack]

One of my cats gets into the garbage, opens cabinets and gets food/treats out and will chew thru unopened bags of cat food. He got REALLY bad about 3 months ago and I noticed he was loosing weight. He was begging for food constantly.

He had been eating a high protein, low carb diet. Turns out, he needed more fat in his diet. He still seeks out his favorite treats (freeze-dried turkey.) Since changing his food he has gotten better at getting in the garbage, etc and has put all his weight back on.

I would really consider changing her food. I understand if financially you can only afford so much for food, but look at trying her on PurinaOne Beyond or something similar. This can still be bought at big box stores. Also, offer her some Fancy Feast or Friskies pâté. With her nursing kittens, she needs all the nutritional help she can get.

 

[molldee]

My cat has figured out a way to open drawers and cabinets, where I keep his treats, with his paws. So I had to put baby locks on them. I also put away any food I'm not eating right at the moment in the cabinets. It isn't that difficult.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

 
She's around 2 years old, mom has looked around and can't find any places that offer low cost spay/neuter.

What part of Florida are you in?  I know a few people in different areas of the state and they seem to know of good programs.  You may have to call and ask if they are run only at certain times of the year.  It may work out well if you need to prepare.  If you look at the spayusa website Willowy gave you the link for; you can search by your state, then county.  It'll also let you know of any statewide programs.  (http://www.spayflorida.org/)