I have a 1.5 year old male orange tabby who has A LOT of behavior problems. I love him to pieces, and he really is a sweet boy, but he is needy and mischeivious, and a real pain in the butt sometimes. To set the scene, he is an only cat, living in a small studio apartment (AKA, not much room to run around) with one large window. Here are some examples of the bad things that he does:
1) He is always eating things he shouldn't be eating. Chewing electrical cords, shoelaces, hair ties, paper, jewelry, pretty much anything. **I now keep all of this stuff in closets or put away where he can't get to it**
2) He reaches through the little holes on the fish tank cover and takes the fake plants (and anything else he can get to) out to apparently play with them and chew on them. **I've tried duct taping the holes, but he takes the duct tape off**
3) He unplugs important things (like my alarm clock or fan) when I'm trying to sleep in order to try to wake me up. **i have duct taped this stuff into the wall, but he pulls the duct tape off with his teeth**
4) He lifts up the burners on the stove and lets them drop so they make a loud "slam!" noise to try to wake me up at night. **I have since covered all the burners with cake pans and heavy items so that he can't get to them***
5) He wakes me up every morning around 4 AM for no apparent reason other than that he seems to be bored. **I do play with him before bed, AND give him a bed-time snack, but he still wakes me up around 4 AM every day like clockwork.**
6) He has plenty of toys, but he will rip open any that have catnip or stuffing and proceed to spread the catnip all over, and then EAT the stuffing. I can only trust him with balls when I'm not around.
There are many other things, but the list would be waaay too long. He has a bed, a scratching post, toys, etc. I've even tried the kitty pheremone spray, but that doesn't seem to have any sort of calming effect. I love him like crazy, and he's sooo sweet. When I'm home and awake, he is either on my lap or next to me. When I'm sleeping, he's usually on the bed (unless he's got the "night crazies" or is trying to wake me up). Is his "bad" behavior something he will grow out of?? What can I do??
Thanks!
1) He is always eating things he shouldn't be eating. Chewing electrical cords, shoelaces, hair ties, paper, jewelry, pretty much anything. **I now keep all of this stuff in closets or put away where he can't get to it**
2) He reaches through the little holes on the fish tank cover and takes the fake plants (and anything else he can get to) out to apparently play with them and chew on them. **I've tried duct taping the holes, but he takes the duct tape off**
3) He unplugs important things (like my alarm clock or fan) when I'm trying to sleep in order to try to wake me up. **i have duct taped this stuff into the wall, but he pulls the duct tape off with his teeth**
4) He lifts up the burners on the stove and lets them drop so they make a loud "slam!" noise to try to wake me up at night. **I have since covered all the burners with cake pans and heavy items so that he can't get to them***
5) He wakes me up every morning around 4 AM for no apparent reason other than that he seems to be bored. **I do play with him before bed, AND give him a bed-time snack, but he still wakes me up around 4 AM every day like clockwork.**
6) He has plenty of toys, but he will rip open any that have catnip or stuffing and proceed to spread the catnip all over, and then EAT the stuffing. I can only trust him with balls when I'm not around.
There are many other things, but the list would be waaay too long. He has a bed, a scratching post, toys, etc. I've even tried the kitty pheremone spray, but that doesn't seem to have any sort of calming effect. I love him like crazy, and he's sooo sweet. When I'm home and awake, he is either on my lap or next to me. When I'm sleeping, he's usually on the bed (unless he's got the "night crazies" or is trying to wake me up). Is his "bad" behavior something he will grow out of?? What can I do??
Thanks!