What do we do with our Gigi???

[boosmomma]

Good morning all! We have a 7 month old tabby named Gigi. We adpoted her back in October and she sure is our wild child. We have struggled with her destructive behavior since we first got her as she is a kitten with a whole bunch of energy. We seemed to have got it a little under control playing with her more, offering more exciting toys, and spraying her when she acts crazy trying to pull down our Christmas tree.

Well, the worst has happened. We have two snakes and two turtles and she found a way to sit on top of one of our snake's tanks and busted through the mesh. Our poor snake has been in striking position ever since and is super pissed. As for Gigi, she just sat there and stared. My husband has about had it with her and I feel bad for her. Yet, I need a solution to this issue.

Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! And fast....

 

[donutte]

Sounds like you need to cat-proof the area with the snakes and other critters, both for theirs and her safety. 

Christmas trees and cats, oh the stories you could probably read about those. They need to secured somehow if you're going to have one with a cat, and especially with a kitten. 

Spraying her is not going to fix the problem, that much I can tell you. It's a temporary solution at best and it will only worsen any bad behavior. 

Aside from the two specific things you mentioned, how else is she being destructive? And is she the only cat you have? It may be that she's bored. I can't imagine having had only one kitten when I got mine in July considering how much the two kept each other company. And do you have a cat tree for her to climb by any chance? Those things can make a world of difference because they will climb those things all day long.

 

[Kat0121]

 
Good morning all! We have a 7 month old tabby named Gigi. We adpoted her back in October and she sure is our wild child. We have struggled with her destructive behavior since we first got her as she is a kitten with a whole bunch of energy. We seemed to have got it a little under control playing with her more, offering more exciting toys, and spraying her when she acts crazy trying to pull down our Christmas tree.

Well, the worst has happened. We have two snakes and two turtles and she found a way to sit on top of one of our snake's tanks and busted through the mesh. Our poor snake has been in striking position ever since and is super pissed. As for Gigi, she just sat there and stared. My husband has about had it with her and I feel bad for her. Yet, I need a solution to this issue.

Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! And fast....

She's a kitten. They are bundles of energy. It's natural, it's normal. PLEASE get rid of the spray bottle. It doesn't work. It will result in one thing. Your cat will lose trust in you and you don't want that. You're creating a relationship that will last (hopefully) many wonderful years. You want it to be a really positive one. 

You need to secure those cages ASAP, especially if you have a ticked off snake. That scenario is a ticking time bomb and someone is going to get hurt. Maybe even you if you have to end up getting in between them. I've had snakes, I know how fast they are when they strike. I'd do that before dealing with the christmas tree.  That would be priority one for me.

Then secure the tree. The tree can be anchored to the wall. There are threads on this site about that. 

The more you play with her, the more tired she'll get and the less mischief she'll make. I'd get a wand toy like Da Bird and a laser pointer if you don't have one already. 

When she behaves in a way that is appropriate, praise her. Give her cuddles and treats. help her associate good behavior with good things

Edited to add: About the tree: you can put bricks or something similar around it to make it stable and then cover them with a tree skirt. If she is climbing it, you'll really need to watch her especially if there are strings of lights on it or small ornaments. Small kittens can be strangled in those light pretty easily. If someone's not around to supervise for periods of time, i'd keep the tree in a room where she can't get to it even if it needs to be moved around. it's a pain I know but she's just a baby and it's not much different that baby proofing a house. If baby were an expert tree climber that is 

 

[loopycann]

Dosent sound like she's doing much other than being a kitten.The fact that the behavior has gotten better since you play with her leads me to believe she's bored.There are toys that cats can get treats from (you load with treats)that keep my cats busy for hours.Also if you are tired of playing you can get self animated toys.Also you can get diffusers that calm hyper active cats.Any of these could work for you and her love will be returned 10 fold