Sweet but destructive cat. Help!!!

[Anonymous]

My family adopted a sweet, adorable, cuddly cat a couple of months ago. We LOVE her but OMG is she destructive!

All the furniture is now scratched. My socks and pants have holes in them from where she attacks my legs. I can’t sit at the dinner table in peace because she “attacks” my feet. My feet, ankles, legs are full of scratches and scabs.

I can’t sleep through the night because if I let her in the bedroom she will wake me up numerous times (she’ll jump on the nightstand and knock over my phone, my glass of water, my glasses, etc…). If I lock her out of the bedroom then she’ll meow incessantly and scratch at the door until I give up and let her in.

Once inside the bedroom she’ll then try to climb up the blinds (all the blinds/curtains throughout the house now have holes and tears in them). She won’t stay still and let me sleep. One second she’s jumping on the furniture, the next second she’s attacking my lamp or chewing my phone charger.

She begs for food at all hours of the day and night (I had to buy an automatic feeder which thankfully has helped with this).

She jumps up on the dinner table, the kitchen counters, the furniture and tries to knock stuff over.

When we play with her she loves to bite and scratch till she draws blood and our arms and hands are full of cuts and scratches (yes, we’ve had her nails trimmed a couple of times.)

HELP!!!

[Anonymous]

Have you not had a cat before? Also, how old is this cat?

Here are a few thoughts after reading your OP:

- It sounds like this is a kitten. In terms of stuff like being up at all hours, demanding food all the time, and just constant activity and wanting to fight and climb constantly, some of this will naturally decline as the cat gets older. Kittens are extremely playful and active. By 1 year, a lot of this will calm down (especially being up at night, and she should also settle into an eating schedule) and by year 2 or 3, most cats are quite sedate.

- That said, providing your cat with toys and climbing materials can be really important to getting through this time, and even older cats enjoy playing and climbing. I would get a tall climbing structure for the cat immediately since it seems like she's all over your furniture and destroying the window coverings. I'd also get a collection of toys you can leave around the house for safe playing -- try a variety as different cats are drawn to different things, plus they will get bored with one thing and want something new.

- To protect your furniture and other belonging for the scratching, you need some deterrent. The thing that has always worked best for me is double sided tape for upholstered furniture. Apply it to areas the cat tends to claw at, and they will quickly learn they don't want to do that (cats hate stuff that sticks to them). Also works on rugs.

- For stopping the attacks, the best thing to do is ignore and disengage. The cat is trying to play. If she starts scratching and biting, simply ignore it or calmly walk away. Especially when you are actively playing, it's important to totally disengage when she bites. Otherwise she will get into the habit of biting when she's cuddling and playing. You have to be consistent.

- But also, at least some of this behavior is just stuff you will live with as a cat owner. I have a 14 year old cat and I still deal with the occasional scratch or bite. We have a corner of the couch he has ripped to shreds over the course of several years, despite many efforts to deter. And while he generally adheres to his feeding schedule, he also regularly gets us up early for breakfast or tricks one of us into giving him a second dinner even after he's been fed. This is just what it's like to have a cat. The upsides are well worth it to me (he' is cuddled at my feed purring as I type this) but yeah, cats can be a really PITA sometimes!

[Anonymous]

All PP’s behavioural advice is good but as a more practical thing, I would advise cutting the cats nails frequently. If you keep their nails trimmed it cuts down a bit on the level of destruct they’re capable of. If it’s a kitten it’s also good for both of you to get used to nail trimming while the cat is reasonably easy to hold down. Play with their paws a lot even when not trimming nails to get them used to having their paws handled.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you PP for the advice! This is very helpful.

Yes, I’ve had a cat before (many years ago) but she was an outdoor cat. I think the fact that she spent so much time outside (hunting, jumping, running, exploring, etc.) meant that home was a place to chill and sleep. She was so calm and well-behaved.

Our current cat is strictly indoors so maybe she’s not getting enough exercise? She’s not a kitten anymore (she’s a rescue and about 4 years old). I’ve been researching multilevel play structures for cats where she can play, jump, scratch and just hang out. I’m hoping that will help with her behavioral issues. We’ll see!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All PP’s behavioural advice is good but as a more practical thing, I would advise cutting the cats nails frequently. If you keep their nails trimmed it cuts down a bit on the level of destruct they’re capable of. If it’s a kitten it’s also good for both of you to get used to nail trimming while the cat is reasonably easy to hold down. Play with their paws a lot even when not trimming nails to get them used to having their paws handled.

OP again. Good advice PP. we’ve taken her to the vet a couple of times to trim her nails. She won’t let us hold her let alone hold her paws to trim her nails. It’s really a struggle!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All PP’s behavioural advice is good but as a more practical thing, I would advise cutting the cats nails frequently. If you keep their nails trimmed it cuts down a bit on the level of destruct they’re capable of. If it’s a kitten it’s also good for both of you to get used to nail trimming while the cat is reasonably easy to hold down. Play with their paws a lot even when not trimming nails to get them used to having their paws handled.

OP again. Good advice PP. we’ve taken her to the vet a couple of times to trim her nails. She won’t let us hold her let alone hold her paws to trim her nails. It’s really a struggle!

I'm the first PP and meant to mention this -- you have to figure out how to cut her claws yourself. You will never be able to keep up if you rely on going to the vet.

Here are my tips for this.

You need to trim claws when the cat is feeling relaxed. I get you that this cat is very active, but she's still a cat -- I guarantee she has some napping, lounging time during the day. Watch for these times and that's when you trim the claws.

The way I approach my cat for this is by essential laying on top of him. I wait until he's very relaxed on a bed or the couch, and then I drape my body over him and give him some ear scratches and face rubs (he likes these, and also if he accepts them, that means he's in a good, relaxed mood -- if he resists or runs away, it's not a good time to trim claws anyway.

Then I basically trap him under my chest with my arms on either side of his body. In, like, a loving way. The more you practice, the better.

Then I take a paw in my left hand and apply gentle pressure by squeezing it between my thumb and middle finger. this pressure generally causes him to extend his claws. Then I use a safety trimmer (the one with the circle you put the claw in) to go quickly through each claw, including the "thumb".

If he's game, I'll do the other paw. Sometimes once I'm done with one paw, he's had enough, and I make a note to get the other one later.

I only trim front paws, the back claws don't get as sharp and he doesn't use them to attack us or the furniture.

Just keep trying until she acquiesces. My cat needs his claws trimmed about once a week or they get dangerous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All PP’s behavioural advice is good but as a more practical thing, I would advise cutting the cats nails frequently. If you keep their nails trimmed it cuts down a bit on the level of destruct they’re capable of. If it’s a kitten it’s also good for both of you to get used to nail trimming while the cat is reasonably easy to hold down. Play with their paws a lot even when not trimming nails to get them used to having their paws handled.

OP again. Good advice PP. we’ve taken her to the vet a couple of times to trim her nails. She won’t let us hold her let alone hold her paws to trim her nails. It’s really a struggle!

I'm the first PP and meant to mention this -- you have to figure out how to cut her claws yourself. You will never be able to keep up if you rely on going to the vet.

Here are my tips for this.

You need to trim claws when the cat is feeling relaxed. I get you that this cat is very active, but she's still a cat -- I guarantee she has some napping, lounging time during the day. Watch for these times and that's when you trim the claws.

The way I approach my cat for this is by essential laying on top of him. I wait until he's very relaxed on a bed or the couch, and then I drape my body over him and give him some ear scratches and face rubs (he likes these, and also if he accepts them, that means he's in a good, relaxed mood -- if he resists or runs away, it's not a good time to trim claws anyway.

Then I basically trap him under my chest with my arms on either side of his body. In, like, a loving way. The more you practice, the better.

Then I take a paw in my left hand and apply gentle pressure by squeezing it between my thumb and middle finger. this pressure generally causes him to extend his claws. Then I use a safety trimmer (the one with the circle you put the claw in) to go quickly through each claw, including the "thumb".

If he's game, I'll do the other paw. Sometimes once I'm done with one paw, he's had enough, and I make a note to get the other one later.

I only trim front paws, the back claws don't get as sharp and he doesn't use them to attack us or the furniture.

Just keep trying until she acquiesces. My cat needs his claws trimmed about once a week or they get dangerous.

Thank you PP for this awesome information. Really appreciate the tips! OP.

[Anonymous]

Put her outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Put her outside.

?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Put her outside.

Nope, I love cats but housecats can be very destructive to native bird populations and generally would only recommend keeping a cat outdoors if they are a barn cat brought in specifically for mousing/rodent control. Most housecats are better off indoors and actually in some jurisdictions (including DC) it's technically illegal to keep a cat outdoors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Put her outside.

+1

[Anonymous]

It's not the first thing I'd try (pp had great ideas), but you may want to consider getting a second cat. Your cat is past the kitten stage so they may just be a really playful animal that needs a playmate. 2 cats are usually elss destructive than one because they play/wrestle with each other instead of attacking you and your furniture. Maybe look at local rescue sites and see if there is a young-ish cat with a similar personality that is looking for a home. You could maybe start as a foster to see how they get along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not the first thing I'd try (pp had great ideas), but you may want to consider getting a second cat. Your cat is past the kitten stage so they may just be a really playful animal that needs a playmate. 2 cats are usually elss destructive than one because they play/wrestle with each other instead of attacking you and your furniture. Maybe look at local rescue sites and see if there is a young-ish cat with a similar personality that is looking for a home. You could maybe start as a foster to see how they get along.

OP here. Thanks PP for this advice. I thought about doing this and actually had a friend leave her cat with us for a few days while she was traveling. Unfortunately our cat was very aggressive toward the new cat. I love the idea of fostering a cat to see if they get along. I guess it’s worth giving it another try.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like pretty normal behavior in a young cat, especially one that feels at-home and relaxed around you.

Cats like to play. They need to strope their claws. They practice attacking things. They climb stuff. This is what cats do when they’re young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not the first thing I'd try (pp had great ideas), but you may want to consider getting a second cat. Your cat is past the kitten stage so they may just be a really playful animal that needs a playmate. 2 cats are usually elss destructive than one because they play/wrestle with each other instead of attacking you and your furniture. Maybe look at local rescue sites and see if there is a young-ish cat with a similar personality that is looking for a home. You could maybe start as a foster to see how they get along.

OP here. Thanks PP for this advice. I thought about doing this and actually had a friend leave her cat with us for a few days while she was traveling. Unfortunately our cat was very aggressive toward the new cat. I love the idea of fostering a cat to see if they get along. I guess it’s worth giving it another try.

I would try a kitten because she might be less territorial than with an adult cat. Make sure you follow the guidelines for slowly introducing a new cat and don't just plop it down right in front of your current cat. Also it sounds like she needs a companion who can keep up with her energy, and a kitten might be a good fit.