MY KITTY IS SO BAD AND UNRULY!!!!!

[Nurse_Jamie]

I know I have griped about this before on here, but none of your suggestions really worked well. My kitty is really becoming so bad behaved. It wasn't that much of a problem when she was little, but now that she is getting bigger, she is testing her limits more and more. She is constantly going wild and being desturctive, knocking things over, jumping on the counters, running 90 mph down the hallway, jumping up the walls...it's CRAZY!! This morning I woke up to find my garbage can in the kitchen knocked over and trash everywhere. She climbs in the toilet and drinks out of it, gets her paws wet and then runs on my hardwood floor! She knocks over my fake plants in the living room and just makes a mess out them.

I don't know what to do with her!! I have tried to use the squirt bottle, yell "NO!", put her in time out....none of it seems to work. She knows what "no" means, but refuses to obey. I just don't know how to make her behave. Can any of you offer ANY more suggestions? She is so wild and unruly. I know there has to be a solution. It can't be that she is wanting attention..i give her plenty of that. I just don't know what else to do!!

Any help would be so greatly appreciated!!

[LisaLisa]

Jamie,

Some kitties are more energetic and mischievous than others. It can be a part of their personality and there are no solutions. My friend had a cat that was quite defiant...cute as a button, but you can also bet that Pumpkin was in the middle of any chaos going on in the house. He did calm down as he became older. My 2 furbabies never listened..so I gave in and decided that this is how my life would be if I wanted kitties ..once I made less of an issue of it, they seemed to be better (or maybe I just accepted they had minds of their own and I wasn't going to win this one)...I also cat-proofed the house the best I could, but things still happen...and we laugh about it now.

You may not want to hear this one, but getting another kitty may help...

Good luck to you..

[Nurse_Jamie]

Thanks, Lisa. But getting another kitten is out of the question. It was all I could do to convince my hubby to let me have this one. Plus, one is all I can handle!!

I had a cat before this one that was young too. He didn't act this wild. I know all cats have a mind of their own and they all have different personalities. I just want to make her understand what is acceptable behavior and what is not. I am planning on getting her spayed in the next month or two. Will that help??

[paulette2]

You don't say how old kitty is, but I have three cats all of which have very different personalities. My "problem" cat, Poopie, is 3 years old and I raised her from the day she was born so her temperment is inbred. However, I can totally sympathize with your frustration because Poopie is quite a handful. I'm assuming you've ruled out any medical problems.

There are things that you can do to reign her in. First of all I suggest you drop the water bottle totally. I have found, and my vet was the one who put the suggestion to me, that when animals are confined for short periods of time they calm down. I learned this when a pretty wild stray I took in was hospitalized for a week at the vet. I was amazed at how docile he became. And the vet said it was because he was confined.

I find with Poopie that if I consistently give her "time out" when she's unruly it goes a long way in curbing her.

You said that you spend quality time with kitty and this is good. Getting another cat may not be the answer because when I took in another one she became very hostile and aggressive towards him. So that may not help your problem.

I hope you will be patient with kitty. These things have a way of working out given enough time & patience. Try not to scold too much because it can make matters worse. Cats can learn!! Always remember kitty needs you and your love.

My final suggestion is to educate yourself about cats in general. The Net contains much info on cats and there are many books out about cat behavior which I found to be very valuable. Please keep me posted about progress. LOL to you and kitty!

[paulette2]

I just re-read your 2 posts -- you mentioned that your husband wasn't too keen on getting kitty in the first place. Is it possible that the environment is stressful? Animals really pick up on vibes--and cats are notorious for watching and studying people, etc. Maybe kitty senses something. This is very tough because if your husband isn't on board it's a problem for you and kitty.

[LisaLisa]

Jamie,

My experience is with 2 male cats....my younger cat, Caz,was pretty wild..sweet but wild..and neutering helped alot after his hormones stablized (about a month or two later). Caz was driving me crazy, too, so I could understand where you are coming from. He still does his wild kitty fits where he runs around like a maniac (and a few other things) but I just attribute this behavior to his personality.

In Debbie's health link, it does say that spraying/neutering decreases aggressive behavior so I guess this also holds true for female kitties.

I know you love your kitty and keep trying...I wish I had a solution for you..other than the suggestions given that haven't seemed to work.

Take care,
Lisa

[melissaranks]

.... She is constantly going wild and being desturctive, knocking things over, jumping on the counters, running 90 mph down the hallway, jumping up the walls...it's CRAZY!! This morning I woke up to find my garbage can in the kitchen knocked over and trash everywhere. She climbs in the toilet and drinks out of it, gets her paws wet and then runs on my hardwood floor! She knocks over my fake plants in the living room and just makes a mess out them.

For the counters thing, I wrapped mine in aluminum foil for a week. My cats HATED it. They stopped. Running fast down the hallways and up the halls is what we call a FRAP (Frequent Rapid Activity Period) episode in my house. Every pet I've had has these! LOL! I think it's hilarious! But, some may find it annoying, especially when said kitty does it late at night or happens to make lots of noise in the process. We had to put my garbage can in the laundry room. If I need it (like if I'm cooking) then I pull it out. Other than that, it stays in the laundry room. If I pull it out, 2 cats and 1 dog will be in it. I have no solution for it at all. The smell must be so inviting to them. D'Artagnan drinks out of the toilet, the only cure I've found for that is putting the lid down. I wash my toilets weekly so worry about chemicals. The lids are always down in my house because of that. My MIL has a cat that will chew on her fake plants. She bought bitter apple spray (the kind that's safe for kitties) and sprayed it on the plants. It worked! He stopped chewing on them!

I sure hope you can come up with some solutions too!

[jason]

I find with Poopie that if I consistently give her "time out" when she's unruly it goes a long way in curbing her.

I hope you will be patient with kitty. These things have a way of working out given enough time & patience. Try not to scold too much because it can make matters worse. Cats can learn!! Always remember kitty needs you and your love.

ditto on that advice: persistance, patience and love.

[Mona]

After reading your posts, I too have a kitten who is energetic. She is all white with black spots, very long legs (6 mos old) and runs like crazy around. I took up my silk plants, and kitten proofed the house.

I do use a squirt bottle, and keep my lids down on the toilet. She loves water and will come into the bathroom while you are showering and even jump in !!

Kittens are learning and curious just like toddlers, so patience is key and lots of toys and little mice. I just bought a large cat tree with climbing ability, and a condo at the bottom. It cost me about $110.00 and it is well worth is. She now can use her energy on this and run up and climb.

I am sure she will calm down as she matures, and I admit it is frustrating at times, esp when she goes under the recliner and you have to be careful not to sit in it or use the recline bottom until she exits. She plays a game of hid and seek under their.

I hope this has helped you. BTW my husband was against another kitty, we already have one (5 yrs old) but I found him cuddling her the other day and even kissed her head.

Mona, Honeybun and Little Chloe

[paulette2]

I was giving some more thought to your post as I was going home last nite. The thought occurred to me that it might be helpful if your hubby could interact with kitty too. The thing is that kitty is a family member and as such she needs a relationship with him too. For instance, you could start in a small way--perhaps you could convince him to take five minutes a day to give kitty a brushing. Or just a few minutes a day playing a game. My Poopie likes to play hide & seek. Something that your hubby would feel comfortable doing.

I think that a lot of the behavior you mentioned is just normal cat behavior. I don't think kitty is being intentionally bad. Indoor cats have special needs because they don't have the stimulation that an outdoor cat gets. They depend on their moms & dads to provide them with an outlet for their energy.

The suggestions that were posted about "catproofing" the house are very good ideas. As a mommy of three, I find I had to make several adjustments to accommodate my babies. Such as covering ALL the furniture, always keeping toilet seats down, having blinds on the windows as opposed to curtains, one of my good chairs is covered in plastic which I only remove for company, putting toys away at night. It's an inconvenience sometimes, but in the long run it makes things easier for everyone.