9 month old kitten suddenly obsessed with climbing doors & flat screen TV and likes to knock picture

[detroitcatlady]

My 9 month old kitten shadow suddenly has learned to climb on top of the doors in the house while they are open. She also jumps up onto them from furniture. She literally manages to glide through the air to the top of the door.  She is very brave and seems to be fearless! I don't mind her doing this but I do worry that she could fall and get hurt. She also has become obsessed with climbing the flat screen TV and jumping on top of any furniture she can to reach pictures hanging on the wall and knock them down. Doesn't seem to matter how high I put them (my ceilings are not very high - I live in an old house). She has no interest in using the cat trees in the house anymore and has gotten bored with most of her toys. Is there anything I can do to get her reinterested in the toys and cat trees? I don't want her to damage the TV or hurt herself. I know she is just a kitten and she is getting bigger and excited she can do new things, but wish I could redirect her attraction to heights toward the cat trees.

 

[catpack]

You can get some catnip spray to use on the cat tree if she likes catnip (most cats do.) Also, how tall is her tree? Is putting up cat shelves an option for you?

It really sounds as if she is bored. Do you have regular play sessions with her? I have yet to meet a cat that does not like playing with Neko Flies or Da Bird. Both are wand-type toys and can be purchased online.

Aside from that, you might try relocating her cat tree to a new location. You may also consider adding a bird feeder outside a window to give her some entertainment.

 

[LTS3]

Make sure your flat screen TV is securely attached to the wall or furniture it's on. They can easily tip over and injure your cat. There are safety straps to hold a tv to furniture.

Cat wall shelves may help satisfy your cat's urge to climb on everything but the cat tree.

Is getting another cat an option?  Two cats can keep each other company and chase and play with each other.

 

[detroitcatlady]

 
Make sure your flat screen TV is securely attached to the wall or furniture it's on. They can easily tip over and injure your cat. There are safety straps to hold a tv to furniture.

Cat wall shelves may help satisfy your cat's urge to climb on everything but the cat tree.

Is getting another cat an option?  Two cats can keep each other company and chase and play with each other.

I have 2 other cats already, Treasure and Pumpkin who I had before her. They are older than she is but still under 2 years old. They do all enjoy playing together sometimes but not as much as Shadow does.

The TV is on a stand so I will have to try to secure it better. It doesn't seem to move much when she jumps on it but I do worry about her knocking it over onto herself.

It's difficult for me to mount things to the walls b/c I live in an old house with plaster that crumbles every time something heavy is mounted to it so I avoid attaching anything heavy to the walls since I don't believe it would be secure enough to hold the weight. Otherwise I would consider cat shelves a great option.

You can get some catnip spray to use on the cat tree if she likes catnip (most cats do.) Also, how tall is her tree? Is putting up cat shelves an option for you?

It really sounds as if she is bored. Do you have regular play sessions with her? I have yet to meet a cat that does not like playing with Neko Flies or Da Bird. Both are wand-type toys and can be purchased online.

Aside from that, you might try relocating her cat tree to a new location. You may also consider adding a bird feeder outside a window to give her some entertainment.

The cat trees I have are much taller than the TV but not as tall as the door, so I could probably try getting one that is slightly taller. The cat trees I have are about 5 & 6ft tall. They always worked well before since my cats typically don't climb too much higher than this. My other cats have never climbed on top of open doors and sat on top of them and they never really bothered the TV, so this is a new challenge with Shadow. Will definitely try the catnip spray.

Shadow doesn't like playing by herself. She is very attached to me, she was orphaned as a baby so I have had her since she was only a few weeks old. She always either has to be playing with me or my other cats and when neither is an option she seems to find ways to entertain herself that are dangerous to her like chewing on cords and jumping on the TV. I give her a lot of attention and play with her constantly while I am home but the moment I stop to make dinner or check my email or use the bathroom for a few minutes she has an absolute fit and that's usually when this behavior occurs. She is very needy, it is just her personality, so I am sure this has a lot to do with it. She meows constantly when I am not here. If I go outside to take the trash out or do something else for a few minutes where she cannot come with she meows loudly and tries to scratch down the door, like I am her mom and she cannot stand to be without me.

She loves to play with this one rubber toy and this stuffed toy filled with catnip. She loves to play fetch with me but aside from that and playing with my other cats she does not really like to play with any other toys. She seems to have gotten bored with everything else or she would rather only play with me or my other cats. She is still in the kitten phase of not wanting to sleep for very long so she will always want to play while my other cats are sleeping and she will try to wake them up to play but they don't like that.