At My Wits End - Please Help

[sjoh197]

My cat mango is ~1 year old neutered male. He is the most destructive animal I've ever owned. I currently have another 1 year old cat and a 3ish year old cat. Mango and the other 1 year old cat love each other and play every day.

Mango destroys everything in my house on a daily basis.... toilet paper, paper towels, plastic bags, my bed, my Nalgene bottles, my camera, my phone, bags of rice, anything with the word 'foam' in it, my backpack, papers, pens, his own toys. He has a large cat tower, multiple scratchers of every kind, multiple beds, and a whole box of toys.

I am at the point where he has ruined so much of my stuff that I regret ever getting him. He is a sweet cat, but I can't handle him ruining everything I own. I'm in grad school right now and can't afford to replace a lot of this stuff. I've tried playing with him more and providing more toys.

I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

 

[Kflowers]

A quick non-beautiful solution but a solution. Go to Home Depot or the Dollar store and buy a number of large storage containers. Put your stuff in them. Either shove them under shelves to keep them shut or pile hard back books on them.

1 year old cats are teenagers. Yes, it is a phase and means everything that human teenagers do, except they don't take the car, get drunk or leave the house (If you got them fixed. If they aren't neutered that's the very next thing you should do. Testosterone is bad for furniture, peace of mind, and darn near everything.)

Once they are neutered they should calm down some. Still buy the containers. The teenage phase lasts about 6 months. Then, finally, thankfully, they will be cats.

 

[war&wisdom]

A quick non-beautiful solution but a solution. Go to Home Depot or the Dollar store and buy a number of large storage containers. Put your stuff in them. Either shove them under shelves to keep them shut or pile hard back books on them.

1 year old cats are teenagers. Yes, it is a phase and means everything that human teenagers do, except they don't take the car, get drunk or leave the house (If you got them fixed. If they aren't neutered that's the very next thing you should do. Testosterone is bad for furniture, peace of mind, and darn near everything.)

Once they are neutered they should calm down some. Still buy the containers. The teenage phase lasts about 6 months. Then, finally, thankfully, they will be cats.

Just FYI, the OP states that the cat is neutered.

 

[Kflowers]

Sorry, read it twice and missed that. Won't post any more tonight.

 

[war&wisdom]

Sorry, read it twice and missed that. Won't post any more tonight.

Haha, it's okay, just wanted to point it out!

In response to the OP, what are your daily play sessions like?

 

[sjoh197]

He is neutered and has been for many months. When I remove the items that he tries to destroy... he just moves on to the next item.

I put things behind closed doors, but if he knows its there he also tries to destroy the doors. ​

I can't put my mattress in a box. Most small things I own are now locked away. But I don't live in a sterile house. He destroys things that I've never had a cat destroy (e.g. my water bottles).

 

[Kflowers]

One ounce of encouragement war&wisdom and here I go.

It's a difficult time. Other than hiding things there isn't much to do. If you were home all the time you could hiss at him when he attacked things. I'm guessing the attacks happen or begin when you aren't in the room. There are sprays No Chew and the like, but test them outside before you put them on your bed, they smell really bad. Though you could use it on the closet door he attacks.

If your furnishings are wood go get hooks and eyes. You can get the child proof kind. If you can borrow a drill use it to start the holes. If you can't, use a hammer and good sized nail to start the hole. You may need pliers to twist the hook and eye into place. Put them on drawers (put your toilet paper in one drawer, your make up, hair brushes etc in another.)

It is a phase, it will pass. But you've done everything I can think of, you put stuff where he can't get it, you got him a companion cat - two companion cats. The only thing left is, when you find the destruction try to remember how much it sucked to be a teenager and sympathize. I mean has hard as it is for others to be around a teenager, it was bad being a teenager.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Have you tried any calming products on him, such as Bach Rescue Remedy (drops to rub onto the ears)? There are a ton of different products on the market, and you could (or might have to) try them all until one works. Some cats calm with them, some don't. But, if one doesn't work, it doesn't mean another won't.

Just out of curiosity, what are the other cats doing while he is creating havoc? Are you sure they are not 'participating' - which would help to explain to the total devastation to so much stuff. If so, give them all some Rescue Remedy.

 

[sjoh197]

Haha, it's okay, just wanted to point it out!

In response to the OP, what are your daily play sessions like?

We usually play with a wand toy or play fetch. He actually loves fetch. He also spends a lot of the day playing with my other cat and with interactive toys too.

 

[sjoh197]

Have you tried any calming products on him, such as Bach Rescue Remedy (drops to rub onto the ears)? There are a ton of different products on the market, and you could (or might have to) try them all until one works. Some cats calm with them, some don't. But, if one doesn't work, it doesn't mean another won't.

Just out of curiosity, what are the other cats doing while he is creating havoc? Are you sure they are not 'participating' - which would help to explain to the total devastation to so much stuff. If so, give them all some Rescue Remedy.

I just bought some calming treats. I'll see if they work.
My older cat doesn't have the tools to participate in the destruction. My younger cat may participate when I'm gone, but I never see her wreck stuff and I catch him in the act all the time... So I think it's mostly him.

 

[KarenKat]

How big is the territory? With two other cats maybe the place is just a little small if you are in grad school? If you think he might be a bit pent up in where you live, perhaps adding vertical space like cat shelves could help expend some of the destructive energy.

 

[sjoh197]

How big is the territory? With two other cats maybe the place is just a little small if you are in grad school? If you think he might be a bit pent up in where you live, perhaps adding vertical space like cat shelves could help expend some of the destructive energy.

I do live in a small condo ~600sqft. I used to live somewhere bigger but moved about 6 months ago. Right now he has a 6ft cat tree, a bed on top of the fridge, unrestricted access to the kitchen bar and bathroom counter. I also bought a bed with 'cat height' storage space underneath and set up half of it with space for them.

I'm going to ikea this weekend, I can look at the shelves

 

[KarenKat]

Sounds like you did really good with the space you have! We made one of those cat “superhighways” around a room in our house, and I think it really helped our kitties run around. They can almost circle the room without touching the floor.

We ended up stapling carpet to some wood shelves from home depo and using a bracket to connect to the wall. Sturdy and cheap.

 

[debrac]

My cat mango is ~1 year old neutered male. He is the most destructive animal I've ever owned. I currently have another 1 year old cat and a 3ish year old cat. Mango and the other 1 year old cat love each other and play every day.

Mango destroys everything in my house on a daily basis.... toilet paper, paper towels, plastic bags, my bed, my Nalgene bottles, my camera, my phone, bags of rice, anything with the word 'foam' in it, my backpack, papers, pens, his own toys. He has a large cat tower, multiple scratchers of every kind, multiple beds, and a whole box of toys.

I am at the point where he has ruined so much of my stuff that I regret ever getting him. He is a sweet cat, but I can't handle him ruining everything I own. I'm in grad school right now and can't afford to replace a lot of this stuff. I've tried playing with him more and providing more toys.

I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

My cat mango is ~1 year old neutered male. He is the most destructive animal I've ever owned. I currently have another 1 year old cat and a 3ish year old cat. Mango and the other 1 year old cat love each other and play every day.

Mango destroys everything in my house on a daily basis.... toilet paper, paper towels, plastic bags, my bed, my Nalgene bottles, my camera, my phone, bags of rice, anything with the word 'foam' in it, my backpack, papers, pens, his own toys. He has a large cat tower, multiple scratchers of every kind, multiple beds, and a whole box of toys.

I am at the point where he has ruined so much of my stuff that I regret ever getting him. He is a sweet cat, but I can't handle him ruining everything I own. I'm in grad school right now and can't afford to replace a lot of this stuff. I've tried playing with him more and providing more toys.

I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

Hi,sjoh197,
I have two five month old kittens that do all the same destructive things your cat is doing. I play a game with my kittens using a laser. I literally play with them until they get tired and then I rub a little rescue remedy on their ears. It does seem to be helping. Hope this can help you.

 

[inkysmom]

My eight year old cat still does stuff like this. Thankfully not as much as he did when he was a kitten and teenager.

Cats get the zoomies and go crazy until they're closer to two than one. At least most of my cats did.

Lasers and playing with wands until he's tired daily should help. So can trying calming suppliments, vertical space and playing with the other cats. Locking up and putting away anything you care about is also good.
You could also get him checked at your vet for an overactive thyroid.

 

[danteshuman]

A few thoughts besides what every one else said. Is he destroying things with his claws or is chewing on it? If it is chewing/eating it may be PICA but I doubt it. Is it boredom? Seperation anxiety?
If it was my teen furball I would be trying calming products (or Prozac) along with giving him more shelves. I would also be giving him things to destroy. Ok he needs to shred and chew, how about some nice newspaper? A paper towel card board roll? Heck a roll of paper towels is better than your bed! Those dog chew toys that are almost indestructible? I would also lock him out of the bedroom if need be..... and might put a plywood board or somehow block access to under the bed (assuming he is going for the mattress from underneath.

Food puzzles (home made) and a bird feeder outside by a window should help him be less bored (destructive.)

If none of that works in 6 months or you get desperate you could try harness training him and taking him for a stroll. Just commit to the walk the same time every day (I assume you are busy , which is why it is a last resort.)

Hang in there & try not to shave him. When my punk was a teen I used to imagine giving him a reverse Mohawk

 

[jcat]

How is he destroying things? If he's chewing, get his teeth checked out. Our cat was 9 months old when we got him and chewed shoes, tablecloths, collars, etc.. It turned out that he had major dental problems (FORL) which were causing him to chew.

 

[sjoh197]

He is chewing. He doesn't really scratch anything.

I just got him a chicken flavored nylon dog chew bone thing that he seems to think is alright. He is harness trained and likes going outside... But I must admit as the days have been shorter, we've gone out much less.

After my next paycheck, I'll ask the vet to check on his teeth, but my non-vet assessment doesn't see anything noticeable.

 

[ellaandbosie]

This may be anecdotal evidence, but one of my friends had the exact same scenario with her neutered male cat. He was also young and super rambunctious and she almost had to replace half of her interior because he couldn't settle down.

What helped for her along with all the other stuff people already said was a combination of a no scratch spray and a scratch spray that encouraged him to use his claws on the actual cat tree. I don't know if it was Aristopet or some other brand, but I'll ask her.

Sending all my sympathies for this tough situation (for him and you both!!)