Driving Everybody Nuts...

Graceful-Lily

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I don't know if I posted about this here before. At first, it was a funny little thing my mom and I laughed about but now it's starting to become an issue.

Felix is constantly dragging clothing around the house. Every. Single. Day. We've had to lock our room doors because we always come home to clothes all over the floors. He's very determined as well because tying up clothes in bags don't work anymore. He will open up bags and dig our clothing out of them and drag them around the house. Towels, shirts, panties, bras, socks, leg warmers, etc. You name it, he's probably had his teeth in it.

He always twist them and sometimes, if the item is big enough (like a towel) he will bunch it up and hump it. He even drags whole comforters. It really doesn't matter the size. If he decides it's worth dragging, he will move it.

We don't know what to do anymore. My mom said to buy him a cage to lock him into when we aren't home and can't watch him but he's been loose in the house for the 9 years we've had him and I don't know if he'll adjust well to a cage.

He also makes a lot of yowling noises when he's doing it. That's how we know he's got something when we are here. But sometimes it's too late and he's already taken the item.

What should we do?
 
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Graceful-Lily

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Is Felix fixed? Did something start this behavior? If he has been there for nine years how long ago did this start?
Yes, Felix has been neutered for years (had it done when he was about 9 months old I think).

This behaviour started about 5 years ago. Maybe more. It feels like he's been doing it for forever.'

But it has progressively gotten worse. For example, the opening bags and digging clothing out of containers. That is new.
 

Maria Bayote

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Can you keep them (the clothes, towels etc) locked in your rooms and bathrooms? Are those items the only things he drags around? Does he do it usually when you are not in the house? Maybe he is having separation anxiety and he drags your clothes because your scent is still there?
 

Tobermory

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It might also help to give Felix a designated blanket/old clothing item that you purposefully leave out for him to do whatever he wants.
That’s what I did with Lily. I picked a “sacrifice”—a hand towel than she has already dragged around. Wherever she left it, I’d pick it up and put it back in its original spot. Happened every night and often when we’d been away for the day. “Mrrroww, mrroww, mrroww,” in the middle of the night and I’d find it in the living room in the morning. I think it became a game for her. She stopped dragging other things.

She’s moved on now to a small stuffed animal.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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I could try but literally anything we leave out is fair game. If we stop him from dragging our clothing, he goes into the kitchen and drags the hand towels and wash cloths. We tried hiding those too but then he moves on to whatever else is available.

My mother sews and there is no way of putting away all her things. Even when she tries, he watches her and when she leaves, he'll grab whatever she was working on and pull it out of its container.

He also has to sleep right next to me. If I lock him out of my room, it stresses him out and he poops in my bed or acts out in other ways like taking his frustration out on the dog and Fayola. When I sleep, he comes into my bed and he has to be pressed against my body or else.

I don't know if maybe he's not feeling well. The vet said his T4 is low. Not sure if that would have anything to do with it. Or maybe he's feeling stressed because I am stressed with school?
 

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If he has a low T4, he should be manifesting something more like lethargy it would seem. But given his history, it does sound like stress which has escalated for some reason. Does he have to take certain things or would a lot of decoys around the house...maybe not that appealing....work?
 
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Graceful-Lily

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If he has a low T4, he should be manifesting something more like lethargy it would seem. But given his history, it does sound like stress which has escalated for some reason. Does he have to take certain things or would a lot of decoys around the house...maybe not that appealing....work?
He only takes things we use. If I left out an old shirt or blanket I don't use or haven't touched in a while, it's useless to him. We've tried that.

He's also started dragging my dad's clothing which is also new. First it was just my things, then he started with my mom's stuff and now my dad's.
 
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