My cat is driving me insane

[ThrowAway68]

Sometimes he’s the best cat in the world, but sometimes he isn’t. He does things just to annoy me (I.E getting on top of my computer, knowing I’ll get up to take him down.) I try to play with him, and I feed him regularly. He’ll eat my wire cords, knock stuff over in the night, and he bites. Not bad, but he nips and it’s very annoying. I see people with their cats that are sleepy all the time and nice and peaceful. Why can’t he be like that? Why does he have to destroy my posters every night or knock my trash bin over every day?

 

[Kitty Beholder]

I know it can be burdensome, but it may be for the best to 'cat-proof' your house - especially wires and things like that. I try to keep all of my belongings that are easily destroyed in rooms or closets my cats don't have access to.

I know you said you try to play with your cat, but you didn't really elaborate. In my experience, ten or fifteen minutes with a wand toy does wonders for calming my cat down.

 

[ThrowAway68]

I know it can be burdensome, but it may be for the best to 'cat-proof' your house - especially wires and things like that. I try to keep all of my belongings that are easily destroyed in rooms or closets my cats don't have access to.

I know you said you try to play with your cat, but you didn't really elaborate. In my experience, ten or fifteen minutes with a wand toy does wonders for calming my cat down.

I try to play with him with his wand toy for 10-20 minutes every morning, afternoon, and night. He’s still super active. I feel like I should do more but he’ll stop playing with the toy for about 10 minutes, before getting up and biting something again or running around

 

[Kitty Beholder]

I try to play with him with his wand toy for 10-20 minutes every morning, afternoon, and night. He’s still super active. I feel like I should do more but he’ll stop playing with the toy for about 10 minutes, before getting up and biting something again or running around

How old is he? I'm not an expert, but younger cats tend to be much more 'adventurous' than older ones. I would find wraps for your cords and move things the chat could potentially damage. Certainly when I got my cats, they were very rambunctious and did some damage - it took me a while to get with it and make some changes, but when I did the cats chilled out a bit more and found safer, less destructive methods of play.

 

[ThrowAway68]

How old is he? I'm not an expert, but younger cats tend to be much more 'adventurous' than older ones. I would find wraps for your cords and move things the chat could potentially damage. Certainly when I got my cats, they were very rambunctious and did some damage - it took me a while to get with it and make some changes, but when I did the cats chilled out a bit more and found safer, less destructive methods of play.

He’ll be a year old pretty soon, so still reletavley a kitten. I’ve wrapped most my coords already. I just wish he would be like this during the day and not when I’m trying to sleep. It’s every single night.

 

[Kitty Beholder]

He’ll be a year old pretty soon, so still reletavley a kitten. I’ve wrapped most my coords already. I just wish he would be like this during the day and not when I’m trying to sleep. It’s every single night.

I had a similar issue last year. My cats were very noisy at night and frequently knocked things onto me while I was sleeping. I love my kitties, but that was not very fun.

To counter the problem, I did a couple things. I did stop allowing my cats in the bedroom and the bedroom became 'my space' - if there was something I thought the cats could damage accidentally, it goes in the bedroom and that door is always closed. While I'm sleeping, the cats have free reign over the rest of the house.

I also moved their (very large) cat tree next to a window. I don't know why, but they love that. They can rest when they want to, and look outside when they want to. Putting their furniture by a window and keeping it away from wherever you sleep may help. It did wonders for me.

 

[ThrowAway68]

I had a similar issue last year. My cats were very noisy at night and frequently knocked things onto me while I was sleeping. I love my kitties, but that was not very fun.

To counter the problem, I did a couple things. I did stop allowing my cats in the bedroom and the bedroom became 'my space' - if there was something I thought the cats could damage accidentally, it goes in the bedroom and that door is always closed. While I'm sleeping, the cats have free reign over the rest of the house.

I also moved their (very large) cat tree next to a window. I don't know why, but they love that. They can rest when they want to, and look outside when they want to. Putting their furniture by a window and keeping it away from wherever you sleep may help. It did wonders for me.

This would be my go to, but unfortunately I can’t have my kitty free roaming the house at all times. (Dog who’s not so friendly if food is involved) they’re generally fine for long periods of time, but due to this, his litter and food is also in my room, under his cat tree, which is next to a window. That’s why I don’t know what to do.

 

[Kitty Beholder]

This would be my go to, but unfortunately I can’t have my kitty free roaming the house at all times. (Dog who’s not so friendly if food is involved) they’re generally fine for long periods of time, but due to this, his litter and food is also in my room, under his cat tree, which is next to a window. That’s why I don’t know what to do.

Unfortunately, the cat being in that room overnight is probably the issue. Could you swap the dog with the cat and have the dogs food and water in your room? In my experience, they are much calmer than cats in an overnight situation.

If food is an issue, could you potentially get wet food for your cat and keep it away from the dog's food? It's got such a unique smell, I doubt the dog will get the two confused. Unfortunately, I know very little about dogs, so I can't help much on that end. My advice would be to try out the dog and cat during night time under your supervision and see what works and what doesn't. Might be beneficial to find a space for the cat (aside from your room) and a space for the dog so they have somewhere to go.

 

[Xraystyle]

T ThrowAway68 , there was a somewhat similar thread earlier today that I replied to that basically will echo what you are going through. Mine's 1.5 years old and is discovering a new way to wreak havoc every night. He actually has his own bedtime and sleeps for about four hours uninterrupted (pricelesssss) but I get home at 8 and until we hunker down at 12, he's primed to investigate everything that piques an interest. My dude also seems somewhat compulsive. This morning I accidentally woke him up at about 3:30am when I attempted ungracefully to roll over (he sleeps at my feet). He got up and suddenly started trying his hardest to get into a plastic box next to the bed where I keep all my night creams, essential oils, and contact stuff. It's been there for 2 months, since I got him, but this morning he got so worked up, he ripped off the carrying handle. lol wut, kid? He will also try to bite my fingers if I use my phone in bed. And he attacks my feet. I've at least got him down to not biting as hard, and I try to redirect him with one of those sawdust stuffed fish toys (which he already bit open after a couple of weeks) instead.

I don't even have a door to close in my place. The best I can do is practice meditative breathing and wearing ear plugs. My dude isn't driven by hunger, it's pure attention/play drive that motivates him, so if I can tough out a half an hour or hour of ignoring him, he settles back down. This is how I still sleep in on the weekends. It's rough when his dawn prowling is at 4:30 or 5 (my alarm during the week is at 6). All I can do is give him a workout before bed, give him a treat, set out things that he can destroy (paper bags, empty plastic bottles set on counter tops, my dude has an issue with stickers and posters too, so I'm thinking of tacking up blank sheets of paper that he can tear down instead), hope my ear plugs are in far enough, and hold on tight.

I would really like to try harness training him as if he could vibe with it, there's a little hill behind my building that would be relatively safe to take him to explore and get all his crazies out. I get a bit jealous now when I see people out walking their dogs. I love walking around, but I didn't get a dog because of how long I am gone for during the day (which I know doesn't help the cat either, but...he doesn't really get into stuff when I'm not there). Being able to take a cat for a walk would literally be my dream.

 

[kittenmittens84]

My cat is very similar, just turned 1, very high energy and always wants to play, and will make chaos until someone plays with him when he’s not napping.

What I’ve found helpful is to try all kinds of different toys until I find a few that he really likes and then rotate between those. If he gets bored and walks away after a few minutes I add something to create some excitement - a pop up tunnel is great for this, cats generally love small spaces and like to stalk things they can’t see so tunnel (or a box!) plus toy = super exciting.

Also if you can find a game or toy that your cat with play with on his own without you involved, it’s a godsend. A lot of cats seem to LOVE the ripple rug/similar activity mats where they can hunt something between the layers and roll around on it. I have a carpet square with a bathmat on top of it, and my cat will entertain himself for a good 30+ minutes if I put one of these https://www.petmate.com/fat-cat-cat-crazies-cat-toys/product/26317 or something similar (plastic spring, zip tie, whatever) in between the layers. Another good solo playtime option a lot of cats seem to like is the towers where each level has a track with a ball in it that they can push around.

 

[LTS3]

Here's an article that has suggestions

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (Step-By-Step Plan) - TheCatSite

Discover how to stop your cat from waking you up at night with our comprehensive step-by-step plan. This guide provides practical strategies to align your sleep patterns with your cat's, ensuring peaceful nights for everyone.

thecatsite.com

 

[Xraystyle]

Also if you can find a game or toy that your cat with play with on his own without you involved, it’s a godsend. A lot of cats seem to LOVE the ripple rug/similar activity mats where they can hunt something between the layers and roll around on it. I have a carpet square with a bathmat on top of it, and my cat will entertain himself for a good 30+ minutes if I put one of these https://www.petmate.com/fat-cat-cat-crazies-cat-toys/product/26317 or something similar (plastic spring, zip tie, whatever) in between the layers. Another good solo playtime option a lot of cats seem to like is the towers where each level has a track with a ball in it that they can push around.

I'll have to try this. I started putting a toy in a paper bag and he has been enjoying that, but paper bags only last so long in the teeth of a cat haha They are also quite loud.