My Cat is.. well.. kinda a menace.

[roguetherattiktok]

Hi everyone! This is my first post here so if I’m doing something wrong with my post or I don’t respond right away it’s because I don’t know what I’m doing. I really need some help tho. I apologize in advance for such a long post.

Background info: my girl Rogue (8months) has started really pushing some buttons lately. She is a very energetic cat, which is absolutely no problem at all. We have toys and play all the time. We also have scratchers, tunnels, and little areas throughout the house just for her. We do have another kitty in who has a pretty similar personality for her to roughhouse with, and trust me they do lol. She also takes occasional trips outside with her harness

Now on to the actual issue at hand: my cat is literally doing everything she can to be a pain in the butt . I know you’re reading this and are probably thinking, wow a cat being a cat? Crazy I know lol. I’m mostly just trying to get some advice on what to do. She has a HUGE problem with trying to get into food. Whether it be her own food or people food, she has really been hard to deal with lately.

Here are a list of some problems I’m experiencing:
1) She eats her food wayyyyyy too fast. I feed her wet food as well as a small amount of raw food with some toppers 3-4 times a day. When I first transitioned her from kibble to wet/raw she would absolutely gorge herself. I transitioned her at around 3m. Suddenly this kitty who really didn’t eat too much of her kibble was finishing meals in a matter of minutes. She would literally eat her food so fast she couldn’t even process she just ate, and would literally tear food out of someone’s hands after she had just finished eating a nice meal.

BUT we started looking into lick mats to feed her on, to help slow down fast eaters as well as to help provide some extra mental stimulation. They have worked like a dream. We have 2 that we rotate between and suddenly she went from taking a total of 2 minutes to finish a meal to 20+ minutes sometimes. It was great. But now she has gotten to the point you can’t leave her alone with it because she TEARS IT APART. Literally. Tears the lick mat apart, like a dog. (Typing that made me giggle). She literally RAN WITH THE LICKMAT IN HER MOUTH the other day away from me because I was going to take it away from her!!!!!!? Like girl what???

2) she has figured out how to open our sliding pantry door. This has become a recent problem, but a pretty big one at that. We keep her canned food, toppers, treats, anything else food wise you can imagine for a cat. We also keep our stuff in there as well ya know, regular food items haha. The other day I woke up to her in the pantry and she had destroyed around $100 worth of freeze dried treats and other cat stuff. I was very upset. Obviously I can’t take it out on her but it really made me feel bad because I do spend a lot on her. I try my best to take good care of her and ya know, I was just in so much shock.

3) Lastly I’m not sure if there is any other attention I can give. We already have okay sessions daily, it’s been cold so I haven’t taken her out on her harness in a while, she has a playmate in the house with another big personality that she loves so much, and I’m thinking about maybe getting her a cat tree, I figured maybe that would help a bit with some extra stimulation. She’s been getting into a habit of literally jumping on counters and knocking stuff off (I know; real cat move lol).

In conclusion, I really just need advice on any of the things I listed. I absolutely do NOT want to rehome her. She is my ESA and helps me out tremendously. I love her more than anything and really believe she is my soul cat. I am trying to tell myself it’s because she’s getting into that teenage rebel stage and that I’m not a bad cat mom. I know it will pass over time but I just need some help on what I can do to maybe help or prevent her actions she’s doing because I’m really struggling right now. Any advice you can give me would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much in advance and if you made it this far I really am so happy you read till the end.

TLDR; my cat has been having problems with eating her lickmat, opening doors and destroying food, as well as consistently trying to push buttons. Any advice is appreciated on what I can do.
Pic attached for fun

 

[game misconduct]

sliding pantry door use child safety latches also she should have a cat tree no matter what it gives cats a place to climb up high(taller it is the better) instead of your counters book shelves etc. and it gives them a place to scratch instead of your couch/ chairs etc.

 

[di and bob]

There are bowls available that have raised areas on the bottom, she couldn't tear those apart. A child proof lock is what you need on the pantry door. I am wondering what her weight is. When cats act like that, they ARE usually starving. a kitten up to a year old should be fed several times a day all they want. You may think she is getting enough, but she may not be. Either try giving her more, or smaller portion several times a day. A cat tree is a good idea. she will most likely stop these behaviors as she ages and mellows out, right now she is like a ravenous teenager.

 

[Furballsmom]

When cats act like that, they ARE usually starving. a kitten up to a year old should be fed several times a day all they want. You may think she is getting enough, but she may not be. Either try giving her more, or smaller portion several times a day.

Exactly this, she needs a lot of food.

 

[roguetherattiktok]

There are bowls available that have raised areas on the bottom, she couldn't tear those apart. A child proof lock is what you need on the pantry door. I am wondering what her weight is. When cats act like that, they ARE usually starving. a kitten up to a year old should be fed several times a day all they want. You may think she is getting enough, but she may not be. Either try giving her more, or smaller portion several times a day. A cat tree is a good idea. she will most likely stop these behaviors as she ages and mellows out, right now she is like a ravenous teenager.

Thank you for this I really appreciate it. The last time she was weighed at the vet which was about a week ago she weighed 12 lbs. I think I’m gonna start trying to do more meals throughout the day with smaller portions.

 

[roguetherattiktok]

Exactly this, she needs a lot of food.

Thank you

 

[FeebysOwner]

I agree with all of the above. As said, there are wet food slow feeders that are bowls, rather than mats. Get a second slow feeder for dry food and leave some dry food out all the time until she hits at least 1 yo. If she eats a lot initially, once she realizes it is there all the time, she will slow down. However, you said she weighs 12 lbs already - does the vet think this weight is OK for her size?

Ditto, too, on the pantry locks. You may need two - one at 'normal' height, and another lower to the ground. Also agree on cat trees, or other elevated items like shelving. You can do an internet search on all of these items to see what you think best suits your needs.

Maybe there are some ideas for helping to stop her from counter surfing in this TCS article.
How To Keep Cats Off Counters And Tables – TheCatSite Articles

With a little 'help' from you, she will grow out of a lot of this as she matures.

 

[Kflowers]

not all wet food is the same. There are different amounts of protein -- you'll want to get as much protein as possible; there are different amounts of calories. Unfortunately, a lot of cat food contains empty calories from stuff that cats can't digest and are no use to their bodies, so they stay hungry. Compare the protein in wet food, compare the calories, and the amount of carbs. High protein, low carbs and the highest amount of calories in good cat food.

 

[Margot Lane]

Agree w/ all above, but from the 1 photo I can tell: she has pep! This will indeed pass with time, but right now, life is fun, all systems go!

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

I agree with every one else. A child lock on the pantry and every other cabinet that contains food. I also found the teenage stage to be harder than the kitten stage. It does pass through! Neko-chan calmed down at around 2, but even now at almost 4, insists on her daily play times and will remind me of I'm late in getting the toys out.

 

[goingpostal]

Eating her food too fast? If it's wet food idk how slow you expect her to eat it, my cats have their bowls cleaned in under a minute easily. Get rid of the lickmat so she can't eat it. Sounds like you might need to up the calories if anything.

Opening doors to get to food is pretty standard cat, I keep all my kibble and treats in secure containers the animals cannot get in and safety latches for any cupboard of human items you don't want them to get into.

Jumping on counters, again, normal cat behavior. My cats have about a dozen cat towers, scratchers, ledges to go on for them, they still go everywhere.

Idk that any of that behavior goes away with age, my cats are like 7 and 9 now and still jumping all over, getting into any food I don't secure and rummaging through cupboards they can open to amuse themselves.

 

[BoaztheAdventureCat]

Hi everyone! This is my first post here so if I’m doing something wrong with my post or I don’t respond right away it’s because I don’t know what I’m doing. I really need some help tho. I apologize in advance for such a long post.

Background info: my girl Rogue (8months) has started really pushing some buttons lately. She is a very energetic cat, which is absolutely no problem at all. We have toys and play all the time. We also have scratchers, tunnels, and little areas throughout the house just for her. We do have another kitty in who has a pretty similar personality for her to roughhouse with, and trust me they do lol. She also takes occasional trips outside with her harness

Now on to the actual issue at hand: my cat is literally doing everything she can to be a pain in the butt . I know you’re reading this and are probably thinking, wow a cat being a cat? Crazy I know lol. I’m mostly just trying to get some advice on what to do. She has a HUGE problem with trying to get into food. Whether it be her own food or people food, she has really been hard to deal with lately.

Here are a list of some problems I’m experiencing:
1) She eats her food wayyyyyy too fast. I feed her wet food as well as a small amount of raw food with some toppers 3-4 times a day. When I first transitioned her from kibble to wet/raw she would absolutely gorge herself. I transitioned her at around 3m. Suddenly this kitty who really didn’t eat too much of her kibble was finishing meals in a matter of minutes. She would literally eat her food so fast she couldn’t even process she just ate, and would literally tear food out of someone’s hands after she had just finished eating a nice meal.

BUT we started looking into lick mats to feed her on, to help slow down fast eaters as well as to help provide some extra mental stimulation. They have worked like a dream. We have 2 that we rotate between and suddenly she went from taking a total of 2 minutes to finish a meal to 20+ minutes sometimes. It was great. But now she has gotten to the point you can’t leave her alone with it because she TEARS IT APART. Literally. Tears the lick mat apart, like a dog. (Typing that made me giggle). She literally RAN WITH THE LICKMAT IN HER MOUTH the other day away from me because I was going to take it away from her!!!!!!? Like girl what???

2) she has figured out how to open our sliding pantry door. This has become a recent problem, but a pretty big one at that. We keep her canned food, toppers, treats, anything else food wise you can imagine for a cat. We also keep our stuff in there as well ya know, regular food items haha. The other day I woke up to her in the pantry and she had destroyed around $100 worth of freeze dried treats and other cat stuff. I was very upset. Obviously I can’t take it out on her but it really made me feel bad because I do spend a lot on her. I try my best to take good care of her and ya know, I was just in so much shock.

3) Lastly I’m not sure if there is any other attention I can give. We already have okay sessions daily, it’s been cold so I haven’t taken her out on her harness in a while, she has a playmate in the house with another big personality that she loves so much, and I’m thinking about maybe getting her a cat tree, I figured maybe that would help a bit with some extra stimulation. She’s been getting into a habit of literally jumping on counters and knocking stuff off (I know; real cat move lol).

In conclusion, I really just need advice on any of the things I listed. I absolutely do NOT want to rehome her. She is my ESA and helps me out tremendously. I love her more than anything and really believe she is my soul cat. I am trying to tell myself it’s because she’s getting into that teenage rebel stage and that I’m not a bad cat mom. I know it will pass over time but I just need some help on what I can do to maybe help or prevent her actions she’s doing because I’m really struggling right now. Any advice you can give me would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much in advance and if you made it this far I really am so happy you read till the end.

TLDR; my cat has been having problems with eating her lickmat, opening doors and destroying food, as well as consistently trying to push buttons. Any advice is appreciated on what I can do.
Pic attached for fun

Wow, your little girl cat sounds like the female version of my cat Boaz! Boaz is 3 years old and he's still a little monster, lol. He does the same things your cat does.

Don't be fooled; a folding door will not hold back a determined cat, even if the door has a childproof latch. Boaz will pull past a child-proof latched cupboard to dig out the kitchen trash.

The best advice I know to give you is that if your cat's behavior has gone on this long...deal with it. Just work on management. Restrict her access to any parts of the house where she can cause trouble.

 

[maggie101]

Try clicker training. I bought clickers on Amazon, cut up treats, put in a fanny pack,closed her in the bedroom with me,and started off! When feeding I shut her in a room. It makes her eat slower because she's not rushing to get my cats food or finishing quickly so they won't get it. I also bought a trixie puzzle and chew toys

 

[danteshuman]

I have naughty little twerp and Dante was a wee terrorist of doom or a punk. Hyper cats are like cats with ADHD! When they are bored they get into everything they shouldn’t & crank the naughtiness level up!

So you have tire out their minds to tire out their bodies! Also outside time is like Ritalin for hyper cats.

My boy was rained in for a couple of day and he went outside today & climbed 3 trees.... a sure sign he was getting cabin fever! I also have special rainy day/ electronic toys. Most days I let him hang out on his long leash for at least an hour, where he mainly hunkers down somewhere and hunts with his eyes. Plus a short daily walk. (He gets 4 hours during great weather and 1 hour when it is freezing.)

If you can, build your hyper kitty a catio. Also give your naughty menace extra love and take tons of pictures and videos. I wish I still had Dante around causing mischief!

Here is his favorite rainy day toy set. As you can see he hunts, sleeps, rolls around, runs (@ though not pictured he climbs trees to) all in his harness. If he gets his outside time he is a sweet little Angel.

 

[jaxtabby]

Thank you

‘Feed him till he is full for a while. When he is done he will leave his bowl of food behind.