Naughty Teenager

[dalismum]

My "teenage" boy is being very naughty at the moment and I'm almost at my wits end. He was ill back in May with nasty virus and had 4 vet visits in the space of a week and then he started to become quite bitey with me so I plugged a couple of Feliway in - however then he started to hide away a lot and totally avoid me - no longer snuggled up in bed next to me etc. Anyway since then I removed the feliway and he's no longer hiding! - apparently a small number of cats get confused and think there is another cat in the house - trust me to get the nutty cat! I thought it might have been stress from the vet visits but its gone way past that now surely.

Anyway, back story given in addition to this, he keeps jumping up at the sides of the windows (I have large almost floor length windows) and breaking the sealant/plaster scratching the pvc for no reason I can tell - we live on 3rd floor and no cats hang around below. I tried sticky tape, he ripped it off, kitchen foil the same, orange/lemon/apple doesn't bother him - I've resorted to putting some bamboo cane in the corners but he still does it, it just doesn't damage the plaster etc (for now) but the noise of banging the windows, scratching and bolting off and back to keep doing it is crazy.

I took him back to the vet to see if there was an underlying cause to the behaviour which is mostly at night, every night and early hours of the morning. Vet said there's no visible illness and he may just be an anxious cat. WHY!?! I've had him since he was 8wks old and hes almost 11months now, no changes to environment, I play with him, he has loads of toys and huge cat tower to climb/scratch yet he still goes mental every single day,

I honestly was in tears this morning as so tired and he was being so naughty! Nothing I do seems to work, and I just want my cuddly kitten who used to follow me around back - I cant put up with this every day for the next 20 years!  ARRRRRGH!

If you have any ideas I haven't tried please let me know!

 

[shadowsrescue]

Is he neutered?  This could come into play with his behavior.

YOu could try a play technique that involves hunt,catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep.

You need to really get him moving with a wand toy, laser pointer or a came of fetch.  You want the session to last 10-20 minutes.  You want him tired out.  It may take time to build up the length of the session.  You want him to play so that he can hunt, catch, and kill.  Next you offer a small meal or a special treat.  Not just a few treats, but something special.  This is to satisfy the "eat" of the prey.  If he is tired out and got enough to eat, he will groom himself and then nap.

 

[di and bob]

He IS at that teenager stage and is being a pest like they all are, but please remember he will get older and will calm down eventually. If this is going on at night I would bet he IS seeing something out there or even sensing it. The only way I stopped my cat from spraying a window was to block him from even getting to it. I put up blinds. I know this might not be possible with your windows, but if you could somehow block his access to them at night like a quilt even tacked up across them, he might stop, and it would break the habit. I know it's a pain, but it beats being up all night and try to remember , it won't be forever! If all else fails you might try some 'calming' treats, found at Amazon, or pet med sites, they might calm him down enough at night so he sleeps. I use them on vet visits and you wouldn't even know it was the same cat! Good luck!

 

[abbybaby]

I also have a "naughty teenager". I was a bit hoodwinked by the rescue society in that I was told she was two years old, but my vet estimated her as being "not older" than one. It is unfortunate because I was stressed by my other cat's illness, things going on with my mother, work etc. so I really didn't need this. I was even a bit hesitant when I thought she was two, since I thought that might be too young, but she seemed very placid when I met her.

So much for first impressions. Right now she wants to eat, sleep and play. And play, And play. And play. If I am doing something when she wants to play (so, most of the time) she will cry. If that doesn't work, she will race around, flinging herself onto and off of her cat tree, into and out of her tunnels and barrelling off of furniture. She will also jump up on pieces of furniture she is not allowed to be on and will knock stuff over. So far I've had six things smashed to bits, and I thought my lamp was broken, but it turned out to only be the bulb. I have been woken up from a deep sleep by the crash of items being knocked over, which scares the stuffing out of me, and a couple of times she's sunk her claws into my back in order to "engage" me in play.

I play with her, and I do the whole play for 20 minutes (or more), taper it off, let her 'kill" the toy, feed her etc. She will groom herself, rest a bit, sometimes even go to sleep. But most of the time, she will simply start to cry for her toy again. She seems inexhaustible right now. Additionally she took to door way dashing, getting out into the apartment hallway every single time I tried to leave. I've purchased a screen to block access to the doorway. At first I turned the two end panels towards the door so if it tipped over, it would fall away from her, but she figured out she could push the panels open. So I reversed them, turning the end panels to face away from the door, so if she pushes on them, they just hit the wall. That works, as long as I position them so they are snug against the wall, otherwise she has figured out she can put her paw between the panel and the wall and pull it towards her to make enough of a gap to get to the other side. She's pretty smart. So now I block one panel with the litter box container and the other panel by opening the hallway closet door. What a production, but at least I can leave my apartment without having to chase her down and stuff her back inside every day.

So I may not have any suggestions for you, but I hope it helps to know you are not alone. I've had so many people say she will "settle" down, but my sleep deprived brain would like to know when this will be and part of me is concerned that this is her personality and she won't. One thing I'm doing, which I hope will help is to keep a sort of "log" of her behaviour. I'm hoping I can look back over the entries and see improvement as time goes by. So far I do note that she's not prone to trying to bite and claw me when I pet her - that behaviour cleared up quite soon after I got her. The other stuff - no improvement thus far.

Perhaps in the not too distant future, each of us will look back on this time, shake our heads and think "Wow, that was tough. Sure glad it isn't like that any more". I hope so anyway. In the meantime, you have my sympathies.

 

[momto3cats]

Those "teenage" months can be exhausting, I know. But it really doesn't last all that long, in terms of the cat's whole life. He will be calmer, and likely more cuddly, when he's older, and that will continue for many more years.

He probably is seeing or hearing something outside the window, if not other cats, then other nocturnal animals or even bugs. My Charlie likes to stare out the windows at night, and sometimes "attacks" it for no reason that I can see; but then I don't have a cat's night vision. Trying to block access to the windows at night is probably your best chance at a good night's sleep for now. I realize that can be hard to do with a determined cat, but if you can manage it, he might eventually forget about attacking the windows and you'll be able to stop blocking them.

 

[dalismum]

Thank you all for your replies, yes he is neutered - was done at 6months, I do the hunt/catch/kill playing when we play, sometimes its hard to know what to play with I rotate all of his toys and try to get a "new" one out from the box every now and again but most of the time he runs at the wand or toy makes a little brrrrrrl noise and runs away and hides and only really seems to love playing with the laser, which I let him "catch" and throw a treat for him, or playing fetch with the treats themselves he loves to chase after these. I even play hide and seek with him, I hide and he comes and bops me with his paw and vice versa

IMAG1402_2.jpg

• dalismum
• Sep 28, 2015

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My "teenage" boy is ... in addition to this, he keeps jumping up at the sides of the windows (I have large almost floor length windows) and breaking the sealant/plaster scratching the pvc for no reason I can tell - we live on 3rd floor and no cats hang around below. I tried sticky tape, he ripped it off, kitchen foil the same, orange/lemon/apple doesn't bother him - I've resorted to putting some bamboo cane in the corners but he still does it, it just doesn't damage the plaster etc (for now) but the noise of banging the windows, scratching and bolting off and back to keep doing it is crazy.
...

If you have any ideas I haven't tried please let me know!

Hi, DalisMum -- By saying he is jumping at the windows at night (usually at night?), do you mean the glass part of the windows? Could he be jumping up the sides of the windows merely as a way to "climb" or "attack" the glass?

You see, my thought is that --esp. at night and if you have a small amount of light reflecting on the glass of the windows-- he is seeing a reflection, or parts of reflections, of what seems to him is another cat... but this image is really himself being reflected in the window glass. He could even be seeing the flashes of his eyes as they "spark" off of a light reflection from outside, and he sees a glowing-eyed cat in the glass. So he is jumping at the reflected images, or up on the sides of the windows, in his trying to show That Other Cat he is seeing just who Is the real boss in your apartment, and that it is his territory, not the "Glass Cat". You see?

I have noticed my kitten, now 6 months, but at various times over the 3 months we've had her, "side-catting" the reflection of herself in our long mirror (I'm sure you can figure out what I mean by "side-catting", e.g. arching her tail and back in aggressive cat attack or defense, stand-off mode, you know) ... often she does it to play with herself (we are a single kitty household), as she is certainly familiar with mirrors and that the other cat in the mirror is her reflections. Often she ignores mirrors, but sometimes when she's just "full of beans", as we call it, and wants to "play" or fight with another cat, she'll have a long extended play with the Mirror Cat.

Over the summer we bought some of that sun- and heat-blocking window film that one can put on windows to decrease the sun's UVA rays and heat in the summertime. AT NIGHT in the summer, if our shades were up and the reflective window film was exposed to the lights on in our apt, but with it being dark outside, this reflective heat film turned into a MIRROR. She would hiss and "side-cat" the Window Kitty as well as the Mirror Kitty.

So, I am wondering if you have tried maybe close-fitting window coverings over those windows (roll up blinds you can maybe tape to the frames?), to dissuade your cat from looking out of or even seeing the possibly reflective quality of glass at night?

It's just a thought...

 

[dalismum]

Hi PushPurrCatPaws, no its the sides of the windows - where the window/sealant/corner of the wall is - and only the bedroom one not the others - it is bizzare, its only once I'm in bed too so I wasn't sure if it was naughty behaviour because he wanted attention? He lays along all of the window sills most of the time - I don't think he's seen or thought he's seen anything out there as usually if he spots something he makes a funny chattering noise and a funny meow to say "look mum!" I did think about covering the lower part of the windows (they're about 6ft high) but then I would feel bad for him because he loves to lay along the ledge and look out at the world, plus anything I tape anywhere he tends to see that as a target to destruct lol.

Interesting about the film you can put over in the summer I'll look into that for next summer I think, because the windows at home are so high and we're south facing the afternoon and evening is like a greenhouse effect so that could benefit us keeping us cooler thank you!

 

[sparkymema]

I think if it happens once your in bed you should adjust their feeding schedule so they eat an hour or two before you go to bed so they get tired as well. With teenage kittens and cats you really need to play with them for 30mins so they can get worn out before bed, like even if you wanted to I would almost get them a slow feeder to exercise their mind and something like a perch so they can still look out the window but not be within a distance where they can mess with anything. 

 

[fyllis]

My two boys will be 18 months in a few weeks and, trust me, there are times I think they could drive a dead man insane with their antics!  Just when I think I have them 'cured' of one thing, they come up with something else to test me! 

Something that has worked for me (and no one has mentioned yet) is to have a spray bottle of plain water on your night stand. If the window jumping happens only in your bedroom after you are in bed, as soon as he starts spritz him on the butt (never in the face) with a  stream of water and give a firm "No"; then turn your back to him and ignore him. You will probably have to repeat this a few times a night for a week or so, but he will get tired of getting sprayed and and ignored and will give up. 

I keep my bottle near the door too because I had (have) the same door-dashing problem. Keeker ( my black DSH - who looks exactly like your boy) will sneak out the door every chance he gets. Fortunately, we live on the 3rd floor and he can only access the hallway. Every time I get ready to leave (or someone knocks on the door), he will come running in hopes of slipping out. I give him a squirt and say, "Get back!" and he trots away into the living room. Ironically, I dropped the spray bottle a while ago and the trigger broke and it no longer works, but I discovered that all I have to do now is pick it up and aim it at him and he will take off. The funny thing is, after he walks away, he will shake himself like he is soaking wet and he never got a drop on him!

Something tells me it is just his personality (and possibly his breed?) because Kricket (my Maine Coon) rarely, if ever, gets into trouble. Keeker is the instigator and Kricket sometimes follows his lead. 

I've had them both since they were 6 weeks old (neutered at 4 months) and they are growing through puberty and adolescence and working into 'teenagerism' right now. I, too, have gone (and still am) through having things crash in the middle of the night - pictures come off the walls, dining room chairs get tipped over, lamps get knocked off tables, and I get pounced when they decide to make my bed part of their pathway during their 'cops n robbers' chases at 3:00 A.M.  

They have apparently trained me well, because I no longer blow steam out of my ears and I no longer get all jacked-up when they occasionally break things. Friends ask me how I put up with everything and I just smile and tell them, "This is their house too. They are going to do things when they think they can get away with it, but I can't expect them to sit in the corner and not move all the time. If that was the case, I would have just bought cat statues"!

I can tone their behavior down, but I can't totally destroy it.

How can I be so nonchalant? Many years ago I was engaged to and lived with a wonderful man; except that he would throw his dirty clothes next to the hamper and not in it, leave his dishes in the sink, never put the toilet seat down, and there were always whiskers all over the bathroom sink. Even though I loved him dearly, his behavior induced many 'disagreements' and I even considered calling off the engagement. Two months before our wedding, he died suddenly of an acute brain aneurysm. And I think, "OH! What I would do to have to clean up after him just one more time!". 

I feel the same way about Keeker and Kricket. What if something would happen to either of them? How would I survive not hearing them thunder through the house in the middle of the night, knocking things over, breaking things and waking me up with their craziness? 

I have learned to compromise and accept them just as, I am sure, they have learned to accept me and the crazy things they probably think I do.   And I love them unconditionally with an open heart and an open mind.  They are being cats!  Now, when they wake me (I've learned to sleep through most of it) I just smile knowing they are there.

I hope this helped you by seeing things from their point of view. 

 

[dalismum]

Aww Fyllis thank you, your post made me smile and also a little teary as I know what you mean, and trust me I do treasure him dearly.

When Dali runs into the hallway outside my place, I've picked him up and walked through into the lobby with him to see if that satisfies his curiosity but he meows and tucks his tail under wanting to go back home so I take him back in and he's so grateful its funny he purrs and head bumps me for ages! Silly boy

He's not been as bad past few nights, I'm hoping the behaviour spray I tried is actually working but no doubt as you say he'll drop this habit and start a new one!