Nee help keeping two crazy kitties busy!

[callista]

Lately my two cats have been getting mischievous. Tiny's been chasing Christy, and Christy's been getting her little paws into everything. And Tiny has learned that he can my attention by scratching the wrong objects... so he deliberately scratches them, not because he likes them but because he knows it will predictably get me up and dragging him to the nearest scratching post. Even sticky tape doesn't deter him; he just finds a new spot. The other day Christy made a game of knocking every single item off my desk. Last week she opened a kitchen cabinet, evicted half the Tupperware, and made herself at home there.

They have toys. Christy enjoys chasing jingly balls. Tiny, not so much. He's more into the kind of toy he can grab and rabbit-kick.

But they are both getting bored with what they have. So I need some advice on how to keep these two from going even more nuts than they have been lately. If I didn't know better I'd swear there's catnip in the water!

Personality-wise, Christy has deft paws and a quick mind. She's shy, but inquisitive. She figures things out quickly. Tiny, on the other hand, is just a bundle of energy who wants something to chase, bite, claw, and generally wrestle with. Of the two, he's the one who really has me figured out. He can even tell when I'm going to wake up. I usually wake in the morning to find that he has stationed himself at the edge of my bed, ready to jump up for his morning cuddle as soon as I open my eyes.

Tips? Toys? Kitty straitjackets, perhaps?

 

[melalpha]

Oh boy. Those cats will drive you to tears while they grow up. But. They get better, I promise, when they get older.

Mine ruined curtains, plants, and carpets. But they calmed down and became amazing cats.

Don't pay attention to tiny when he's bad. Use a squirter, or a loud object such as a metal can half full of pennies. (Secure the lid with duct tape or something strong... or you'll have a mess haha) shake it at him when he scratches the no no things, but overall ignore him unless he uses the post. Sprinkle it with catnip, maybe honeysuckle.

 

[melalpha]

I'll add also, that I did put them on leashes in the home under supervision for 2 particularly bad months, out of desperation.

They weren't happy campers, but adjusted. Then later on, it felt natural for them, and I taught them to go on walks.

Fluffy only needed to be leashed for a few weeks before he got the idea. Bobo took longer, maybe closer to 3 months, but he got it. They only scratch toys and their trees now, but I still keep my plants in an empty aquarium..

Only leash em if you have to, they really don't enjoy it at first. If you do, love em and reward em so they don't think its a bad thing.

Try a tall cat tree/condo. Every cat I sit or foster loves my cat trees. Shorter ones don't stimulate them as much.

 

[callista]

"Grow up", huh? Well, hate to break it to you... but Tiny's four years old, and Christy's eight!

It's not that their craziness level has really changed lately; it's more that they seem to have gotten bored with the same old toys. You can almost see Christy thinking, "Yeah, I know how that jingle ball works; now let's have something new!"

Christy would probably love a tall cat tree. She's often found on top of the kitchen cabinets, about a foot from the ceiling!

 

[three cat night]

I'll add also, that I did put them on leashes in the home under supervision for 2 particularly bad months, out of desperation.
They weren't happy campers, but adjusted. Then later on, it felt natural for them, and I taught them to go on walks.
Fluffy only needed to be leashed for a few weeks before he got the idea. Bobo took longer, maybe closer to 3 months, but he got it. They only scratch toys and their trees now, but I still keep my plants in an empty aquarium..
Only leash em if you have to, they really don't enjoy it at first. If you do, love em and reward em so they don't think its a bad thing.
Try a tall cat tree/condo. Every cat I sit or foster loves my cat trees. Shorter ones don't stimulate them as much.

X


Did you really leash them in your home? How does that work, do you tie, it to something? At least they get to go on a walk leashed, and it feels normal to them

 

[melalpha]

Oh boy. That is quite a dilemma. Yeah, new toys would be good.

I bought a remote control snake, my cats absolutely GO CRAZY for it. Since I'm driving, and they don't know that, they are mystified by its patterns.

They also have interchangeable cat teaser toys, you stick different things on the end. I have maybe 20 toys in a drawer, that I switch all the time. Bells, yarn, string, mice, balls, pom poms, leather, snakes, catnip, lasers, bouncy foam. Sometimes texture makes all the difference

 

[callista]

I've yet to try a remote control toy. If I could find one big enough for Tiny to grab and rabbit-kick, that'd be cool. Perhaps Christy will just be scared of it--she is such a timid thing, sometimes--but sooner or later she gets curious.

Which reminds me, I haven't brought out the laser toy in a while. Tiny used to love that before he got tired of it, but maybe it'll be new for him now. We'll see if I can tire the little guy out today.

 

[melalpha]

do you ever act crazy with your cats? Laugh, run around, twitch, chase them and get followed/chased, roll on the floor with them, muss them a little, but in a good way. Cats like being teased sometimes.

 

[callista]

Tiny and I do chase each other up and down the hallway. It's a good thing for my neighbors that I'm on the ground floor!

 

[melalpha]

hahaha, that's funny. Well, I don't have anything else for you. Good luck!

 

[melalpha]

I just noticed that question. I mainly kept them in my room which was stripped bare of curtains, breakable things, and alternated them in the home. I'd attach a 10 foot leash, move with them if needed, let them off the leash, and releash them when they did something bad.

They got used to it. I set up a cat bed with toys in leash range whenever I watched a movie, and they'd just cuddle, sleep, or play a little. Once they got into the habit of playing with designated toys, they were taken off the leash, but I noticed they'd let themselves be led on the leash rather than me following them, so I tested this outside. Viola!