New Destructive Behavior - Any Ideas?

[ileen]

I had a really busy day yesterday & didn't get home until 11:30pm. I returned to such a mess. Luciano had somehow knocked over a nearly full 14 pound box of litter and either pushed or dragged it about 15-20 feet, leaving piles of litter in about six places that accounted for about 1/3 of the box. After cleaning up the mess & giving thanks none of the litter was used, I put the box in my closet where it will now reside, but I'm wondering about what led to the behavior.

There are plenty of times I come home between 10-10:30. Often the wet food is gone that I left in the morning, but there is always some dry food remaining. That was also the case last night.

I've been home less than a week after being away on vacation for a week. During that time my upstairs neighbor cared for him, including playing. The night I returned, she said he was acting very clingy & didn't seem to want her to leave (this was between 11:30-midnight) & we were on our way home from the airport, so she stayed until we returned. Is it possible he was mad at being left alone so long? Does anyone else have a cat who does this to litter? I was surprised he was able to move a box nearly as heavy as his body weight so far.

 

[Ms. Freya]

How old is he? It may just be that he was playing (I know my guys will do anything to get into a box, regardless of whether or not anything else is in there). We had a 6lb cat who was consistently able to knock over 10lb bags of food - I honestly have no idea how, but we presumed she had some serious momentum.

As to the clingyness, has he kept it up? It's possible it was just a reaction to the break in his usual routine caused by you being away.

 

[di and bob]

I don't think he was mad about being alone, I think he is lonely and turns to things like dragging the box of litter for entertainment. All cats when left alone too long entertain themselves . He would benefit greatly with a companion cat, and really, two are no harder or more expensive to raise. If not you will have to figure out ways to keep him busy, visits from the neighbor definitely help. A cat tree and several toys that have been packed in catnip would help, as would a perch on a window sill so he can look out. The older he gets the more he will sleep, and then a heated bed would be appreciated. Good luck and post us if you find something that especially helps!

 

[basscat]

Once every month or so one of ours will get into something. Usually when we are gone, but, being gone is not a prerequisite.
We either come home to, wake up to, or walk into the next room to find..."OMG WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
The way we look at it: It's like those work place signs that read... "____ Days Without An Accident".
It's going to happen. Bonus is when it's not every day.

He left the couch alone for almost a year, then one day while we were gone, he ate it. Yeah, he ATE the couch!
And...he hasn't even nibbled on what's left of it since.

 

[ileen]

Yikes, he ate the couch? Had you spilled guacamole on it or something?

I don't know Luciano's exact age, somewhere between two & three. My neighbor who looked after him while I was gone rescued him exactly a year ago. He's going for his annual check-up tomorrow, his first was when she first got him.

As for getting a second cat, that's the reason my neighbor no longer has him and I do. She had three other male cats (now she has four), and he was incredibly aggressive with all of them. She and the animal behaviorist she works with determined he would thrive best in a single cat household. I defer to their opinions and wouldn't get a second cat.

If you search my posts & see the videos & photos I've posted, you'll see he has ample large windowsills for perching upon and looking out windows. He also has two ladders to climb and two lofts to explore in my small one bedroom apartment. Also, I bought & my boyfriend installed a wall perch w/scratching sisal & pom pom on elastic to play with. My floor is now strewn with different sized boxes, tissue paper, brown shipping paper, etc. Considering he was living in a large cage from April-Dec 2016 & who even knows what his life was like on the streets or before he was dumped there, I think he has it pretty damned good now. His tail quivers with excitement every time I feed him. He's really a good boy most of the time, which is why the box of litter dragging/pushing was so surprising.