Stripping Paint Off The Wall!!

Graceful-Lily · Mar 5, 2017

I don't know why I haven't asked about this yet since Smokey's been doing this for a while now. But she's been doing it more frequently now. She'll be relaxing or she'll appear out of nowhere, wait when no one is watching her, and then she starts her work! I wait around the corner and catch her in the act. She sits down and grabs the pieces of flaking paint with her claws. Sometimes she bites it but I stop her. It seems to be really entertaining to her because she'll do it on her back or run around and attack the wall again. Please help me.

tiptopper · Mar 5, 2017

Sounds like Pica, an eating disorder. She could be lacking something in her diet.

Graceful-Lily · Mar 5, 2017

That's a possibility but I doubt it. They get mostly wet food with a bit of raw and I have a supplement that I add to their raw meat. She's been doing this for about 2 years or so. Smokey also rips out her leg hair for some reason. She's been doing that for over a year. At first I thought it was old age but I think I should call the vet tomorrow. She hasn't had any other symptoms and seems fine otherwise. I really didn't notice how much hair was missing until a few weeks ago because it did get better at one point but now she's doing it again.

rampionrampage · Mar 5, 2017

A cat can be neurotic/obsessive with pica, too. I have an orphan kitten who got into weird stuff (licking walls and curtains), and another cat that spontaneously decided he needed to pull out and eat tape from a vhs cassette (i accidentally run a home for wacky cats).

If she is pulling out leg hair, that sounds like it could be some kind of stress, too.

Either way, seeing a vet to make sure there isn't something causing the stress medically can't hurt. Also, there can be all kinds of toxins in the paint so you'll want to make sure she isn't poisoning herself. Even if she normally doesn't put it in her mouth doesn't mean she's not licking it off her paws, either in chips or particulates.

Also, have you tried putting some kind of deterrent in the area she likes to pick at?

Graceful-Lily · Mar 5, 2017

RampionRampage said:
A cat can be neurotic/obsessive with pica, too. I have an orphan kitten who got into weird stuff (licking walls and curtains), and another cat that spontaneously decided he needed to pull out and eat tape from a vhs cassette (i accidentally run a home for wacky cats).
If she is pulling out leg hair, that sounds like it could be some kind of stress, too.

Either way, seeing a vet to make sure there isn't something causing the stress medically can't hurt. Also, there can be all kinds of toxins in the paint so you'll want to make sure she isn't poisoning herself. Even if she normally doesn't put it in her mouth doesn't mean she's not licking it off her paws, either in chips or particulates.

Also, have you tried putting some kind of deterrent in the area she likes to pick at?

Hmm... That could explain a lot of other behaviors. Thank you for the insight. I haven't put any deterrent in the area. Felix does cause Smokey a great deal of stress come to think of it. He's always beating her up. Sometimes they are fine but other times they fight badly. Like drawing blood bad. We thought about rehoming Smokey but obviously that's not an option because I love both my cats dearly.

Felix accepts other days except for Smokey and if I scold Smokey for something, Felix feels it's his duty to scold her too. Also if I'm in a bad mood and I accidentally snap at Felix, he goes after Smokey. Even after Hazel left, he kept going after Smokey. Not sure why he does this. He also did that with a dog I had before. When the dog was being scolded, Felix would jump up on the table beside me and snap the dog in the face.

rampionrampage · Mar 5, 2017

That could do it. I don't have much experience with cats that are bullies to that degree, I hope other people have better advice than I do.

Good luck!

Kieka · Mar 6, 2017

I agree that pica is likely. My Mom had pica for a few years and brushed it off. When she finally checked with her doctor about it after us bugging her it turns out she was severly anemic. A surgery for the cause plus iron pills and she no longer has that debilitating desire. However, as a result she has had thousands of dollars in dental work to repair the damage to her teeth.

Paint can, and often does, contain chemicals that are harmful. While most modern paints are less damaging to the human body cats are more sensitive to chemicals. I would repaint any areas she goes after to reduce opportunity. Maybe mix bitter apple spray in the paint (probably test how the bitter apple affects the paint and her first) or just spray the area with bitter apple spray to decrease the appeal. Foil over the area or something else to deny her access. But if it is pica you won't really stop her until you figure out the cause.

You need to check with the vet and rule out any medicial causes of her paint licking. Probably a diagnostic blood panel to make sure nothing is off. There is a possibility of a skin problem and she is licking paint as an alternative to licking herself for some reason. If the vet visit shows nothing then it likely is a stress reaction to the situation with your other cat.

It sounds like Felix is a little bit of a bully. If he tends to see your scolding as a reaon to scold her then it may be as simple as checking yourself; not scolding Felix or her so he has nothing to feed off. I know it is easier said then done but if you change your mindset to reward the good and quietly redirect or stop the bad you can do it.

For example, our cats aren't allowed on the dining room table. Fury likes to push it and go on it. So when I see him up there I quietly push in the chairs and take him off the table. No petting him or talking to him. Just a no emotion removal. He doesn't get the attention he wants by the behavior and he takes longer to repeat the behavior than if I scold him for it.

You might also try having a few minutes a day set aside for playing with him. If you don't already, because if it is an attention seeking behavior giving him the attention on your terms should help.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Graceful-Lily · Mar 6, 2017

Thank you so much. That helped a lot. I'm going to call the vet today and see if I can get an appointment for later in the week. Now that all this is being talked about, Smokey is acting "odd" to me. She's almost 9 years old (birthday is in May) and I expect to be seeing the vet more frequently as she ages.

I try to do my regular play sessions with Felix but he's become so aggressive with me too. Not only Smokey. I try to play with him like I use to and he bites me and makes calls of distress. Ever since my dog left, they've been fighting more I'd say. I had a Jack Russell that loved them and whenever anyone fights, he'd try to part it in any way that he could. I'm hoping bringing this new dog home will have the same result.

I'm also hoping that moving into this new house will decrease the territory tension with them.

rampionrampage · Mar 6, 2017

I think helping Felix will help Smokey a lot. Once you're sure she's not ingesting things that can hurt her, Felix probably needs the most help. Make sure he doesn't have any medical issues himself that might be making him more agitated.
I don't know if I'd bring in another animal until Felix and Smokey are settled in. Even if it ends up long-term being something that is good for everyone, until you're sure what is at the root of Felix's stress, a new dog is possibly going to stress them out (and you!) even more. When you get a new dog, you don't think of it as the same dog... and I'm guessing Felix won't, either. Plus the poor dog is walking into some kind of feud s/ he doesn't understand the way your other dog did. If Felix was snapping the other dog in the face, he might do it to a new one that doesn't react the same.

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't with the dog, because I can't really tell you the dynamic of your home, but I'd be concerned that it might make everyone more tense, at least in the short run.

Graceful-Lily · Mar 6, 2017

I thought about that too. However, the new dog is going to be an emotional support dog and possibly a therapy dog. It's important that I get him sooner rather than later so that I can start my treatment because my anxiety and depression has gotten worse these past few weeks. Felix has been checked out by the vet already and his health is fine. It's just his attitude. It could be that I haven't been home as often as before and with all the rescue animals and Hazel leaving, it could be stressing him out.

rampionrampage · Mar 6, 2017

I get that. I'm on a waitlist for a service dog. Next round is in May -- I hope I get called.

Graceful-Lily · Mar 6, 2017

RampionRampage said:
I get that. I'm on a waitlist for a service dog. Next round is in May -- I hope I get called.

I hope so too. I understand how the wait can be. It took me a long time to find this dog. It's not 100% but we're almost here. Felix could possibly be picking up on my stress. The dog probably won't come until after we move in the next few weeks so hopefully that will help some.

Graceful-Lily · Mar 8, 2017

These pictures are from June of 2014 when I had my dog. As you can see, Felix and Smokey were pretty close. They hardly ever threw punches at eachother. Probably because they had to share a space with the dog and he kept them in check. When my dog was around, my stress levels were better so therefore, everyone got equal attention.

I've been going through all photos trying to pin point a time where things were better, what changed, etc. This could possibly be a clue?

Things were just better for everyone...