I don't know what to do with my cat.

Ceeek

I got a cat almost two years ago now. I got her from a friend who's cat had kittens and they were giving them away to good homes. I love my cat to bits but she has become increasingly difficult lately. We were living in a much bigger apartment when I originally got her but had to move out of there when our lease was up. I was hoping to get a house for her but could not find any houses in the area that I lived that were close enough to the town centre. (I don't drive) I ended up in another apartment with my boyfriend and one other housemate. We have a big enough balcony that she goes onto and she roams freely around the apartment. However, we have only been living in this new apartment for around 2monhs and she has already caused a lot of damage. She scratches and hangs off of all of the door frames even though we have bought her scratching posts and she has so so many toys. We also have leather chairs and couches which now have puncture holes all over them from her. She will lose us our deposit 100% which doesn't bother me at all but it causes big issues with my boyfriend who I've been with for three years and causes even bigger problems with my other housemates. I used to bring her to my mothers house now and again so that she could go out into the garden but I went to bring her to my mothers yesterday and I've never seen her freak out as much as she did. She used to cry a bit for a few minutes then she would sit Down in her carrier after a few minutes no problem. This time I don't know what was wrong with her but she wouldn't stop crying, she started to spit (I think) and my mother and I were soaked In the car. She was biting and pulling at the metal bars of the carrier and then I looked and noticed she was doing it with such force that she pulled one of her nails out. I turned the car around immediately and brought her back to the house. I love my cat so much and I don't want to get rid of her but I feel if I don't I will lose every single security deposit I ever pay and my boyfriend has now said that he doesn't want her around anymore because she is so difficult. I wont allow my boyfriend to make this decision but I can't deny that she has became increasingly difficult as she has grown up. If I was to get rid of her I would make sure she went to a good home. She is all in all a good cat I just believe she needs more space and freedom as she grows which unfortunately I can't provide. When I got my cat I planned on having her until she died so even thinking about this is really upsetting me. If anyone has any ideas or possible solutions it would be greatly appreciated.

aonb

Has your cat been checked by the vet at some stage to ensure that she is well? Sounds like a check-up for this changed behaviour would be sensible.

Lots of people on here report very good results using FELIWAY type products - cat calmers in effect. You might google these and find out more - definitely worth a try - its a hormone that is released into the air, to relax your cat.

https://www.google.ie/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=feliway+diffuser

Im sure some of the serious cat experts will be along to offer you some more advise.

Move her to being an outdoor only cat? Solves all the problems with damage.

Nody

Well a few things to possibly help you; for starters cats HATE change. Hence moving to a new place is going to unsettle her and as a general frame it takes 10 weeks for a change to settle in for a cat. Also in your new place you said you have scratch posts but does she have a lot of vertical locations she can get to? The reason I ask is unlike humans cats think of space mainly from the point of view they can take and being up high is going to not only help settle her nerves (she's safe from the unknown) but also give her confidence as she can watch what's going on around her. Third start thinking of how she can go from room to room in this sense and if there's a way to create a route for her to take without touching the floor (cat highway of sorts).

Finally in regards to the cage; it sounds like she panicked in the cage and there are a few things you can do to help reduce that in the future. For starters leave the cage out to make sure it's nothing new, secondly look at serving the odd treat to her in the chage with door open. Finally when travelling cover the whole cage with a blanket as the darkness makes them feel less exposed. Also if your cat barely fits in the cage consider getting something bigger. The sad fact however is that some cats will never accept being in a cage; others simply accept it as part of life.

Ceeek

Paisleigh Quick Worker wrote: »

Move her to being an outdoor only cat? Solves all the problems with damage.

I would love to have her as an outdoor cat but unfortunately we only have a balcony that is on the second floor and there would be no way for her to come and go safely. I like having her inside as I feel it is safer for her aswell but I do feel quilty that she doesn't have enough space

Ceeek

Nody wrote: »

Well a few things to possibly help you; for starters cats HATE change. Hence moving to a new place is going to unsettle her and as a general frame it takes 10 weeks for a change to settle in for a cat. Also in your new place you said you have scratch posts but does she have a lot of vertical locations she can get to? The reason I ask is unlike humans cats think of space mainly from the point of view they can take and being up high is going to not only help settle her nerves (she's safe from the unknown) but also give her confidence as she can watch what's going on around her. Third start thinking of how she can go from room to room in this sense and if there's a way to create a route for her to take without touching the floor (cat highway of sorts).

Finally in regards to the cage; it sounds like she panicked in the cage and there are a few things you can do to help reduce that in the future. For starters leave the cage out to make sure it's nothing new, secondly look at serving the odd treat to her in the chage with door open. Finally when travelling cover the whole cage with a blanket as the darkness makes them feel less exposed. Also if your cat barely fits in the cage consider getting something bigger. The sad fact however is that some cats will never accept being in a cage; others simply accept it as part of life.

I do think she panicked in the carrier but she has been in the carrier a few times before when going to my mothers and when going to the vet but she has never acted even nearly as bad as she did this time. She usually would settle down within 5minutes but this time she just went nuts.
We don't actually have anything high up that is dedicated to her. We do have a high bookshelf that she gets on top of but I guess that's all she really has so I will look in to getting her one of those taller scratching posts with the different levels.

Ceeek

aonb wrote: »

Has your cat been checked by the vet at some stage to ensure that she is well? Sounds like a check-up for this changed behaviour would be sensible.

Lots of people on here report very good results using FELIWAY type products - cat calmers in effect. You might google these and find out more - definitely worth a try - its a hormone that is released into the air, to relax your cat.



Im sure some of the serious cat experts will be along to offer you some more advise.

Yes I have already decided to bring her to the vet. I do think the move has had something to do with her behaviour but better safe than sorry.
I will also look in FELIWAY.
Thank you for your response.

Michelle_b

Hey I am also going +1 on high up place for the cat. Those cat trees on zooplus are amazing. I have two cats that are crazy and love to scratch but with the cat tree it has scratching posts on it too and then loads of sleeping areas. Best investment! Zooplus as well often discount codes online really recommend and he or she will feel like they have safe place to get up to and place to scratch and snooze

Michelle_b

http://m.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/scratching_posts/large/large_cat_trees_height_180_cm/127229

This is the one I got mine and they adore it! And are two big chunky kitties 😉

Zapperzy

You could also clip her claws, itl at least limit any further damage to furniture. When your at the vets ask them to show you how. You can buy the clippers in the pet shop or sometimes vets sell them.

She sounds very active, try wearing her out with pole type toys (even make your own with a stick and a piece of string). Cats get lazier as they get older, usually from 2/3 years onwards they start to sleep more. My two still have crazy periods but they only last 10 or 15 minutes.

StillThinking

My cat loves leather and we lost a deposit over him before, if you can't get rid of the leather chairs cover them and have a look online to see how to restore leather after a cat scratches it, worked for me in the past.
We have moved our cat 3 times and he never reacted like that, maybe one of your neighbours has one of those high pitched rodent repellents, they can affect other animals too?
Hopefully you get to the bottom of things and they settle down, poor cat sounds mega stressed and you too probably at this stage x

Daz_

Zapperzy wrote: »

You could also clip her claws, itl at least limit any further damage to furniture. When your at the vets ask them to show you how. You can buy the clippers in the pet shop or sometimes vets sell them.

She sounds very active, try wearing her out with pole type toys (even make your own with a stick and a piece of string). Cats get lazier as they get older, usually from 2/3 years onwards they start to sleep more. My two still have crazy periods but they only last 10 or 15 minutes.

please ask your vet for advice on clipping claws before you attempt this. Plus it's not really dealing with the issue as to why your cat is distressed .

Zapperzy

Daz_ wrote: »

please ask your vet for advice on clipping claws before you attempt this. Plus it's not really dealing with the issue as to why your cat is distressed .

Hence why I said to ask the vet to show you how first. It's damage limitation initially, I live in a rented house with cats and clip their claws to stop them damaging anything.

Shivi111

Hi OP, what a nightmare for you. We've moved once with our eldest cat Moriarty and while he was unsettled it wasn't to that level.

First, I'll echo what others have said about vertical spaces, cat trees are a must for any indoor cat (our are allowed outside and we still benefit from having two).

I'm afraid leather furniture is probably a loss, no matter what's available to scratch leather furniture is a nightmare with cats, sometimes getting marked when they just walk or jump onto it, never mind the joy of getting some good scratching in!

Try to consider from a territorial cats point of view, new territory which is smaller than before, it sounds like new people are there too when you talk about flatmates? You, flat mate and boyfriend are probably stressed about the damage, perhaps telling cat off (understandably!) - everyone is stressed & the cats knows it and is worried & stressed too. The world has changed & they have no idea why.

How's the flatmates relationship with the cat? & the boyfriend? Do they interact positively with the cat? They should both engage in active play with her, and build a relationship, try and get them involved in the positive parts of the cats life, feeding, treats and playing.

You mention that you bring her to your mums to get into the garden, was the cat allowed outside previously? For some cats moving from having outside access to being totally indoor is really tough. We have two who I think could do it (our females) but I don't think the male would manage it, some of the behaviors you talk about (hanging off doors) mirror exactly what he will do when we won't let him out. He had to be kept inside entirely for three days when ill before and I was shocked how my laid back boy behaved, he was impossible to entertain with toys, cried constantly, scratched at furniture (unheard of in our house!) and generally made himself unpopular! Once his confinement time was up he went straight back to his usual lovely self!

I know there are people on here who've managed to successfully transition cats to indoor only so they might have some good advice on this if it's part of the problem.

Just a note, you mention a balcony that the cat can access, please be careful with that, if it's not properly enclosed the cat might try to jump & injure itself.

This ended up being longer then planned! In brief,
1. Vertical spaces, cat trees & cat shelves are good
2. Try to get flatmate & boyfriend to engage with cat, feeding & playing
3. Lots & lots of active play
4. Try not to be too stressed, cat will pick up on this
5. If cat is used to getting outside, and is now becoming indoor only, research some ways to manage this, but I have to say (purely in my experience & opinion & I'm sure not everyone will agree!) some cats can't manage indoor only.

Good luck!