My cats are expensive terrors. What can I do?

August 22, 2016 4:32 PM

I have two cats, 8 and 5 years old (neutered males). They're very sweet, but they are destructive terrors. What can I do? Have you had this problem and fixed it?

I came home to find my fridge opened, all the meat eaten, and everything else spoiled. This happened before because the older cat ripped the seal and then opened the fridge while I was away.

I'll have to get the seal replaced before I can use the fridge again now.

The older cat is ALWAYS looking for food. If I get food out for myself he will immediately be trying to eat it and is always underfoot when I am cooking. I started putting him in another room when I cook but that doesn't solve the fridge problem.

The younger one loves dropping things off counters, often breaking them. He broke my Roku, so I had to replace that.

I feed them enough, the vet is happy with them health wise but I've considered getting an automatic feeder so they are fed continuously throughout the day.

They also scratch my sheets, but overall they're not that bad with scratching. I have scratch posts around, lots of toys...

I was hoping they would chill with age, especially the older one, but it isn't happening. I'm really bothered by the constant cat related drama. I'm not mad at them, cats are gonna cat, but I just wonder if I'm doing something deeply wrong here. I would also like to have my boyfriend over more but am worried about coming home to food all over the floor etc with him.

Just...ideas?

posted by zutalors! to Pets & Animals (33 answers total)

They sound kind of bored. Do you have lots of toys they can chase, bags and boxes then can jump in, cat trees they can climb, etc? Also, do you know the breed? Some breeds are more energetic than others and can be trained. This may not apply if they are just your typical shelter cat with a questionable lineage, but worth checking if they are a known high-maintenance breed to see if other owners of that breed have suggestions.
posted by joan_holloway at 4:40 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: they're mutt cats (shelter/homeless), they do have toys around but I could definitely get more if it would help.
posted by zutalors! at 4:43 PM on August 22, 2016

This is more than just cats gonna cat, this is an abnormally high level of destruction. The hunger thing (or liking-to-eat thing) is kind of one issue on its own, but the rest of the destruction seems like bored cats with too much energy. It may be time to look into automated toys and tall/difficult climbing devices, multiple treat-dispensing toys since they're clearly food-motivated, and at least twice-daily very vigorous play sessions led/supervised by humans to wear out their asses and little tiny brains.

And I've heard some extraordinary stories about Feliway, specifically the plug-in kind. Like, I keep thinking it has to be bullshit but I've seen some of it with my own eyes.

Plus you need museum putty, velcro, and childproofing locks/straps for the fridge and any other doors they open. If you have to put all your belongings in lidded Rubbermaid bins on the floor for three months to get past the entertainment-reward cycle of knocking all your stuff over, do that.

And start using a spray bottle on them when they come after your food. These cats aren't even pretending you're in charge anymore.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:44 PM on August 22, 2016 [20 favorites]

You can get a baby lock for the fridge. It's not a solution to the overall problem, but should save food and money in the meantime.
posted by MandaSayGrr at 4:46 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Cats, as you say, are gonna cat. And food equals love. That said, has the vet checked for anything which would cause pica or inappropriate eating in the older cat? I had a cat with dental problems, and part of how it first expressed was desperately eating anything-- especially cold things, trying to find relief for his pain. Otherwise, do you have a door to close to the kitchen, or can you close him into a space which is big enough but where he can't get into the kitchen? In my old house in Amsterdam, there was a were rooms where cats were simply not allowed. Child proof fasteners for the fridge (you can buy them at most home furnishing shops) would also be a solution. He'll stop with the seal once he realises he can't get it open.

The knocking things off counters is just what cats do, I fear. I have much messier counters now that I have a dog. :)

I may have had my tolerance raised too high by a lifetime of cat ownership, but aside from the fridge seal, I'm not hearing the drama here. One cat likes to steal food-- you can put him in another room. The other knocks things off counters. Which is pretty much every cat ever. How does your boyfriend feel about cats, and how much is that the issue?
posted by frumiousb at 4:47 PM on August 22, 2016

As an overall solution, I've seen dramatic improvement by sitting in the floor with them (which somehow indicates PLAY! TIME!) and playing hard with them, usually with fishing pole type toys, till they are clearly tuckered out and done every single day, maybe multiple times if they are feisty.
posted by stormygrey at 4:48 PM on August 22, 2016 [5 favorites]

Sounds like you need to toddler-proof your house.

Fridge lock for the fridge. Put meat in the deli drawer. Bread in a bread keeper. Don't leave stuff on the counter, put the Roku in a drawer when you're not using it, etc. etc.

I know it's a pain. I have 4 cats and their thing is to chew cables and dig in my bedroom trash. (Not large cables like TV cords, but things like earbuds and my Macbook adapter.) But I'm the human, so I can either acknowledge that they chew cables and put my damn cables away, or keep being surprised when I leave my cables out and find them chewed. I bought one of those fabric storage cubes that you put in bookshelves and I stash my cables in there.

Likewise I don't throw anything away in the bedroom trash that I don't want to surgically remove from someone's intestines later (dental floss, ponytail holders, etc). If I'm throwing away a Sensitive Item(tm) then it goes in the under-sink trash in my bathroom, or in the kitchen trash (which has a cover).

So, you've gotta fight fire with fire, and stop waiting for them to quit doing what you know they're gonna do. They're not gonna do that, so you may as well change tactics and foil their strategy by being creative about where you put things.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:51 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Foil on the counters will teach them very quickly to stop jumping on them (and knocking your stuff off). But I'm nthing play with them, hard, at least once a day. Wear them out and get out some of that pent up energy. I notice that especially with our bengal, if we tire him out, he's a lot less mischievous.
posted by getawaysticks at 4:54 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Sounds like you need to toddler-proof your house.

Not to threadsit, but more ideas on how to do this is what I'm looking for - I know that cats knock things on the floor, and the boyfriend's feelings on the cats is not the issue.
posted by zutalors! at 4:54 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Put your stuff away. Clear off all horizontal surfaces, get some bins or pick up some thrift store dressers, close stuff off in closets and underbed boxes.

And then when you're doing your twice-daily play-until-exhaustion exercises, make sure you're not reinforcing "get up on people surfaces" in your play. Get them a good-sized cat tree and play on that, maybe a door-mounted one too, play get-the-fishing-pole and find-the-hidden-treat there and on the floor but squirt them when they get up on the TV or the counter or the credenza.

DO still secure anything that can't be put away as much as you can - get earthquake mounts for your TV/monitors, get the toddlerproof strap for the fridge and any cabinets they open, push stuff back against the back of shelves and velcro or putty them down so they're hard to push around.

But the big play sessions should reduce the rest of that tomfoolery quite a bit within a week or two. They'll just sleep more.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:05 PM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Have you heard of the "PetCube"? I don't think this is a complete answer and it may not suit your needs for a variety of reasons, but it's like a webcam that allows you to operate a laser pointer remotely, giving your cats the stimulation and excitement they may need a time or two during the day. There are a couple of people on instagram who have discount codes so if you're interested and want the code, dm me and I'll find one of them for you.
posted by janey47 at 5:06 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

The SSScat devices (an aerosol can with a motion sensor) were very effective at removing my cat from my kitchen counters and eventually deterring her from jumping up to them at all, but I did have to have two of them to have eyes on enough of the countertop. I kept them "armed" any time I wasn't in the room for a few weeks, and now I don't need them at all and can leave delicious snacks on the counter unattended without any cat-related fears.
posted by janell at 5:07 PM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I have toddlers so I can tell you: there is a whole 'toddler proofing' section of stores like Target, Home Depot etc that I never knew existed before. There you will find cabinet locks of various kinds, doorknob protectors, oven and refrigerator locks, and all manner of other things that will protect your appliances and stuff. Just go there and see what looks useful for your house.

I will also add, I have a cat who is not destructive but who has nervous behaviors and some of them have been around food (but also a lot of random yowling). After getting him cleared by the vet and getting driven crazy by him for several years, we tried a Thunder Shirt. I was not a believer but I have changed my tune. He is a different cat when he wears the shirt. Seriously, give it a try. But also, automated cat feeder is a really nice thing to have for multiple reasons and if it could help it sounds a lot cheaper than replacing destroyed things. I recommend not cheaping out on the feeder - we have this one and it works really well.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 5:11 PM on August 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

There are also treat-dispensing toys that might assist in tuckering them out, while convincing older cat that he won't starve in the next 5 hours.
posted by Autumnheart at 5:14 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sorry if my question was out of line. I was typing without really thinking.

How:
Much as Lyn Never says, you need to switch to closed door storage for pretty much everything. Nothing on surfaces and you may need to give up open shelf display entirely, depending on how high they can jump and climb.

There are lot of good articles on how to Baby Proof your fridge, depending on the model you have. I have used the magnet locks in the past, since my cat opened the freezer repeatedly for fun. They worked well, but much depends on your fridge door. If you go to a Walmart or a Target and just look at the different models, you should get a lot of ideas.

The spray bottle may work to keep the cat away while eating and cooking. I've had mixed results with it, to be honest. One cat took it as a kind of attention, which was absolutely not the desired result. I have also had mixed success with toys, but playing with them more might tire them out.
posted by frumiousb at 5:16 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh, and I have never found feliway useful, but others swear by it, so your mileage may vary.
posted by frumiousb at 5:17 PM on August 22, 2016

Is it absolutely impossible to let them be indoor/outdoor cats? We only have this kind of behavior with our cats (especially the knocking stuff onto the floor) when they can't at least go out on the porch.

Not to start a separate argument re: indoor/outdoor. Just a suggestion.
posted by kestralwing at 5:27 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: No, outdoors isn't possible. I live in an apartment (which is also why I can't lock one up away from the fridge all day, it's a one bedroom but the fridge is in the biggest part of the apartment.
posted by zutalors! at 5:33 PM on August 22, 2016

I have childproof latches on every cabinet door. All breakable/potentially poisonous items are stowed in said cabinets. Cords that can't be covered are taped down to reduce tempting wiggles; my bedroom clock is battery-operated to avoid disasters. Finally, the cats are locked up whenever possible when cooking is underway. Now, if only I could persuade them to stop chewing the books. (Let's just say I've got a #ChewedOverScholarship hashtag on Twitter...)

You can purchase cord covers that, in theory, stop the cats from chewing the cords. In practice, my cats, er, enjoy chewing them.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:14 PM on August 22, 2016

I have the same feeder as treehorn+bunny and it is indeed the best feeder. Very tough and reliable, even when cats were assaulting it. Doesn't mean your cats _can't_ get into it, but given their advanced level of food thievery if you do go the feeder route I would get something like that, lesser ones will simply be destroyed.

I've had a lot of cats over the years (both forever cats and foster cats) and I do think this is relatively extreme, so I don't think you're overreacting or anything.

But I think the basic plan is solid: try the feeder to give them food periodically (if necessary do it like 6 times a day or something so they don't have to go long between feeding, helped with my fat/aggressive cats). Some more toddler-proofing, anything breakable in cabinets if necessary.

And for the behavior issues - the only thing I can think of is more playtime. Both directed by you and automatic if possible. Two self-play toys my cats have enjoyed are the Dart by Frolicat (automated laser toy thing, you have to turn it on but it moves around for them) and the TurboTrack (they can push ball around a track).
posted by thefoxgod at 6:30 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, I bought the Thundershirt, Feliway, and a few automated toys but will also be looking into the feeders. I have foil on all the counters. I don't leave stuff out, but it's literally like 10 seconds before the younger one knocks something down.

The older cat is pretty chill right now but that might partially be due to the fact that he ate five hot dogs and a half pound of turkey out of the fridge, and I gave them dinner. I mean how does he eat like this --

Baby locks I got before but they didn't really stick or work.
posted by zutalors! at 6:47 PM on August 22, 2016

There is also this food tree. We have the older version which is unstable, but they say they have modified the design.
posted by poxandplague at 7:11 PM on August 22, 2016

Cat food balls can engage food motivated bored cats and hopefully burn off some of their energy.
posted by foxfirefey at 7:38 PM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

I bought one of those fabric storage cubes that you put in bookshelves and I stash my cables in there.

Your cats may vary but mine LOVE to pull open those cubes. I ended up emptying them, freecycling most and the ones that are left are for the kitties to play with. This can be a good distraction as it keeps them busy for awhile.

I use hair bands over cabinet doors, they mean they can't pull the doors open far enough to squeeze in. Mine also open sliding doors on the built in wardrobe so I can't put anything damagable on the lower shelves. All valuables/breakables are up high in cabinets that close.

Yours do sound particularly crazy. I am impressed they broke into the fridge. I would use the spray bottle on them every time they go near it. You want the fridge to become a big scary kitty spraying monster.

Counters... I think you just relinquish them to the cats. I may be the human but I pick my battles. Embrace minimalism.
posted by kitten magic at 8:00 PM on August 22, 2016

I recommend the super feeder as well, but I'd mount it on the wall. My cat figured out how to knock the top off, so I taped it shut...then, she discovered that if you smack it repeatedly, it will sometimes disperse a kibble or two, which led to her smacking it all night long until I put a couple of big rocks on it to stop her. Still better than any other cat feeder I've had or seen, though.

+1 to hair bands on the cabinet doors, as well.
posted by sea change at 8:03 PM on August 22, 2016

Critter Cord works for chewing. Tape down stuff that can be fuck-this-thing-in-particulared off counters. ssscat (aka 'the hiss monster') also works.
posted by holgate at 8:13 PM on August 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I can back up the child lock on the fridge one, get one that needs opposable thumbs to open it, just in case you've got a really clever one (we had one where you had to push one thing in with your thumb while getting the other bit past that with your fingers when I was a kid, after the Siamese repeatedly opened the door seal; he could get a round doorknob open from the inside).

Our rescues have always been food-obsessed and our current one dances round our feet when we're preparing anything (even with a timed feeder).

I suggest getting things that are hard for them to get food out of, although the rocking ball things with a large hole can lead to food scatter that isn't eaten up ...

Water sprays can work really well, also just removing the cat, not looking at it, petting it etc. when it's being "naughty".
posted by LyzzyBee at 12:36 AM on August 23, 2016

It sounds like you have a couple of prime examples of what the blogger at Way of Cats calls an Alpha type cat, otherwise known as 'the monkey cat'. They're probably encouraging each other at this point. I really recommend that blog in general for tips about how to provide a good environment for your cats in a way that's tailored to their individual personalities. She actually recommends toddler toys for alphas on top of the usual treat toys and robot mice, since they love exploring and experimenting so much.
posted by Acheman at 6:34 AM on August 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

We've got these BabyDan multi lock strap-style latches. Adhesive has stayed solid for nearly six years now. (They were for a toddler, not a cat, but you need opposable thumbs and reasonable dexterity to open them.)
posted by danteGideon at 8:01 AM on August 23, 2016

Mine were never, ever as destructive as yours, but I've found plenty of ways to pacify kitties over the years. Definitely get a self-feeder. One of mine is very food-obsessed, and a lot of her anxiety and annoying traits went away when she realized she could eat any time she wanted to. As far as the Feliway goes, it's hella expensive, so I just use a natural-type air freshener plug with lavender and chamomile, and it seems to help everyone stay calm. Definitely toddler-proof your house with drawer/cabinet locks, fridge protectors, etc. I've found the thing that helps a LOT, though, is leaving curtains and blinds up so the kitties can see outside during the day. It's like Cat TV! They can watch birds, guard the neighborhood, look for squirrels to chirp at, etc. Good luck!
posted by jhope71 at 10:10 AM on August 23, 2016

So many good tips in previous answers. I'll just add that our cats (2 and 4 years old, respectively) are both needy and anxious dudes in different ways — but they both really like being under those blue IKEA bags, and it chills them out most of the time. I suspect it's because they get a secure-feeling hiding spot that they can also kind of see through. I offer as evidence this Instagram video, taken shortly after one of them had been pacing around yowling and the other one had been climbing bookshelves and chewing on plants.
posted by D.Billy at 7:34 PM on August 23, 2016

I strongly suggest 2 things.
1) actively play with them more. they sound bored.
2) feliway diffusers. they are freaking magic.
posted by evilmonk at 3:24 PM on August 26, 2016

Response by poster: So I now have the shirt and the Feliway and am using both. I've been trying something new with the older one where I put him away in another room if any food is out at all, and putting the shirt on him, and that seems to help a lot.

Re: they play when they want to play and often play on their own. I try to join in when they start playing but I'm not neglecting these cats. They're cats, they do things on their own schedule.
posted by zutalors! at 5:00 PM on August 26, 2016