another cat issue...
By fatmansmommy
@fatmansmommy (751)
United States
September 25, 2008 6:00pm CST
my cats are driving me insane! :) when i adopted them almost 2 months ago, the agency sent them each home with a little knitted blanket, which i thought was so cute. they really didn't pay much attention to them once we got home, but after a few days the one cat (salem) started carrying it around the house and crying. i didn't know if she was missing the adoption place or just trying to find a spot for her "things" or what. she would just drag it from room to room while crying. lol anyway, now she has graduated to other things, like the dirty clothes that she finds in the hamper (yes, she will take them out) or random clothes that got left on the floor. i actually think that the other cat is doing it as well. just recently one of them has started stealing my nice tablecloths off our table and dragging them up the stairs or leaving them in random places. they know they are not allowed up on the table or chairs, so they do it at night while we are sleeping. short of taping the tablecloths to the table, i have no clue what to do to make them stop. i don't even know which one is doing it anymore or why. dragging the dirty clothes around upstairs doesn't really bother me, but i don't want my nice things dragged around the floor. anyone have any ideas?
3 people like this
10 responses
@annmariethies (49)
• United States
26 Sep 08
Well don't feel bad. I adopted a spunky little thing I call Fifi a few months ago. She has these really annoying cat toys that I can't stand because she plays with them at night when I'm trying to sleep. You know the balls with the bells inside? Well I started to hide them in this wooden storage box that has several differen't drawrs for storing your small things. I wake up in the mornings to find all the drawrs open and the toys of course laying somewhere on the floor. They want you to believe they're innocent but they're deffinately not as incompetant as people make them out to be. I would suggest maybe storing the clothes somewhere differen't for a while. They do have this spray that keeps animals from scratching or biting furniture. You can buy it at Walmart in the bet section I believe. I'm sure it would serve for a similiar purpose. The odor may discourage them from bothering your things. You should try it.
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
wow, i didn't know that they sold a spray like that! i will definitely have to look for it next time i am at walmart (of course i was just there yesterday!) lol that would really be great if it worked, because i also have problems with the younger one scratching at the carpet on the steps. it is pretty new carpet, and if she keeps doing it my husband is going to have a fit! thanks for the great advice! :) sounds like you have a handful as well!
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
thanks for the advice- i never knew that, and have owned cats pretty much my whole life! :) i will keep that in mind.
@blackcatbetty (555)
• United States
26 Sep 08
yes there is a pheromone spray , humans can not smell it but cats can . It has saved many of my peices of furniture . Be careful using spray bottles cats are very susceptable to ear infections , and if water gets in their ears you could be getting yourself into major vets bills and alot of pain for your kitties. Also if you teach your cats that water is bad if at anytime you need to bath them for any purpose like medical or such . Its hard enough to bath them as it is let alone having them terrified and thinking they are being punished . Please take my advice it may save you some blood loss :(.
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
25 Sep 08
Sorry, but I can't help laughing. I'm so glad I only have one cat. Being owned by two or three would just be too much. I'm pretty sure the cats are going to win this one, so the best you can do is not leave anything around for them to claim. Fold up the tablecloths and put them somewhere unreachable every night. Put them back during the day. Does the hamper have a cover? if the cats can open it to get in, put something heavy on it. Find a bunch of old clothes that you don't really care about and leave them in a pile somewhere. Maybe the cats will settle for those and then think they've outsmarted you. Good luck. Be sure to report back.
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
25 Sep 08
I don't know whether the cats will learn anything, but I bet they'll teach you not to leave clothes lying around on the floor. :-)
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
lol- that's what my mom said when i was telling her about it! she said "still leaving your clothes all over the floor, huh? well i guess that'll teach you!" lol... mothers...
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
25 Sep 08
lol... i just read your response to my husband and we laughed. :) thanks a lot for the reply and the tips. those are good ideas. i will definitely try them and let you all know what happens. :)
1 person likes this
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
25 Sep 08
Oh dear I have never heard of cats doing things like this, I am not sure it is all that easy to train cats not to do anything, they have minds of their own, maybe if you give them some toys like the ones with treats inside so at least trying to get the treats out may take their mind off dragging clothing around...it is a strange problem you have there...I hope you work it out.
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
25 Sep 08
yes, i definitely adopted two strange cats with very interesting habits and personalities. :) thanks for the reply!
@Justme2007 (1848)
• United States
26 Sep 08
Cat are like children and all you have to do is sit down and talk to them as nicely as you can and tell them not to take the tablecloth off the table and leave the dirty clothes in the hamper they will listen cause my mom has taught her cat to speak and hide when she tells him too. try it it might work. lol
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
lol... i have wondered the same thing myself! :) they really are not all bad. they are so loving and affectionate and really good with the kids. they just have some bad habits- maybe they were not disciplined before??? but we love them! :)
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
26 Sep 08
Good luck with that one. I have a cat that does the same thing. She "hunts" things such as socks, bras, pot holders, you name it. She has her own special meow when she is hunting. Every morning I walk thru the house picking up my bras, socks or pot holders off the floor.
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
lol... that does sounds just like mine! she has this certain meow that when i hear it i know she is dragging another piece of clothing around the house. :)
@shoeb000 (321)
• India
26 Sep 08
I haev never heard that PET cats can do all these stuffs...
All i know about cats is, they are the cutest animals in the world with lot of passion for their owners...
Atmost they can catch and dissect a Mouse on your bed and can S*hit here and there, but all these things are in the starting, when you once teach them not to do these things at home, they usually abide by that.
i think your cats need some good lesson.
@ElicBxn (63252)
• United States
25 Sep 08
Honestly, it sounds to me like they might've been taken (or removed) from their mother too soon. Don't blame the agency - the 2 kittens we got back in May, the woman told us they were older then they were - and we have some issues with them because of it. Actually, its some the other cats that have the issues since they nurse on them!
I might suggest that you either take the table cloths off until they are older or put some heavy things on top of them so they can't be pulled off.
Oh, and the dirty clothes - they might be more fond of them because they smell like you (inclusive, not exclusive) and they think of security with them. I have one that loves to sleep in my hamper - only the dog will pull stuff out and not my stuff (she's afraid of me.)
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
25 Sep 08
that makes sense- they definitely seem to be attached to me for some reason more than anyone else. thanks for the advice! :)
1 person likes this
@trisha_nava82 (1379)
• United States
25 Sep 08
This is a cute but funny story. I would give them toys to keep them occupied. When you first brought them home, did you give them a room to explore first all on their own, or did you just let them explore every piece. When we got our kitten we let her explore one room and then eventually let her explore other rooms. I remember the shelter we got our kitten from, she was left with a little rope and she would carry it every where she went. Now she's gone on to other things.
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
25 Sep 08
when i brought them home i set the cat carrier down in the front hall and opened it up and pretty much just let them come out on their own and explore. they are not kittens- they are 2 and 5 years old- so i wanted to give them their space to get used to their new surroundings. they had been at the shelter for about 5 months. i adopted them together because they came to the shelter from the same home and the shelter wanted them to be adopted together. they definitely like being upstairs in the bedrooms the best. the older one likes to sleep at the foot of our bed (when my husband lets her). thanks for the response! :)
@Darkestraven (108)
• United States
26 Sep 08
do you have any extra carpet left over or any kind of carpet? if you do you can deter the one who is scratching the carpet with that piece, just either hang it up in the cats reach or lay it on the floor, if the cat likes catnip you can rub a little on there, some cats dont like catnip though (like 2 of mine), with your cat having his (or her) very own piece of carpet to scratch at he (or she) will most likely choose that over your nice new carpet.
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
that is also a very good idea! we do have a scratching post, but they will not use it. i am sure my husband has some old carpet lying around somewhere with all the junk he saves! :) thank you so much!
@Darkestraven (108)
• United States
26 Sep 08
it deffinately has to do with them being taken away from their mother at a young age. i have 3 cats (2 are now a year old and one is only 4 months old without the use of his back legs) the two oldest we got when they were 4 days old because someone put them at the vets front door an the vet was going to put them to sleep. one of them has a habit of suckling my fiancee's ear before going to bed and the other has a habit of kneading and suckling my robe. when cats are taken away from thier mother at a young age they tend to pick up habits, your cats are most likely taking your clothes and tablecloths carrying them around and putting them in what they feel are "safer places" like a mother cat would do with her kittens. if you want to deter them from doing it when you catch them just a little spray with water each time you do catch them will make them learn not to do it. but just dont spray them in the face.
@fatmansmommy (751)
• United States
26 Sep 08
thanks for the great response! i do have a water bottle that i discipline them with when they are naughty. :)
