Does your cat shred paper?
By Kalikala
@Kalikala (433)
United States
April 9, 2007 11:34pm CST
One of my cats loves to tear up anything paper. If I leave a magazine on the floor, kiss it goodbye, because it will be shredded by morning.
Do your cats do this? Does anyone know WHY a cat would do it? Is she just bored? Is tearing paper up just fun? I can't figure it out!
4 people like this
8 responses
@wonder_grrrl66 (236)
• United States
10 Apr 07
My one cat Lilly tends to shred paper. The only thing I can figure is that she has always been a fairly high-strung cat and very finicky. She used to do it on a infrequent basis when she was a kitten but now that she's one of the oldest cats I have out of seven others I think she does it as a nervous habit.
Plus she's recently lost a great deal of fur from her belly to her hindquaters. I've had her checked for fleas or diseases but the vet just thinks that she's over-grooming herself as a coping mechanism. I just try to give her extra attention and it seems to help with both of her issues.
3 people like this
@DarlingGirl (745)
• United States
10 Apr 07
Sounds like Lilly has the same problem that my cat Zap has. Over grooming in the tail and basal area still could be fleas...don't just check her, get Frontline and treat Lilly with it. Even if the cat does not seem to have fleas, she might still have them. I know, I've had cats for a long time, and Zap (my eldest) somehow got a flea or two that we didn't know about. It's strange not to get a flea infestation where the humans in the house don't get bitten, but it did happen with Zap. I dosed him with Frontline, and he stopped chewing off his fur instantly.
Another thing I've done for him is to clean his hind quarters and underbelly with a warm damp washcloth. Once he's gotten his "bath" I spray a little "hotspot" spray on his fur and massage it in. It's got cortisone in it (a very low dose) but it makes a world of difference.
After massaging the hotspot spray into his skin, I re-fluff his fur and comb it into place.
He looks at me like I'm crazy, but he leaves his butt alone!
(I think it's all the extra attention that he craves, personally...heh.)
@DarlingGirl (745)
• United States
10 Apr 07
Yes, my cat Oden shreds paper when he's hungry, irritable, or just needs attention.
He's also a hole-puncher. I've found the edges of book covers and magazines that look like Dracula had his way with them!
Cute, but destructive.
At least he doesn't attack everything! I had a friend whose cat used to pop holes in everything in her apartment. She'd show up for work and her ID card would be popped in a zillion places!
2 people like this
@hassei_takano (1411)
• Indonesia
10 Apr 07
yeah he is! he really like to shred paper T___T I dunno why... but yeah.. almost all cat do that.. but I guess it because they want to try to sharphen his nail.. but not sure..
1 person likes this
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
10 Apr 07
I have 5 cats and only one of them shreds paper, and she is the only female out of the group. She started doing it shortly bafore I had her spayed, when she was coming into her first season, and the Vet said it was a female's natural "nesting" instinct to prepare a soft birthing place in case they get pregnant and have kittens. So I guess I should ask you whether your cat is pregnant, or could be pregnant? After Lily's surgery (yes er nae is Lily too!), she was really bad with it for a while (she ripped every paper in the house), which they said was a hormone imbalance after the operation, but she doesn't do it very much now - only very occasionally when she is very tired and just before she falls asleep.
@nglanfield (559)
• Turkey
10 Apr 07
My cat Max will do this when he is bored, he has a thing with tissue paper though, he'll go up to our bedroom and pull the tissues from the box beside the bed and shred them to pieces. He also shreds the paper kitchen towels, I come down some mornings and can find the whole roll of kitchen paper destroyed. Luckly he hasn't done it to the toilet paper yet!
@sixfeetunder (77)
• United States
10 Apr 07
All of my cats do this. Most of the time it is because im ignoring them or they have nothing else to play with. And most cats are just evil or thats my theory.
1 person likes this
@1983tyler (507)
• United States
10 Apr 07
One of my cats likes to claw cardboard boxes. She does it to sharpen her claws and to show off.
It's possible that your cat is tearing up paper because she is bored, but it is fun, too. (at least to a cat it is fun)
@sarapooht (271)
• Philippines
20 Apr 07
Hello Kalikala!
My cat, Pretty, doesn't just shred paper she bites and sometimes eats it too. I really had a big problem with her cause my parents always blame me because of her, my parents wants her outside the house but I'm really scared of what might happen to her if I put her outside.
Then one day my mother really got angry because my cat shreded her work and she kicked pretty out of the house, so I put a box with clothings so that my cat will not suffer in the cold but she keeps on meowing but I just can't let her in. That night I slept really really late in the morning because of her, I had to let her sleep before going to bed.
Now she is a bit bigger and doesn't bother me anymore.
