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Are most of you multiple cat owners? I have only had one indoor cat and he absolutely is climbing the walls lately. He knocked a lamp off my end table last night and runs through the house and jumps on my leather sectional sofa and runs from one end to the other. Not sure why he is acting this way. DH is ready to box him up and ship him off somewhere. I'm wondering if he would settle down if he had a playmate or am I asking for twice as much trouble? Any suggestions?

I wonder if its the weather change? I have 7 and they will act like this too and that is the only thing I can come up with.

LOL if you get another they might become partners in cr!me and you'll have double trouble!

does he have like graduated climbing shelves so he can be way up high to view what's going on blow and outside? Things he can climb and jump from one place to another in a graduated fashion lottsa play and chase things time?

I vote for a pair of playmates. I was down to one for a while (lost my senior kitties to old age). He was lonely so I got him a pair of playmates from the humane society.

The panther girls are 2 years old and into everything. They have tormented the old man it being more active. And they steal his food, which is good because the vet wants him to loose weight.

Anyway, a playmate will give your cat different trouble to get into. It won't reduce the jumping. You need to cat-proof your house. Put fragile stuff out of reach. Replace expensive lamps with cheap ones. And give the cat(s) a playground - toys, a cardboard box fort, paper bags, whatever they like. And encourage them to jump on the sofa and other cat-safe furniture.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, JoW for your post. The reality is that, yes, Thai either needs you to step up and start PLAYING or bring a new family member to fill that spot.

Bottom line, Thai is a very respectful and well-mannered cat who appreciates his home and his humans... But, come on, a guy has to play, chase and have some fun sometimes!

I, too, vote for bringing in a second cat and, no, it's not twice the trouble ~ it's double the fun!

I agree with the friend issue BUT my DH won't allow it. I've got to find another solution. Do they actually play on those cat climbers? I purchased a tall scratching post with a tunnel in it when he was adopted. Thai hardly ever uses it. He would rather perch in the windowsills and on top of the bedroom armoire which is okay. Becky, I do notice a change in our outside animals, dogs and horses, when the weather changes. He is calmer some days than others. I know I'll get blasted for saying this but he is actually calmer when I am able to let him outside an hour or so a day. He's watched and we live in the country away from traffic, etc. And he does get plenty of attention from ALL of us. He is "wildest" when we are playing with him!!

GP not blasting you, but being in the country has it's own set of dangers for cats- predators. I speak from experience. We have coyotes and fox that come right up into our back yard. We have lost 2 ferals this past month after getting them fixed and vaccinated!I'm sure that is what happened.

I have the huge 3 tier in front of a window. The younger cats like to play with a toy hanging from a piece of string attached to the top perch. They all like to scratch it-its covered with carpet. and of course they all like to sit on it and gaze out the window and nap on it too. I love having it for them.

Do you spray it with a catnip fragrance for your kitties? This seems to be the only way I can get Thai to go near it. He has window ledges on the back of our house that he looks out. And today, it's so pretty and warm that I've let up the windows in my bedroom and he sits in that window too! He loves it when he is sitting in an open window and protests loudly when it is closed.

Becky, do you have the coyotes around in the daytime? We see but mostly hear the coyotes, several bobcats, but not as close as the backyard, although our pastures extend beyond the yard to the woods. Wow, the backyard is way too close for comfort. Our outside dogs wouldn't stand for that! I never let Thai out unless we are with him mainly because our dogs start playing too rough with him. He can take it for alittle while but he tires out and that's when I worry they may unintentionally hurt him.

For instance, right now he is walking from room to room, up on the window ledge on the sunporch, jumping down, back to walking from room to room through the house. And he is wailing loudly, which isn't anything new and doesn't concern me. My Siamese cats have always been very verbal. This one though is the worst! He does seem bored though.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Georgia Peach,

No, I don't spray it or put catnip on it. Now we have those small scratching posts that are about 2 ft high and mine ignore those. What they do like are the cardboard ones that just lay in the floor. When I open a new one of those I sprinkle the catnip on it that comes with it. Some of mine love that and some are immune to it.

I do move the perch/tree around to different windows from time to time to give them a change of scenery.


We have seen the coyote and fox come right up to the edge of our back yard in the daytime. We are in the country but have many of them out here and they are not as afraid of humans as they should be!

Hi GP meow, meow

Sounds like Thai kitty needs a tiered kitty tree by a window so he can watch the birds and critters, and play & lounge. Also window perches are good for a sunny window - you will have to clean the window more often due to nose prints

If you have time kitties love to play/hunt before feeding.........their instinct is to wake up, hunt, feed, groom, nap. Also a routine play time helps and plenty of different toys

Thanks Mue. He has a perch but hasn't been using it much until this weekend. I found some catnip in the cabinet and sprinkled on it. Now he's all over it. DH woke up about 3 a.m. asking who was moving the furniture. Thai was up and down the cat climber. He's a night owl. Up all night and sleeps all day.

ETA...I do need some extra toys for him. He found a golf ball last night and was having a grand time batting it around on the wood floor.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Georgia Peach,

LOL!!! Yes, maybe find some quieter toys than a golf ball on hardwood......eek! I've found my kitty likes a bigger toy he can hold with front paws and sink his fangs into while bunny-kicking with his back legs

Mue, So good to see you again and happy to hear that Melvis is doing well.

Georgia Peach, the absolute best cat toy I have ever found is a Cat Laser Light which I will wager Thai would love as will your DH since it really gives them a work-out and reduces that high-feline energy to a tolerable level!

Try one and let us know how it turns out!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Resident:
Mue, So good to see you again and happy to hear that Melvis is doing well.

Georgia Peach, the absolute best cat toy I have ever found is a Cat Laser Light which I will wager Thai would love as will your DH since it really gives them a work-out and reduces that high-feline energy to a tolerable level!

Try one and let us know how it turns out!

I was out Christmas shopping for Thai and my other furbabies for gifts to put under our tree, but decided to go ahead and try out the laser light. I was a bit skeptical about Thai chasing a light. Boy, was I wrong!! It completely wears him down. 2 adults sitting around watching a cat chase a light. We definitely DON'T have a life .... LOL!

quote:

Originally posted by Georgia Peach:

... but decided to go ahead and try out the laser light. I was a bit skeptical about Thai chasing a light. Boy, was I wrong!! It completely wears him down. 2 adults sitting around watching a cat chase a light. We definitely DON'T have a life .... LOL!

So glad you gave it a chance ~ now you know what I meant about giving Thai a work-out and reducing his excess energy that was bothering your DH a bit although I still vote for a feline companion if at all possible.

One word of warning, the batteries that come with the package don't last long ~ so save one and take it to your local Walgreens so they can match it ~ more expensive batteries but they last much longer!

And what do you mean ~ two adults watching a cat chasing a light means that you don't have a life? Bite your tongue - what better way to spend your evening? We all work hard, support charities and do what we can to make the world just a little bit better than yesterday BUT, when we get home, it's nice to sit back, laugh and enjoy ~ including playing laser light with a cat!

Well, Haystack has told me that, once again, I was being too serious. She liked the thumbs-up re the laser light and the warning about replacing the batteries BUT said that the rest of my message was far too serious.

What? Someone needs a life "if playing laser light with their cats is the high-light of the night?" Haystack disagrees but then she is a bit prejudiced in the matter. She did want to let Thai know that, at last, your parents have figured it out! And, when or if you get tired of the floor chase, tell them to let the light wander up and down the walls and even, gulp, across the ceilings and back down again.

Takes a while to train our 2-legged parents but it is worth it ~ they are the only ones that can buy new batteries for it!