we got her as a kitten- she was a barn cat and my grandma rescued her. she used to shred paper with her claws until we got declawed, now she shreds with her teeth. she will shred anything from newspapers to magazines to phone books to homework (which i learned the hard way:) none of my other cats have ever done this, is this normal?
2006-08-11 08:19:38 · 13 answers · asked by fruitie 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
she does have some toy mice that she rips the skin part of of and then destroys the plastic thing inside of it right after she shreds the skin
2006-08-11 08:29:17 · update #1
she is an indoor cat
2006-08-11 08:30:16 · update #2
I used to always see kittens shredding paper at the humane society when I was a volunteer. She probably would have stopped shredding paper on her own. Since you had her declawed, she's just being aggressive with her teeth. My cousin had her cat declawed because he would scratch everyone. Now he bites everyone.
2006-08-11 08:27:15 · answer #1 · answered by lena b 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Since you already have other cats, you probably know that your idea of normal and a cat's varies widely. It is a behavior quirk she probably picked up very young. Most likely she started it to make a soft, warm sleeping area(barns are pretty drafty). Paper was probably the easiest on hand item she had as a resource. She is associating the shredding of paper with that secure feeling a warm soft sleeping area gave her and it is completely subconcious action. You will have to modify her behaviour to paper by making it an unpleasant act. Possibly by coating some paper with a sticky and unsavory flavored substance. It took time for this habit to form and it will take time and being consistant to break it.
2006-08-11 08:35:22 · answer #2 · answered by Pundit Bandit 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All cats are so different. I too have a cat that will bite and put holes in things and she is three. However this behavior is starting to decline. At one your cat is still just a baby and wants to play. Make sure she has plenty of toys and that you play with her too. She may also just be wanting attention. I would try to keep paper products put away since that seems to be what she enjoys destroying and see what happens.
2006-08-11 08:47:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some cats grow out of it, but some just always will love shredding paper. You may need to try to train her not to get paper from "forbidden" areas (like your desk or backpack) by squirting her with water when she tries to snag some from there. Leave out paper or paper bags on the floor and direct her attention towards those to shred when she tries to shred other things. She'll eventually learn only to shred the things you put out for her. (But then you have to be careful what you leave on the floor, of course).
2006-08-11 08:28:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My cat is 14 and she shreds paper too. I think its cute though so i let her do it. And yeah she did that to my sister's homework once. She actually had to tell her teacher that her CAT ate her homework. The cat doesn't really use her claws, she's always used her teeth.
2006-08-11 08:26:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
she is still young so give it time. another thing is that kittens/cats like to kneed things. also called milking( kinda seems like they are messaging something with their paws). its a natural thing that they do. they do those kind of behaviors because as kittens, when they would feed off the mother, they kneed the tummy of the mother if they are not getting enough milk. they also use their teen to get a grip on things easier. or maybe it is shredding things up because it is teething. like babies or young children when they are getting their teen in they feel some tenderness in their gums. chewing on things releaves that. you also have to remember....an animal like a cat, dog, anything with 4 legs when they are young will get ahold of anything....toilet paper is a very common thing you will see getting shredded up. they have a spray at petstores that you can apply on things you notice your pet getting into. its got a bitter taste and if your pet tastes that then it will remember that it wont like it. it is not harmful to humans....works nice!
2006-08-11 11:54:17 · answer #6 · answered by shortlilkorngrl929 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, we have several cats. Even though its been de-clawed it still has instincts to sharpen them etc... Remember, cats are predators by nature. Some cats especially 'inside' cats will just usually be lazy and now again maybe use a scratching post, but one of our 'outside' cats, who regularly is catching mice and other animals, scratches everything in sight sometimes usually our furniture....>.<
2006-08-11 08:27:39 · answer #7 · answered by cbatb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your cat may be bored. Get a scratching post and one of those cardboard scratchers and some other toys so tigs won't scratch the walls. She'll get attention when she looks cute playing with that stuff more than scratching the wall!
2016-03-26 22:06:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think cats ever stop shredding paper, mine shreads the cat food bag to pieces,....amongst anythin else it can shread!
2006-08-11 08:31:12 · answer #9 · answered by Lori 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
De-clawing often causes cats who once clawed to bite (or as you have discovered "claw" with their teeth). My friend had a cat who started chewing once de-clawed. Please don't de-claw again- it hurts the cats (but I won't go all PETA on you).
2006-08-11 08:30:54 · answer #10 · answered by jerseagrl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋