One of our 6 cats has the bad habit of taking stuff -- random stuff -- and then YOWLS to tell us. This is very annoying and I need him to stop. nothing changed in the household ... so I have no idea WHY he does it.
2006-08-25 03:03:48 · 16 answers · asked by Starwalker 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
the cats HAVE lots of balls and other kitty toys. They get played with and petted a lot, sleep with us every night. only ONE has this obnoxious habit.
2006-08-25 03:09:09 · update #1
He is obviously trying to get your attention (and succeeding)! If you catch him in the act, you might try squirting him with a spray bottle of water, but my first reaction to this behavior would be to give this particular cat more attention in general. The fact that he is telling you (by howling) that he has something for you shows he cares about you (it's a "present" as someone else mentioned).
Perhaps you could distract him with one of those furry little balls and teach him to play fetch. He sounds like a great candidate for that.
2006-08-25 03:57:55 · answer #1 · answered by Ragdoll Kitty 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
LOL I'm sorry I'm laughing because it's really kind of funny when you think about it. Try putting a poster of your cat up at the post office?
No, really, check this article out, and you'll see you're not the only one with a feline felon.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2219109&page=1
It would seem that Willy the cat is larcenous.
I have a friend whose cat is also a thief. She steals his sock and underwear out of his drawers and tosses them in the toilet! ROFL! I've seen this with my own eyes. He has to always keep drawers and toilet seat shut.
EDIT : You didn't tell us if your cats go out or not. This is very important in the mix of things.
Cats have a Primal Need to kill mice. It is the same deeply rooted instinct that dogs have for being a part of a pack.
Seriously, you have too many cats, I'm sorry to say. I think that what is going on here is that there are too many cats for the available mice. This one is satisfying his primal need by "stealing" things. What is it stealing? Does it leave the items on display? The Yowling is it's announcement that it has satisfied it's Primal Need in the only way it feels it can.
Did you read the link on Willy the Cat? I would bet that Willy steals garden gloves because they smell like mice and the outdoors. Those are his mice. You see?
2006-08-25 03:15:46 · answer #2 · answered by Thom Thumb 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alot of cats/kittens will "steal" things. This is meant as a fun, playful game between the cat and yourself with the cat basically being in control of the situation.
It's also considered "taking the prize" - the same as if your cat had caught a bird or a mouse. Your cat is "announcing" that it has caught a prize and is proud of it's accomplishment.
My cat used to steal my jewelry off of my bureau and hid it in the litterbox (of all places). When she no longer could get my jewelry, she would steal anything else that she could find and put it in the litterbox. She did this until the day she went to Heaven.
Have a lovely rest of the day.
2006-08-25 03:14:28 · answer #3 · answered by Goblin g 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A friend of mine had a cat (since passed on) who would steal laundry from a neighbor's clothes line, and it was usually underwear so they were always a little worried about getting a visit from the police but fortunately that did not happen. My friend and her hubby were always totally apologetic to their neighbor when they'd return the laundry the cat had stolen. All was taken in stride with good humor fortunately.
2006-08-25 03:08:40 · answer #4 · answered by jxt299 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well since your cat howls to inform you of his/her accomplishment, it may be that your cat is trying to tell you what a good cat he/she is. You might try, since your cat tells you when it happens, squirting it with water when it does. You didn't mention what kind of object your cat likes to steal. My cat likes to take yarn and track it all over the house and so we take it and squirt her and she doesn't do it anymore--much. You can't really stop the cat from doing it all together, but you can slow it down. It may be that the cat is striving for your attention, since you mentioned that you had five other cats, this one may feel like you are giving the others more attention. Make sure to give all of your cats equal attention and as much as you can.
2006-08-25 03:25:08 · answer #5 · answered by opengirl 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
cat may simply may have a new form of play which him/her finds fun and causes her to get alot of attention. The cat may try to tand out in the midst of all the other cats.
2006-08-25 03:23:22 · answer #6 · answered by Camille 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like you have the cat burgler. :-) one of my cats knocks stuff off the coffee table all the time I guess he is obsessed with having a clean house. Maybe you aren't giving your cat enough attention and that is his way of trying to get more attention.
2006-08-25 03:09:15 · answer #7 · answered by macleod709 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a beautiful cat and you should consider yourself lucky. You should show it how much you love it by taking the "gift" it brought you and showing affection to the cat.
2006-08-25 03:10:14 · answer #8 · answered by morningstar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your cat is trying to how you he / she loves you! When a cat catches a small rodent and brings it to you, it is a gift. Since your cat has no small animals, he takes other stuff!
2006-08-25 03:08:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
lmao. my male cat does the same thing. socks, underwear, razors..you name it. i try to keep things out of reach but he always manages to find something. i think its a game to him, he cracks me up. i finally just give him the covers off disposable razors and for awhile, he leaves other things alone.
2006-08-25 05:18:34 · answer #10 · answered by robyn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋