Help my cats are driving me up wall?

Question

My cats fight, claw wallpaper jump on bed, bring things in from bins (like carboard packing ) and moan. They making it impossable to sleep if they locked out the scratch at window and meow and i work i need to sleep plz help me...

They have already been spayed and neuterted

Answer 1

Hi there, I know this must be very frustrating for you - it sounds like you feel that your cats are becoming demons! They're not though - they are just expressing what comes naturally to them.

You say that your cats scratch at your *window* if you lock them out at night? Does this mean that you leave them outside overnight? If so, I would strongly advise that you stop doing this. Cats should always be called in at night time and kept indoors, as leaving them out can put them into all kinds of danger.

The fighting is probably their natural, playful cat instincts coming out. Are they chasing each other around the house, getting each other into headlocks, kicking each other's faces and scratching each other? When they're not fighting, are they generally fine with each other? Cats usually sort things out for themselves and it's often just a game - in the same way that children play-fight with each other to let off steam. If it seems that your cats are very aggressive with each other (i.e. hissing at the sight of each other, squealing loudly, etc) there is probably some conflict going on. Again, they will often work it out, but if you are concerned about them harming each other, the best way to stop them is to distract them with a toy. Spend time playing with them and getting them to play with each other. If it becomes a real problem, see your vet.

As for bringing rubbish in from the bins, your cats are paying you a compliment! These are gifts for you. The cat's natural instinct is to hunt, collect and gather. I'm surprised they haven't bought a dead present in for you yet! You may want to consider keeping your cats indoors more often, unless this really distresses them.

At night time, because you will hopefully be keeping them indoors, you need to try to get them into a consistent routine. Either let them sleep with you always, and leave your bedroom door open in the daytime. OR keep your bedroom door closed at all times and never let them sleep with you. If they scratch your bedroom door, whilst not ideal, it is a compliment. They want to see you! Eventually they will stop this as long as you don't give in to them, providing they have enough food and water.

As for the wallpaper, they shouldn't be scratching this if it's secured to the wall. If some of it is hanging off though, this will be like a shining light to them! Perhaps you need to make more time to play with them, so that they have other things than your poor walls to focus on! Invest in an anti-scratch spray and spray this on the walls, making sure there are no more loose bits.

If you need any more help, feel free to email me!

xx Emmie

Answer 2

This sounds really frustrating for you. But you'll need to give us a little more information. Are your cats spayed and neutered? If not, that might cut down on the vocal demonstrations. Are your cats getting plenty to eat? Cats need 5 small meals a day, or fresh dry food left out all day for self feeding. How many cats do you have? Sometimes they can get rowdy in too small a space per cat. Do you play with them? Cats are easily bored.

Answer 3

Get a water spray like the ones that hairdressers use to to dampen hair and spray them everytime you catch them doing something bad like clawing the wallpaper etc.

Make sure the bins are secure and out of the way of the cats. Can you install a cat flap? that way they can let themselves in and out

Good luck

Answer 4

Have they been spayed or neutered? If not you need to have it done. That is a big reason cats make all kinds of noise and fight. Also you can try using a water bottle and spray them once when you see them doing something they should not.

Answer 5

I need to leave my bedroom door open for the cats or they scratch all night, my male cat is elderly and he miaowed all night keeping us up, i asked my vet and he gave me tablets for dementia and they calmed him down alot at night, dont know if these would be suitable for your cats but you should ask your vet

Answer 6

i would put them in their own room (laundry room or something) with a cat bed, scratching post, litterbox, food and water...and some toys....put them in there before you go to bed...and then turn on soft music to drown out the meowing...

Good luck!

Answer 7

Get them spayed or neutered. My cats were little troublemakers until I got them fixed.

Answer 8

I think they want to snuggle with u.........so play with em when ur off work

Answer 9

It's impossible to estimate how well any particular pair or group of cats will ultimately tolerate each other. Some cats are unusually territorial, may never adjust to sharing their house, and may do best in a one-cat family. However, many aggressive problems between cats can be successfully resolved. To do this, you may need help, both from your veterinarian and from an animal behavior specialist who is knowledgeable in cat behavior. Cats with aggression problems may never be best friends, but can often learn to mutually tolerate each other with a minimum of conflict. Working with aggression problems between family cats will take time and commitment from you. Don't give up without consulting the appropriate experts.

Common Types Of Aggressive Behaviors Between Cats
Territorial Aggression: Cats are very territorial, much more so than dogs. Territorial aggression occurs when a cat feels that his territory has been invaded by an intruder. Depending on where your cat spends his time, he may view your whole neighborhood as his territory. Female cats can be just as territorial as males. The behavior patterns in this type of aggression include chasing and ambushing the intruder, as well as hissing and swatting when contact occurs. Territorial problems often occur when a new cat is brought into a household, when a young kitten reaches maturity, or when a cat encounters neighborhood cats outside. It's not uncommon for a cat to be territorially aggressive toward one cat in a family, and friendly and tolerant to another.

Intermale Aggression: Adult male cats normally tend to threaten, and sometimes fight with, other males. These behaviors can occur as sexual challenges over a female, or to achieve a relatively high position in the cats' loosely organized social dominance hierarchy. This type of aggression involves much ritualized body posturing, stalking, staring, yowling and howling. Attacks are usually avoided if one cat "backs down" and walks away. If an attack occurs, the attacker will usually jump forward, directing a bite to the nape of the neck, while the opponent falls to the ground on his back and attempts to bite and scratch the attacker's belly with his hind legs. The cats may roll around biting and screaming, suddenly stop, resume posturing, fight again or walk away. Cats don't usually severely injure one another this way, but you should always check for puncture wounds which are prone to infection. Intact males are much more likely to fight in this way than are neutered males.

Defensive Aggression: Defensive aggression occurs when a cat is attempting to protect himself from an attack he believes he cannot escape. This can occur in response to punishment or the threat of punishment from a person, an attack or attempted attack from another cat, or any time he feels threatened or afraid. Defensive postures include crouching with the legs pulled in under the body, laying the ears back, tucking the tail, and possibly rolling slightly to the side. This is not the same as the submissive postures dogs show because it's not intended to "turn off" an attack from another cat. Continuing to approach a cat that's in this posture is likely to precipitate an attack.

Redirected Aggression: This type of aggression is directed toward another animal that didn't initially provoke the behavior. For example, a household cat sitting in the window may see an outdoor cat walk across the front yard. Because he can't attack the outdoor cat, he may instead turn and attack the other family cat that's sitting next to him in the window. Redirected aggression can be either offensive or defensive in nature.

What You Can Do
If your cat's behavior changes suddenly, your first step should always be to contact your veterinarian for a thorough health examination. Cats often hide symptoms of illness until they're seriously ill. Any change in behavior may be an early indication of a medical problem.
Spay or neuter any intact pets in your home. The behavior of one intact animal can affect all of your pets.
Start the slow introduction process over from the beginning (see our handout: "Introducing Your New Cat to Your Other Pets"). You may need professional help from an animal behavior specialist to successfully implement these techniques.
In extreme cases, consult with your veterinarian about medicating your cats while you're working with them on a behavior modification program. Your veterinarian is the only person who is licensed and qualified to prescribe any medication for your cats. Don't attempt to give your cat any over-the-counter or prescription medication without consulting with your veterinarian. Animals don't respond to drugs the same way people do, and a medication that may be safe for a human could be fatal to an animal. Keep in mind that medication, by itself, isn't a permanent solution, and should only be used in conjunction with behavior modification.
What Not To Do
If your cats are fighting, don't allow the fights to continue. Because cats are so territorial, and because they don't establish firm dominance hierarchies, they won't be able to "work things out" as dogs sometimes do. The more often cats fight, the worse the problem is likely to become. To stop a fight in progress, make a loud noise, such as blowing a whistle, squirting the cats with water, or throwing something soft at them. Don't try to pull them apart.
Prevent future fights. This may mean keeping the cats totally separated from each other while you're working on the problem, or at least preventing contact between them in situations likely to trigger a fight.
Don't try to punish the cats involved. Punishment is likely to elicit further aggression and fearful responses, which will only make the problem worse. If you attempt punishment, you may become a target for redirected and defensive aggression.
Because their social organization is somewhat flexible, some cats are relatively tolerant of sharing their house and territory with multiple cats. It's not uncommon for a cat to tolerate some cats, but not get along with others in the house. However, the more cats sharing the same territory, the more likely it is that some of your cats will begin fighting with each other.

When you introduce cats to each other, one of them may send "play" signals which can be misinterpreted by the other cat. If those signals are interpreted as aggression by one of the cats, then you should handle the situation as "aggressive."

The factors that determine how well cats will get along together are not fully understood. Cats that are well-socialized (they had pleasant experiences with other cats during kittenhood) will likely be more sociable than those that haven't been around many other cats. On the other hand, "street cats" that are in the habit of fighting with other cats in order to defend their territory and food resources, may not do well in a multi-cat household. Genetic factors also influence a cat's temperament, so friendly parents are probably more likely to produce friendly offspring.

Answer 10

There may be something of use here.