I think my cat is a psycho! Please Help!?

Question

I've had my cat for 6 months now and she's been acting weird lately. She refuses to drink out her water bowl...she prefers toilet water. I tried to just close the lid but she'll sit on top of it all day if she has to. Sometimes she'll just put her paws in the toilet and just sit there. She also is addicted to thumb tacs. She'll raid my desk until she finds them and plays with them. Even if she pokes herself...she still wants them. She also likes to run really fast and jump on the blinds in my apartment. She breaks them all the time and i have no idea why she feels she need to do this. She just jumps on them and walks away like everythings cool. She's so bad that i lock her out my bedroom and she'll sit there and scratch the door for hours until i finally open it...then she walks away like she doesnt want to come in or something. She just started doing this recently and its funny but annoying at times. Is this a phase or is she just crazy?

Answer 1

I agree with one of the answers below that cats don't like their water dishes beside their food dishes. My cats also like their water changed often - they like fresh water. Also if their water dish is low or needs changing they will take me to the toilet and lately jump up on the sink to let me (they're "dumb" owner) know that I'm supposed to change the water.

Regarding the thumb tacks - put them in a tightly closed container and PUT THEM IN A CLOSED DRAWER - this is dangerous for her and you (ever stepped on multiple tacks?). Your cat probably likes the sound when she is batting them around or the smell. (Mine will "hunt" for elastics...there is something about the smell of them that they simply cannot resist).

Your cat is a playful kitten and you will have to play with her. Good toys are a piece of string that you pull along and let her "catch" every now and then. I've tied one on a chair with a scrunched piece of tinfoil that one of my cats likes to bat around and jump between the rungs. My cat bats it like a tetherball game. My favorite toys are the tiny rubber-sponge balls made for cats about 1 inch in diameter. They have a little ridge which makes them unpredictable when you bounce them. I have two cats who really like them and one has suddenly learned to play "fetch" - the other one will go get the ball but hasn't learned that he can get my attention by bringing it back to me to re-throw. (I have found these balls in our local Sobey's store in the cat section. I think Sobeys is part of the Loblaw Chain, IGA, etc.).

As for the jumping on the blinds. This is something you will have to train her not to do - a spray bottle works for some cats or a paper tube that to clap on your other hand - the sound gets them. Never hit your cat as this just brings on different bad behavior - cats can't be mean to you if you aren't mean to them - at least none of my have and since being a baby on a farm I've had over 25 in my lifetime - some of them almost wild. Some cats don't respond to spray bottles...i.e. I have a cat who loves water - any water. The first time my son brought him home - my daughter took a bath and the cat jumped into the tub with her. She was upset needless to say because she had to run another bath - now this cat jumps into the shower with her all the time if she happens to forget to completely shut the bathroom door.

Most kittens gradually slow down after they are fixed by about the 1 year mark but they still like to be played with.

Also if you are petting your kitten and all of a sudden she starts rabbitting (kicking) with her hind legs and/or nipping you, she is telling you she is over-excited and you need to stop petting her until she can cope with the sensation again. Just remember if she is nipping at you her teeth are very sharp and your instinct will be to pull your hand away - don't. You will get bit and a cat's natural instinct with a mouse is to bite as the animal is trying to get away and their teeth are curved so you will end up with a rip in your skin. Just keep your hand still and the cat should just gently pinch with her teeth to tell you to stop.

Answer 2

Sounds like a normal cat. Any chance you have a Bengal? Mine love playing in water and this includes toilet water. Try getting a kitty drinking fountain. Some of them have water that runs down the side into a bowl and it is filtered water. Also, but the thumb tacks where she can not get them, like in a lock box or a jar with a lid. If the cat were to swallow one it might kill her.

Is she spayed? Some cats will calm down after being spayed. Try leaving the blinds up so she can lay and lool out the window. My Bengal; chewed on the blinds until she had a hole big enough that she could get in the window when she wanted to. Cut her off of the cat nip, buy her some toys and a cat tree. I promise you she just wants some love and attention from you. Cats mellow as they get older, except for Bengals, so hang in there and pretty soon she'll grow up and you'll miss that fiesty little kitten!

Word of warning, this cat acts just like my Takarra did as far as hyperactivity and curiosity. Takarra was much the same way as your cat. If you have a washer or dryer in your house be very careful that she doesn't get in it. My Takarra snuck in the dryer when I wasn't looking and died. Always check and make sure your baby is safe. Also check the fridge and cabinets to make sure she hasn't ran in.

Give your baby a kiss for me and let her know it's ok to just be a cat!

Answer 3

It sounds like she might be going into heat..if she isn't spayed then do it soon and she will prob calm down a little.

Target has this mouse toy, my cats love it and it activates by just a touch from the cats paw, it moves all around, talks & laughs at the cat and its eyes light up. The link for it is from a diff store and cost more but you can see what it looks like. At Target they are like $5.00.

They also sell a little collapsable cube and my cats spend a lot of time in it & chasing each other around, one inside it & one outside, it's really funny to watch this big red cube suddenly run across the room! Link for that too listed below.

There is one more toy that is great for a single cat, it's a ball {available at Target & even some grocery stores for around $4.00} no batteries, it is a ball with a little pole and it has feathers on the top {I have replaced the feathers on mine so it's easy to do if they chew them off} anyway, you just hold it by the pole thing & spin it to wind it up & it twirls the feathers around...mine love it.

One reason animals like toilet water is b/c it's not only fresh, it's always COLD!! Mine drink out of the faucet cuz I keep the toilet closed!! lol

good luck!!

Answer 4

She is a perfectly normal pussy cat. They're almost ALL like that.

As for the toilet habit, you can break it easily by getting a few Philodendron clippings and slip them in a glass water container. The plant will grow hydroponic and help purify the water in the container. The cat can then get a more natural water supply, which is why she wants "fresh" toilet water. Her bowl water is stagnant and smells bad to a cat. Hydroponic water is much tastier to them. You'll need to clean the container every 3 or 4 months and keep it well topped up.

You may also want to switch to vertical blinds, as that habit isn't likely to get better and switching to curtains won't help.

Also, you need to lock up those tacks. Your cat is playing with them because they play back, giving her a pick in return when she plays with them. She will probably end up eating one, and you'll have a huge vet bill or a dead cat.

Pick up some toys that interact more and she'll forget about the tacks, IF they're locked up and inaccessible.

Cats are CRRRAZY, that's why they're so funny.

Your cat sounds extra energetic, you might try to teach her to play fetch. I had two cats who loved that game, I used a wadded up ball of tin foil.

Answer 5

Your cat is bored and bored cats become destructive cats. Get some stuff to enrich your cat's life indoors and to help her work off some energy. Get a cat condo or cat tree or cat gym; a couple of scratchers; different toys for chasing, tossing, pawing, biting... and a perch by the window so she can watch birds and squirrels and doggies being walked etc.

The toilet water habit: this is ver common among cats. I cured my cats of the nasty habit by putting "Toilet Blu" in the toilet tank - made the water blue and smell like detergent. Cats hated even the smell of it. In the meantime, I provided a pet fountain that circulates and filters my cat's water so that the water is well-oxygenated and therefore more attractive to cats. Get one from Petco - costs about $30 but a good investment.

Answer 6

lol. get a box with a tight lid for the thumb tacks. let it be clear so she can see them and just mess with the box until she knows she cant get them

place her water on the top of the toliet tank. or by the toilet. if you can find a toy tolet to use as her bowl, lol

the bliunds put some double sided tape on the parts she hits. or take clear plastic pin over blinds and put the tape on that

the door thing, get her some battery moving toys

Answer 7

I suppose its a young cat.
Cats have preferrences about the water.
They dont like to have the water near the food (because in nature the dead prey would spoil the water)
Place some bowls with water around the apartment and then keep those she uses.
New (young) cats dont like to be all alone.
If you lock her out she would like you to leave the door open.
Maybe you could get another cat?
That would solve most problems.
Or you need to play with her, so she can get exhausted.

Answer 8

the water bowl thing i think is cuz the water in the toilet is fresher than the water in her bowl thats been sitting there all day the scratch ing on the door sound like shes beeing very stuborn so i think you should be more stuborn than her and not open the door cuz opening the door tells her that scratching make the door open so if the door never opens then eventually shell learn that scratching the door will not make it open

Answer 9

SPRAY BOTTLE TIME! something that's harmful like tacks,a bit drastic but it'll do the trick.

with alot of the behavior,it's normal. cats ricochet off the walls & are "racecar kitties" at ungodly hours because cats just need to get that hunting-at-top-speeds natural impulse taken care of.
But with the things that are actually negative,not just confusing to you--much in the way of a bratty child,you have to train them out of these negative behaviors. BUT THE CATCH IS....you have to take it a bit slow at first and make sure Kitty understands what the negative behavior is.

Answer 10

I don't think she's crazy at all. I believe she needs lots of attention or she is just a playful cat, so don't worry about it . I have a parrot( guffin) that drives me crazy every single day, cause he has so much energy and just wants lots of attention and play. So take it as much as you can and buy her lots of toys. I'm no expert, but i guess since people are different, so are animals!