Expert: Dear Tabbi - 8/21/2009

Question
Hi,

I have two cats. one of them is really smart and he seems to learn from his mistakes or from when he has a negative experience. The other one doesn't. He is constantly doing things that are destructive, such as playing with the decorative bobbles my mom has out. The first few times we tried to remove him from the situation and used things to deter him from the objects, but he just continues to do try and play with them. This is just the least annoying of his bad obsessions and we are getting to our wits end with him. We don't want to hurt him in any way but we don't know what to do with him other than to use force. Do you have any other suggestions for deterring him from certain actions?

Answer
Kaitie,

Some cat are "cat of mass destruction'". That is just their personality and they usually will settle down when they are older (*smile*). It means they are healthy and normal, but they DO tend to drive you crazy!

The best thing to do is cat-proof your house. Put away anything the cat can destroy or play with that you don't want him to. It's inconvenient, but necessary when you have an energetic "kid".

You have a smart cat. Some cats that are more intelligent than normal need a lot of brain stimulation to keep them amused. They, like really smart kids, get bored easily. He is doing those annoying things to keep himself amused...and getting a reaction from him amuses him too!

You may want to get him some cat videos to watch. My cats love them!
Here is a link for them: (copy and paste the link)
http://petsittervideos.com/index.html

If you want more work, get him an aquarium, a cage with some white mice, etc. for him to watch and 'try' to catch.

Get a pet laser light. Cats love to chase the little red 'bug' on the ceilings, floors, and walls. you can get them at PetSmart/Petco/etc. It is great for burning up excess energy.

Put a couple of ping pong balls in the bathtub (cover the drain though because they get stuck). The cat can slip and slide chasing the balls and they don't lose them.

These are some suggestions. I hope you get the idea. Stimulate him and give him ways to burn off energy. If he wasn't happy and healthy he would act like he does. He's a special cat...love him for the annoying little monster that he is and learn to put up things he can get into.

Tabbi