# One Year Old Cat Behaviour Issues



## Parallax Abstraction (Aug 30, 2010)

Hello all! I apologise if this has been discussed elsewhere but I checked the forum a bit and couldn't find anything specific to my situation.

I have a Gray Tabby named Thrall. He's about a year and a half old and I adopted him from our local Humane Society when he was about six months old. I love him to death but have been experiencing some increased behavioural problems with him that I've been unable to correct. I've had cats my whole life (including kittens) and I've never experienced the issues I am having with him. Every web site I've checked gives the same advice of "You need to play with him more and try the following disciplinary measures..." but the measures aren't working and I don't believe this is simple a case of him not getting enough attention.

Thrall is good natured by and large. He's affectionate (though not really a lap cat), loves people and has never hissed at anything ever. I play with him for quite a bit each day and he loves to have fun and fool around. However, he has several very disruptive (and in some cases destructive) things he does that have been increasing the longer I've had him. They include but aren't limited to:

1. Hollering and yowling for extended periods at random times of day, often in the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep. It sometimes worries me as it is loud enough that it sounds like he may be in pain. The last time I had a cat that yelled like that, it was a female that entered heat before she could be fixed. Thrall has been neutered.
2. Running around in a hyperactive state, usually in conjunction with #1. This doesn't bother me in general except when he decides to run over me in the middle of the night.
3. Trying to climb the back of my plasma TV and frequently trying to scratch at the walls. He's destroyed several posters already (a couple of which I can't replace) and pulled stapled wires off the wall. He's also broken one of my home theater speakers by repeatedly knocking the stand over and badly damaged my expensive living room curtains. He has two scratching posts which he still uses often.
4. Being overly rough. This often happens when I have just gotten up and am trying to get ready for work or make breakfast on the weekend. He will chase you down the hall and leap at your legs, often digging his claws in and biting very hard. He's drawn blood numerous times from both myself and my girlfriend. I'm pretty sure he's just trying to play fight but this level of that is not acceptable.

As I said, I play with him for quite a while every day when I get home from work. I was self-employed and working from home for the first while I had Thrall so I assumed the increases in this bad behaviour was just him adjusting to being alone during the day. However, it's been almost 3 months and things have not improved. I don't believe in physical discipline (i.e. smacking him when he's bad), though I have had to shove him off me sometimes when he's dug in to my leg (see #4 above.) I've tried using a spray bottle to stop him from doing things like climbing my TV and scratching the curtains but while that stops him in the immediate, he doesn't seem to be learning to avoid doing those things and will keep trying. I've also tried changing his food a couple of times as he was allergic to one food I gave him a while back and I thought I may still not have found the ideal one for him.

I'm at my wits end here as he's not only frequently disrupting my sleep schedule, he's damaging things I can't easily afford to replace or can't replace at all, if he's not asleep, I can't have a relaxing evening without having to get up every two minutes to discipline him and he's causing me physical pain. I don't want to get rid of him and I'm convinced some kind of solution is available. A couple of people I know have suggested getting another cat (potentially a female that's a couple of years older) to give him company and a playmate. I'm not opposed to that but I don't want to run the risk of just doubling up the problem or him continuing this trend and making the other cat miserable. Before I take on the expense of another cat, I'd like to know from some people more knowledgeable than myself whether this is a good option or if there are other things that I can try. As I said, I've had cats my whole life (including one that was slightly feral) but I've never run into a situation like this and I want to make sure I'm doing the best thing for both myself and Thrall.

So what say you good people? Is another cat the best option or are there other things I could try first? Thanks so much for your help!


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## ZoeH (Jun 27, 2010)

Sounds like this guy likes negative attention (e.g. spray bottle) better than less attention.

Others here have a lot more experience with behavioural issues than I do, but here's my 2c on your points:

1. no idea -- 
2. no idea --
3. more extensive catwalk & gym options. Somehow I don't think aversives (e.g. sour apple) on wires and your TV will deter this guy
4. pushing toward him rather than pulling him off

Could there be a medical condition involved?

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/DestructiveBehavior.html
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/aggression.html


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Sounds like a normal young cat who has no companion. IMO he needs a young adult/older kitten (i.e., his age or younger), and another n. male would be most likely to work out well--one the shelter can tell you is very playful and good w/ other cats. It's very hard being a single cat, esp. when young. The behavior he's exhibiting is pretty normal, given the circumstances.


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## Parallax Abstraction (Aug 30, 2010)

So you would actually suggest getting a cat younger than he is? Some of my friends were saying to get an older one but I thought that was odd as I know cats often consider the older one dominant and I thought Thrall might not like suddenly not being the alpha anymore.


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