# Cats won't stop getting into/breaking things



## athomas (Jul 7, 2010)

I'm not sure who does this the most, but it's one of the girls (I have two girls and a boy). They will climb up onto things and push the stuff that is on the thing, off. This involves climbing onto the top of my computers and pushing off my beer steins (like last night) and everything else that was on there, pushing things off the microwave, counters, whatever they can get a hold of. How do I stop them from getting into things? Are there like "cat stay off" things I can get? Waking up to banging in the middle of the night, in a bad neighborhood is a little unnerving, especially when I find out it's the cats.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Welcome to the world of cats. Time to find a new home for your beer steins and keep your counters and appliances clear 

MowMow would knocks stuff off my desk so I learned to keep it pretty clear of anything he'd find interesting. Then I got Shepherd Book and I learned to kep *ALL* surfaces clear. While it's aggravating sometimes, I have to admit, he forces me to keep the place pretty tidy and neat.


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## athomas (Jul 7, 2010)

MowMow said:


> Welcome to the world of cats. Time to find a new home for your beer steins and keep your counters and appliances clear


Well I'm certain it's the middle cat, and she's been acting out more since her apparent herpes outbreak (see my thread about her eye issue). Supposedly stress brings this on. Do they act out more with stressed?


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

MowMow said:


> MowMow would knocks stuff off my desk so I learned to keep it pretty clear of anything he'd find interesting. Then I got Shepherd Book and I learned to kep *ALL* surfaces clear. While it's aggravating sometimes, I have to admit, he forces me to keep the place pretty tidy and neat.


Interesting... I'm on the other end of the story... My desk/coffee table/any surfaces are all messy. As long as there is no object small enough for my cats to swallow, I won't have any problem. My cats like to walk on the surfaces, but they never knock off anything. It's amazing to see how they walking through all those empty cans/cups with water/etc. without knocking them. If something is really blocking their way, they jump over it. 

I've always thought all cats are like that. Kinda like a hunting instinct -- you don't want to make a sound or you will scare off the prey. But obviously I was wrong


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## athomas (Jul 7, 2010)

yingying said:


> Interesting... I'm on the other end of the story... My desk/coffee table/any surfaces are all messy. As long as there is no object small enough for my cats to swallow, I won't have any problem. My cats like to walk on the surfaces, but they never knock off anything. It's amazing to see how they walking through all those empty cans/cups with water/etc. without knocking them. If something is really blocking their way, they jump over it.
> 
> I've always thought all cats are like that. Kinda like a hunting instinct -- you don't want to make a sound or you will scare off the prey. But obviously I was wrong


Yeah they are like that a lot of times, but I think they are intentionally pushing things over.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

My cats are quite picky about things they want to push over. Must be small sized, must be ball or tube shaped, and must be new (if that object has been on the surface for a day, they lose interest). Should I consider myself lucky?


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## athomas (Jul 7, 2010)

yingying said:


> My cats are quite picky about things they want to push over. Must be small sized, must be ball or tube shaped, and must be new (if that object has been on the surface for a day, they lose interest). Should I consider myself lucky?


I'd consider yourself lucky!

I heard cats hate citrus smells. Maybe something like that can repel them from a couple areas that I have in mind? I'm sure there are cat repellants out there...lol


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

Chiquita likes to sit on the arm of my chair while I'm watching TV and paw at everything that's on the side table and knock it to the floor.
She has no interests in the objects once they're on the floor.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

athomas said:


> I heard cats hate citrus smells. Maybe something like that can repel them from a couple areas that I have in mind? I'm sure there are cat repellants out there...lol


You surely can try. That's what I've heard and that's actually a suggestion I gave to many people. However, I'm afraid not all cats hate citrus smells. My Meatball does, but Metoo doesn't. She actually likes to steal my tangerine and play with it. So I guess you have to try to find out 

As for the cat repellant, I bought one can from petsmart before. It has a weird aweful smell making it almost human repellant as well. But my cats don't seem to mind it :sad


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I have 4 cats and before I installed the climbing shelves for them on the wall, they would knock things off of surfaces to covet choice spots for naps and when chasing each other. They have always had a window perch, a cat tree, and are always welcomed on the couches and have taken over the ottomans, but for some reason, they liked the coffee tables, entertainment center, etc. Maybe provide more vertical space for them to have more control of where they can hang out vs places that are off limits?

I can now keep picture frames on top of, and actually use both my coffee tables without worrying about them knocking stuff off of them.


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## athomas (Jul 7, 2010)

dweamgoil said:


> I have 4 cats and before I installed the climbing shelves for them on the wall, they would knock things off of surfaces to covet choice spots for naps and when chasing each other. They have always had a window perch, a cat tree, and are always welcomed on the couches and have taken over the ottomans, but for some reason, they liked the coffee tables, entertainment center, etc. Maybe provide more vertical space for them to have more control of where they can hang out vs places that are off limits?
> 
> I can now keep picture frames on top of, and actually use both my coffee tables without worrying about them knocking stuff off of them.


Yeah that's the plan once we move. Too tiny of an apartment now. They'll have 3 stories and 2000 square feet come January.


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## kitbassgirl (Nov 20, 2011)

We use foil to keep the cats off surfaces like counters and out from behind the couch (they'd get behind the couch and then climb up the back digging their claws into the material >.<) They don't like the noise or texture the foil makes and now the kitty's stay out from behind the couch and they don't jump on the dining room table or the kitchen counters.


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## Des_Esseintes (Nov 27, 2009)

cooncatbob said:


> Chiquita likes to sit on the arm of my chair while I'm watching TV and paw at everything that's on the side table and knock it to the floor.
> She has no interests in the objects once they're on the floor.


Yeah, Artemisia is the same way.

You wouldn't think that it would be that much more fun to knock stuff around on a wooden table than it is to knock stuff around on a wooden floor, but it apparently it makes a huge difference to her. :roll:


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