# Cats destroying my house



## rothhar (Sep 9, 2009)

I'm a long time cat owner, my last cat I had for over 20 years before he had to put down but I'm at my wits end 
with my two cats Nero & Tut(8 months old)..so far they have destroyed a 4' long wooden sailing ship(clawed it to pieces at night)
numerous glasses ect. (my fault should have put in sink) and last night they got on my fireplace mantel and knocked off
a old wood clock(belonged to my grandparents) and it was crushed when it hit the brick at the fireplace and they shredded my shower curtain. I've never had cats that were so destructive, they have lots of toys and things to help keep them enertained and scrathing posts ect. but at night they turn into a wrecking crew, I can't confine them at night because I live in a condo and they will make to much noise hollering about being confinded at night. ( i tried and had 3 nosie complaints in a week)

I'm at loss of what to do with them...any advise? I don't want to get rid of them but thats what everybody keeps telling me to do since they are so out of control  but I know I wont I'm already attached to these two and they are great during the day when I'm around.


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## PureMuttz (Jul 3, 2009)

Downside to kittens: Destruction crew!
To me, they sound normal. Perhaps this is why I prefer adult cats. 

The 'easy' solution would be to put up anything breakable at night, but that may be easier said than done.

I wish I had an answer. That's horrible that you've gotten 3 noise complaints after confining your cats in the past. That makes things a little more difficult.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

rothhar said:


> I'm a long time cat owner, my last cat I had for over 20 years before he had to put down but I'm at my wits end with my two cats Nero & Tut(8 months old)..so far they have destroyed a 4' long wooden sailing ship(clawed it to pieces at night) numerous glasses ect. (my fault should have put in sink) and last night they got on my fireplace mantel and knocked off
> a old wood clock(belonged to my grandparents) and it was crushed when it hit the brick at the fireplace and they shredded my shower curtain.


Well, it's been 20 years since you had a kitten, right? Sounds like they're behaving pretty normally. A big part of having kittens is kitten-proofing. I recommend that you do the following:

(1) Box up/put away anything valuable/breakable for the next 6-12 months. 

(2) Designate one room for the kittens. This is where they will be when you are not home or they're in an esp. rambunctious mood and you can't play w/ them. Room should have comfy beds, litterbox, places to safely climb and scratch, and nothing they can destroy. MANAGEMENT should be a huge part of raising kittens and puppies. IMO no young animal should be just given the run of the house and expected to understand (esp when no one is home) that breaking things is "bad." It's not, after all. It's YOU who attach value to inanimate objects, so it's YOU who have to remove them and manage the kittens' behavior to protect them. They won't freak out about this if you make the room pleasant and fun. Feeding them in their room will help a great deal in this regard, as will putting a bird feeder outside the window.

(3) Get at LEAST one really good scratching post. 2 would be better. The ones I recommend:

FELIX KATNIP TREE (LARGE ONLY): http://www.felixkatniptreecompany.com/our_products

PURRFECT POST: http://www.purrfectpost.com/

Yes, they're pricey, but they're WORTH IT. Get cheap, wobbly, fluffy-wuffy posts and they'll keep using your stuff instead. Put one post in the Kitten Room and the other where you spend the most time. Don't hide it -- put it where it's easy for them to find and use. Put additional catnip on it -- show it to them -- scratch it yourself, and when they use it, PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE.

(4) Be sure you have plenty of good interactive toys -- best one for my $2 is the plain ol' Cat Dancer: http://catdancer.com/products.htm#Dancer . Play with both cats for 5-10 min. several times a day and then put the Cat Dancer away in a drawer, making a big production of getting it out. It will become a loved ritual.

(5) Mostly, just have patience. You could have adopted adult cats, remember.  You wanted young cats and this is how they act. And this too shall pass. Try to enjoy their youth while managing their overexuberance. 

Hope that helps!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

It sounds like you need to do some serious cat proofing. You have two young cats who are full of mischief and energy, it won't always be this way. But in the meantime, you need to accommodate it. I'd start by putting away any breakables that really having meaning or value to you. Or put them in something that you know is completely secure, like a curio cabinet. It won't be forever, just a year or two. Also, there is a product called Museum Gel or Quakehold that can be used to secure breakables to a shelf without damaging the finish. 

http://www.amazon.com/Quakehold-33111-M ... 644&sr=8-1


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## rothhar (Sep 9, 2009)

Good ideas  I'm willing to try anything at this point. I thought about getting a older cat but these two were just too dang cute together and still are(curently sleeping on the chair wrapped up in each other) and they stole my heart

Yes it has been along time since I dealt with a young cats energy. 


I will start kitten proofing my home. I should have thought about the energy difference but after 20 yrs I got complacent 
since my old cat was so incredibly well behaved. (one major blowup over ruined computer programs..he tried to eat my old floppy disks when I first got him  )

I like to think of Nimrod (my old cat) looking at me with these two and shaking his head saying you foolish human what have you done :lol:


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Not only are you not used to kitten energy....you have 2 of them. 

Kitten A energy + Kitten B energy does not equal 2X Kitten Energy. It equals 5X Kitten Energy! They're synergistic!!!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

With Cinderella and Cleo, I never had any problems. Neither jumped up on counters - or anything else. They don't chew or claw or destroy.

Then I got the twins.

My curtains are put away. My nice, breakable items are in boxes. My painting has been taken down from the wall (they could reach it by standing on the back of the sofa - apparently it felt good to scratch!). My wires are sprayed with Bitter Apple (only one incident, though). And until recently, my cupboards were taped shut.

So yeah, better kitten-proofing is needed. The twins do go to bed at night in their room, thank goodness, because I'd never get any sleep if they didn't. And if I was in an apartment, I'd have been kicked out by now, because they sound like a herd of elephants when they run through the house! 8O 

Can we see pictures of your little terrors?


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

And I do have to add that the last kitten I had prior to Jonah's unexpected addition to the family was Loki in 1985. Let's just say that I have NEVER known a kitten to have such a protracted and intense adolescence -- it lasted until he was SIX YEARS OLD. 8O I kid you not. He ruined me for kittens, LOL. I think that on balance it is better to have 2 so they can play together, even if they do so voraciously -- Loki had only grumpy older cat Lenny, who was SOOOOOOO not amused by him, and so he had to find other things to do. Those things usually involved breakage of some kind. :lol:


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## rothhar (Sep 9, 2009)

I'm working on getting some pictures of the terrible two..don't own a digital camera, but will borrow my brothers..


on a side note. these two are brothers, is it possible for a cat to have same mother different father same litter?
because Nero is a long hair tabby, short and pudgy and Tut is short hair pure black, long, tall and thin. Tut already stands at least 2" taller than Nero..but Nero kicks his butt everytime they wrestle


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## PureMuttz (Jul 3, 2009)

rothhar said:


> on a side note. these two are brothers, is it possible for a cat to have same mother different father same litter?


Yep. Cats and dogs both can have multiple fathers per litter. Even if that isn't the case with your brothers, you have to take into consideration the mom, dad, and THEIR moms/dads because they all can have a say in the appearance of the kittens.


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## ogdred (Apr 7, 2009)

:yikes I am for the first time realizing just how well behaved Gadget (6 months) is.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

> I am for the first time realizing just how well behaved Gadget (6 months) is.


Same here with my 7 month old little princess!


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