# One cat tries to burrow into me; the other rips up cardboard



## sifr (Apr 17, 2007)

I've done a bit of searching, but haven't found anything that quite addresses this. I've got two cats, Narnie and Elsie. They're sisters, about 1 1/2 years old. Narnie's a DSH, Elsie a DLH.

Elsie is the lazy, contented one who likes to sleep all day and/or look out the window at the birds.

Narnie is very vocal, scampers all over the place, and loves to be in physical contact with me all the time.

They're both indoor-only, and are allowed to sleep with me.

Here's the weird bit:

I've got some cardboard boxes (banker's boxes, and some larger, thicker double-cardboard boxes) in the bedroom, and Elsie loves to sleep and perch on these. She has a habit of biting chunks out of the cardboard boxes, then spitting them out. It's almost as though she's teething. There's one box, about 3 feet by 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet, whose lid she's almost entirely chewed off, and she's started working down the side. This is rather impressive, since it's 3 layers of thick cardboard. But she just bites right through it, and seems to really enjoy it.

I asked the vet about this, and although she thought it was a bit odd, she didn't see anything wrong with it, and didn't see any physical reason for the behavior, nor any harm from it since she's not swallowing the cardboard.

I don't mind it, except sometimes she'll do it in the early morning hours and wake me up.


Narnie is a little hellion, and until recently she'd bite or (worse) claw at my toes under the blanket. I don't mind the biting, but she'd try to hook her claws into my feet and pull. It got to be painful. I used to sleep with my feet exposed, but have taken to making sure they're good and covered, wrapped in the comforter so she can't reach under it and get them.

Recently, she's stopped doing this and started digging under the blanket near my hands and torso around 6am every morning. It seems to coincide with the sun coming up, and it wakes me right up. I wouldn't mind, except that I tend to sleep until 7:30 or 8am, so it interrupts my sleep, and I'm one of those people who can't go back to sleep once they're awake.

Oh, and it also hurts. It's just odd that she's gone from being overly-playful with my toes to actively trying to burrow into my kindeys and spleen.

I've taken to throwing the comforter over her and, when successful, holding her in it, and she seems to stop for a bit, but it soon starts right back up and continues until I get out of bed.


I could never bring myself to lock them out of my bedroom and away from me while I sleep. I couldn't stand the mewling, and I'd just feel horrible. At the same time, I'd like to get them to stop these behaviors without discouraging their curiosity or playfulness.

I've tried mild behavior modification in the past with water in a squirt bottle, but it got to the point where Narnie (always Narnie, I've never really had to discipline Elsie) would ignore the water, and stand there while I squirted her.

I think she believes everything's a game.

I'm going to try wearing them both out with a laser pointer just before I get into bed, but I'm curious if anyone else has any suggestions?

Thanks!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

*Re: One cat tries to burrow into me; the other rips up cardb*



sifr said:


> I think she believes everything's a game.


Hah!! Ya, that's a cat for ya.

A vigorous play session before bedtime is a good idea. I don't think you'll wear them out; mostly likely they'll wear you out so you sleep better. :lol: 

The only thing I'd mention about playing with laser pointers is that it can lead a cat to feel frustrated: having a chase with nothing to catch. So if you end up with treats, that might help. Or use a Da Bird toy; very few cats can resist that.  

None of the behaviors you mentioned are abnormal. Others have posted before about the same things. If it's any hope, my Mellie used to be a cardboard-chewer and now she doesn't do it anymore.

As far as the other cat, you could search the forum using the keyword "biting" and in amongst some other irrelevant stuff you should find some good advice about modifying that behavior.

Aren't cats fun? :lol:


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

My name is Maggie and I'm a cardboard chewer (well not me....but that little black cat in my sig :lol: ). She was worse when she was young...up to age 3 or so. Now it only happens once in a while (she's 10). Hopefully she'll get bored with it.

Don't know what to tell you about the burrower...she's probably looking for breakfast. Do you feed them as soon as you get up? Maybe delaying it a bit. Cats will wake up about an hour before feeding time and become active and interested in food. So if you don't feed them until an hour after you get up, you may get a little more time in bed undisturbed.


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## sifr (Apr 17, 2007)

*Re: One cat tries to burrow into me; the other rips up cardb*



coaster said:


> sifr said:
> 
> 
> > I think she believes everything's a game.
> ...



Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check out Da Bird...it looks like something Narnie and Elsie would love. I had one of those big furry mice that hang from a bungie in the doorframe, but they finally caught it, bit through the bungie, and destroyed it. 

I see you've got your cats a Purr-fect Post. Do they like it? I bought one for mine after they ignored an off-the-shelf post and kept scratching the sofa, and they started using the post exclusively. And once they figured out what a post was for, they use the off-the-shelf one now, too! (having it by the window next to the birdfeeder with a small platform on top doesn't hurt, either!  )


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## sifr (Apr 17, 2007)

doodlebug said:


> My name is Maggie and I'm a cardboard chewer (well not me....but that little black cat in my sig :lol: ). She was worse when she was young...up to age 3 or so. Now it only happens once in a while (she's 10). Hopefully she'll get bored with it.
> 
> Don't know what to tell you about the burrower...she's probably looking for breakfast. Do you feed them as soon as you get up? Maybe delaying it a bit. Cats will wake up about an hour before feeding time and become active and interested in food. So if you don't feed them until an hour after you get up, you may get a little more time in bed undisturbed.


No, they're "free-range", as I like to call it...their food is out all the time. I do give them treats when I wake up, and after I come home from the office (and on weekends, I'll occasionally give them a small lunch treat). Maybe that's the cause.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

*Re: One cat tries to burrow into me; the other rips up cardb*



sifr said:


> I see you've got your cats a Purr-fect Post. Do they like it?


Yes....I've got two of them.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yes, she could be looking for the treats, cats are creatures of habit...they're very easy to train when it comes to food rituals.


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## nancyLA (Feb 13, 2005)

One of my cats love to chew on cardboard and spit it out alll over the house..the same cat loves to chew on plastic bags also. WEird!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

I've got some cardboard boxes (banker's boxes, and some larger, thicker double-cardboard boxes) in the bedroom, and Elsie loves to sleep and perch on these. She has a habit of biting chunks out of the cardboard boxes, then spitting them out. It's almost as though she's teething. There's one box, about 3 feet by 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet, whose lid she's almost entirely chewed off, and she's started working down the side. This is rather impressive, since it's 3 layers of thick cardboard. But she just bites right through it, and seems to really enjoy 


HA, we have a whole clan of cardboard spitters. They love when we go to Sam's Club and bring back new boxes. If we have a box that we don't want pieces taken out of we have to hide them..lol. They will chew and chew until they have a "U" shaped cut out on the side of the box and then they are happy and sleep with their head laying out the side of the box.

We keep a cans of air around the house and spray it in the area of the cat if they are doing something that we don't like. It works for most of the cats, not all.


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## sifr (Apr 17, 2007)

Leazie said:


> HA, we have a whole clan of cardboard spitters. They love when we go to Sam's Club and bring back new boxes. If we have a box that we don't want pieces taken out of we have to hide them..lol. They will chew and chew until they have a "U" shaped cut out on the side of the box and then they are happy and sleep with their head laying out the side of the box.


That's exactly what Elsie (my cardboard fiend) does! Her favorite box has a nice little U-shape chewed out of one corner, and she sleeps with her head draped over it!


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