How can I help my bored cat?

Question

My husband and I are having trouble with our six month old kitten! He gets bored during the day while we are both at work and gets into things that he shouldn't! He has gotten into the habit of getting into our windows and climbing the curtains, knocking over our potted plants, messing with the lights and cords on top of our Ball Python's cage, and other such messy annoyances. We don't want to discourage him from being playful and curious, but he gets so easily bored with the 'new' things we leave out for him (Such as boxes that we cut holes in so it is a play place and stuffed animals sprayed with cat nip). We don't mind him being in the window as long as he would stop putting little holes in my curtains! We are talking about getting him declawed, but I'm not really sure I want to. I would rather try to find a way to keep him off the curtains. Does anyone know of things that would be more likely to keep my kitten's attention for longer? I hate to lock him up away from the things he is bothering because then he would be confined to a terribly small space. Is there a chance that he will grow out of this? And if we have him neutered would that affect this behavior?

Answer 1

get a robotic toy 4 him to play wqith like a lil ball on a string type thing that moves like a battery operated thing

Answer 2

Neutering is a great idea.  It might not solve your climbing problems but he definitely will benefit and so will you. Cats who aren't neutered will begin to spray and you don't want that. As for declawing, that will only bring on more problems.  Declawing is a major surgery where the first joint of the toe is amputated. This cause problems walking, refusal to use a litter box, and biting in lots of declawed cats. You might try the Soft Paws nail caps or try putting double sided tape on the curtains. My cats love when I hide treats for them to hunt. I put them everywhere and they sniff till they they find them. Your guy is still a kitten and will outgrow lots of this behavior.  This website offers info on Soft Paws and training tips you can use to deter inappropriate claw behavior.

http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/

I would also invest in a good cat tree for him to play on.  That way he has a place where it's ok to scratch and climb. Put it in front of a large window so he can lie on it and look out.  these trees from Armarkat are reasonably priced and very good quality.  My cats love theirs.

http://www.armarkat.com/1/index.htm

Answer 3

Enroll him in a "book-of-the-month" club.

Answer 4

Fist of all, don't declaw him, to me this is animal cruelty, his claws are his only protection. He is young that's why he does that, but you'll have to have him neutered soon, six months old  is about the right time to do that.

Answer 5

He WILL grow out of it.  It WILL help to have him neutered.  If you don't, he will start spraying and that will be very bad because your house will smell of cat urine.  He's just doing what kittens do.  It often helps to get a friend kitten.  Then they play more with each other, but they will still mess with your stuff, usually until about 10 months of age or so.  My cats were brothers and I had very little trouble with them breaking things or damaging anything, except the toilet paper and the screens in the screened-in porch.  That all completely ended around the age of 1 year.  Now that one brother has died, the other brother, aged 13 years, is starting to tear up paper like a kitten, so we're considering getting him a new friend.  They aren't pack animals, like dogs, but they do seem to like other cats.

Answer 6

Alot of ppl are VERY against declawing & I myself dont particularly care for it but in some cases it is necessary...jsut make sure if you do go this route to very carefully screen the vet...get recommendations & see a few cats that have been declawed by the possible vet to be sure they still ahve proper feet....anyways neutering himwill help but not as much as your thinking it will he is a kitten hence a young child to teengae boy....this equal mischif no matter how you look at it...my cat is 11 mnths old & a holy terror!!! we ahve to put him in "time outs" in the basement as he totally terrorizes the other pets if we dont & will also keep us up ALL night chasing the other 2 animals. The best you can do is to provide him w new & different toys & put things he's not suppossed to get to out of reach or secure them so he cant knock them over....its a pain in the butt but there isnt much you can do....he's young & will for sure slow down as he gets older but untill then you have to kinda deal w it.....you could try the soft paws instead of declawing...here's al ink  http://www.softpaws.com/

Ive heard diff opinions as to how well these work but Ive never had the chance to try them

BEst of luck & take comfort in knowing he will slow down (jsut not for awhile yet lol)

take care & please neuter him or you VERY possibly will have another problem soon....spraying/marking and truat me you DO NOT want that, its VERY smelly & very hard to break even after neutering