What do I do with my wild and crazy cat?

Question

I have 2 cats. One is an angel. The other is a devil. He is somewhat well behaved while I am home and awake. When I'm sleeping I have to shut him out of the bedroom because he climbs all over my head. He will run around the apartment, knock over my lamp, tear up the newspaper, get on the counter and knock over stuff, etc. He doesn't do this when I'm home. I guess this is separation anxiety. I'd rather not put him on medications. I'm thinking of putting him in kitty daycare at Pets Mart but that will cost about $150/month. Any other ideas on what to do with him? Has anyone put their cat in day care? How did they do? He just has all this pent up energy that drives me nuts.

Answer 1

This may seem a bit weird but is he fixed? Because i know from experience that getting your pet fixed really calms them right down...

Answer 2

Is he neutered?  Neutering makes a big difference between a crazy cat and a wonderful pet.

Get them both neutered, and get them a cat jungle gym and a bunch of toys.  This calms them to have things to play with.

Answer 3

Its partial seperation anxiety, and boredom...

Although he has the other cat, its obvious he is more active. Give him stuff to do... Like get more toys around the house. An additional cat jungle gym... Even more, when your home buy a kitty back pack and make him wear it... It will wear him out and give him something to do.

I used to have a really BIG dog, that was hyperactive, so on walks and around the house, Id put on a small back pack of 3-5 bottles of water... It gave him exercise, and a job in a way.. I have two cats now... Mine are both mild, but Monkey can be naughty from time to time... Lol  

Answer 4

sounds like he might just be bored.

try putting out LOTS of toys for him to play with.

maybe even some catnip?

OR, you could even keep him in a kennel/cage while you're gone/asleep.

i think putting him in a daycare will cause him stress.

Answer 5

Don't put him in a daycare! It wil wear out after a while he is just really close to you is all.  After a while he will realize the knocking stuff down is not going to get you to come back home.  Try to put treats around the house and bags and string everywhere.  He will be so distraced he won't even think of knocking stuff down.  

Answer 6

There is a product called Feliway that is sold at pet stores. It is a plug in diffuser that contains calming cat pheramones that help kitty in stressful situations.