Cats Driving Me Insane!

[nickynoo93]

Sounds normal to me, mine are all active and chase each other a lot of the time. Charlie chases himself as well, waiting for someone to follow.

My 2 eldest are coming up for 3 and a 1 and a half year old. They are more settled now, after the introduction of the youngest.

Poppy puts Wordy in his place, and Charlie tries to boss Poppy, but since having Wordy I would say Poppy has come out as top dog cat.

They have litter trays around the house and 3 scratch towers and a post, plus a radiator bed, and a little den we made for Wordy.

I expect they will sort themselves out, also ours are allowed access all areas, they go where they want, but obviously thats doesn't work for everyone.

Nicky

[Poppy Seed Cats]

I had problems with my cats before and found that shouting does nothing so we now have what we call the naughty kitty noise. It's 3 different pitched hisses that we do in 3 short bursts and it stops them in their tracks every time and they now know that when they hear that noise to stop doing whatever it is they are doing. Me and my partner both do exactly the same noise so they listen to both of us equally.

It works for if they are clawing at something they shouldn't do, fighting too rough and even stopping them running around like idiots in the wee hours of the morning.

We also have a different patterned hiss that means every kitty must come to the living room right now which usually indicates time for food or something interesting is going on that they need to see. People think we are crazy making the noises but it seriously works for us. It took some training and tempting with treats but we now have a very happy multi-cat house.

If your eldest male is trying to assert his dominance it's sometimes best to let him (as long as there's no risk of other kitty getting hurt) so the hierarchy of the house can get put in place and eventually the fighting will stop.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

If you ever work it out please let me know!    I have one gentle, well behaved 14 1/2 year old who is hard of hearing and one nearly 6 year old who is hyperactive and very naughty!  Yours sound pretty normal to me!

I'm quite lucky in a way that Jaffa doesn't hear very well so if they are fighting I can make a sound to distract Mosi and cause him to break eye contact without disturbing Jaffa!  Is your oldest attacking the other cat in a mean way or causing her distress?  It sounds like he is just asserting his dominance.  Both my cats do this to each other.  Jaffa has always straddled Mosi and looks as though he is biting his neck (though he causes no harm) and usually Mosi back down, though Mosi is generally the one who starts things.  On his part it's part dominance nut a lot if it just play and the fact that he has so much energy.  He has recently started doing the straddling thing and trying to assert his dominance so I just keep an eye on things and make sure Jaffa isn't distressed.  If Jaffa is alert and not taken by surprise, he usually wins but if Mosi takes him by surprise he sometimes loses.  I think Mosi will eventually dominate Jaffa but this is just the natural order of things and provided they don't cause physical hurt and aren't causing obvious distress, we just have to let them sort things like that out on their own.  If I think it might be turning nasty or Jaffa is struggling to defend himself (Mosi has a way of getting in a higher up position so that he has the advantage) I will distract Mosi and break it up that way.  Sometimes Mosi gets put in time out to calm down (in a separate room) but generally they are both ok with it and it goes in phases of them being fine with each other and at other times they seem to be doing it a lot.  I know they are fine when I'm out and it's only when I'm home and Mosi is lively and attention seeking that he starts picking on Jaffa.

In general it's best to ignore unwanted behaviour.  If they stop getting a reaction they are more likely to stop doing it.  Shouting at them doesn't help as it's a reaction and is seen as a reward.  Mosi is always scratching and climbing the walls plus he plays with a picture of lions I have on the wall (sometimes he knocks it off) but when he's like that i know it's best to ignore him and he eventually calms down when he realises he's not getting a response.  It is tempting to shout at him though as that does stop him temporarily but he just goes back to doing it a few mins later.  Mosi is an attention seeking cat and is always doing things to get attention - running around, climbing the walls, swinging from the curtains, whining etc!  I either distract him by getting a toy out or ignore him until he calms down.

[thekittensmittens]

ours have the midnight madness too, best is when georgia chases miyagi across my bed and he jumps across to windowsill...then bounces off window falling to ground

big tall cat trees are good if you havent got one?

our two did settle in summer as were out a lot but they have started the midnight happy hour again too tbh its what cats do..with 5 you are going to have issues, just the same as if you have a big houshold of people..tempers will fray, friendships will be formed between some etc.
consider putting dry food/cat treats in toilet roll tubes etc around house for them to hunt etc which will relieve bordom.
feliway spray may help calm them....
6 litter trays around house if they use trays.....
lots of stuff really can be done including supervised play to tire them out

[snarf]

i found cat confidential and cat detective very similar in the most important parts but with differing case studies. Cat counsellor is more general in how to relate to your cat and understand them- nice to read but as a general interest. I think Cat confidential is  best for giving instructions for tackling problems.

We love pictures by the way 

[Jordan]

Found a couple of books on Kindle by Vicky Halls

Cat Confidential
Cat Counsellor
The Complete Cat
Cat Detective

Which do you suggest?

[snarf]

 

sounds like reasonably normal behaviour if theyre young

He gets told off and a tap on nose but this doesn't seem to bother him at all!

like children,cats dont differentiate between positive and negative attention. he wont see this as a reprimand (shouting will also be ignored) just that he has succeeded in gaining your undivided attention
to show your displeasure in behavior the best response is to totally ignore them - body language is very important, dont look at them or interact with them until they stop.  its not always possible but as much as you can and if you cant, as little interaction as possible( pick up and plonk down without words or eye contact or petting)

for breaking up minor fights and tit-for-tats between them, distraction works best. throwing a toy or rustly scrunched up paper.

your elder male may be asserting his top cat status.it might quieten down on its own as the pecking order is established- have they lived together for long?

The night time races is hard to stop completely but play sessions to tire them out before bed, leaving quiet toys out or irresistible sleeping places should help. one of mine is very lively and loud but now contents himself with quiet play and bringing me toys at night rather than racing about and winding the older two up

theres a behaviorist called Vicky Halls that has written some advice books and totally recommend reading them, as much as a preventative measure as to fix existing issues. shes also quite funny 

[Jordan]

Simba - 8
Gizmo - 7
Holly - 5
Kara - 1-2

Kara tends to be the best behaved one she doesn't really do anything wrong

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Welcome to Purrs 

First I am going to move this thread to Cat chat general to get it more views.

How old are said cats?

They sound pretty normal to me LOL

How long have they been with you?

[Jordan]

Hey Everyone!

Having some major issues with the kittys!
I have 4 cats, 2 male and 2 female all been spayed.

But they seem to misbehave A LOT! Infact 90% of the time!

I don't wanna shout at them but I do want a method of getting them sorted out into behaving better.
One of the males seems to target one of the females a lot, Sometimes they will lay next to each other and other times he will run after her and attack her.......
He gets told off and a tap on nose but this doesn't seem to bother him at all!

He's the oldest male and telling him off and no affect at all he will just go back to what he was doing......
Plus side they are all litter trained so I am grateful to have no issues on this matter!

But at night they run around like idiots and diving on the bed, dart across the floor and a regular sound of CRASHING......

Seems like the oldest Male will challenge EVERYTHING! He knows he isn't allowed in the living room yet he will meow and scratch at the door constantly and when you shoo him off he comes back minutes later and starts all over again......

Really could do with some help!