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Help. My little cat Twilight has taken to knock small things off of tables or counters.

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applegrove Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 09:21 PM
Original message
Help. My little cat Twilight has taken to knock small things off of tables or counters.
Last night she knocked two watches off the top of my refrigerator and they both broke. How do I train my sweetie to stop doing that. It usually happens when I'm not there.
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Demoiselle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 09:24 PM
Response to Original message
1. Can you place a whole bunch of little toys around the house?
It sounds like she's bored and making up games to play. Having a vast choice of bat-around items might save your more precious items.
(?)
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david13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 09:35 PM
Response to Original message
2. The reson why kitty does that, is that she is a kitty. Believe me,
Edited on Wed Mar-02-11 09:36 PM by david13
she knows more about being a cat than you do. That is something a cat must do. It's in the genes.
Just put your stuff in a drawer. You know, you are supposed to be the one with the brain, therefore,

... put your stuff in the drawer.
Partickully, partickully if it's something you don't want to get broke. Cats is supposed to break things.
See my avatar.
dc
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grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 09:51 PM
Response to Original message
3. I used to have some nice pottery pieces.
My dear old cat Chester knocked every single piece of pottery I had on the floor. Chester's gone now, but I still have some of those mended pieces. I've had four cats since and none of them have that habit.

If he really wanted to make trouble, he would get up somewhere and swing framed artwork back and forth, back and forth on the wall. Damn.

He was an exceptional cat, even so.
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Capn Sunshine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 09:55 PM
Response to Original message
4. set a bunch of mousetraps and scatter them around the shelves
I'm sure the cat will wait until you fall asleep to kill you.
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Brigid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:00 PM
Response to Original message
5. Yes, this is typical feline behavior.
If a cat sees an item on a table or counter. The cat must then knock the item off. This is usually followed by the cat looking surprised when the item falls to the floor and breaks. There is no cure, since it is so much more fun than playing with the cat toys you so kindly provided.
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applegrove Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:05 PM
Response to Reply #5
6. There are cat toys all over the floor. I guess I need to put them all up high.
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rurallib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:23 PM
Response to Original message
7. train a kitty? really?
easier to give a republican empathy.
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Patiod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 01:17 PM
Response to Reply #7
17. Although --- I did manage to train mine to let me cut her claws
Started when she was a kitten, and always followed by a treat (treats are reserved for two things - claw cutting and coming in from outside when she's called). She also comes in at night when called.

But you're right about other behavior - we tried using water sprays to keep her from running over our heads at night, and we just ended up with an angry, wet cat running over our head. Fortunately, we now have an Guard Dachshund that keeps her off our heads.
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one_voice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:26 PM
Response to Original message
8. My Remy is doing that too..
it's been a while since I've had a kitten. My last cat found me when he was two and never did any of that. Remy is 9 months. And thinks the counters are his. He's knocked a glass off, medicine bottles (none that could open) and I'll hear him batting them around on the floor playing with them. I just move anything I don't want to get broken, and clean the counters with antibacterial stuff in the morning..cuz he does it at night.

Also between 10pm and midnight he runs around the house like a crazy animal for about a 1/2 then calms down and goes to sleep. Guess he's "hunting". He has plenty of toys but still likes getting on the counters and messing with stuff.
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Kali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:30 PM
Response to Original message
9. she will train you not to leave valuables out
is my bet:P

you might be able to train her to stay off tables and counters while you are looking, but that is about it for cat training, I'm afraid :rofl:
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Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 02:16 PM
Response to Reply #9
18. The same way my cat has trained me to always drink my water out of
a spill-proof container, never an open glass. She will knock a glass over every time.
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LynneSin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:50 PM
Response to Original message
10. She's just doing her part to test the laws of gravity
All cats do that
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-02-11 10:52 PM
Response to Original message
11. Gravity checking is a routine cat duty.
They are required to do this by the Cat Rules, just as they are required to be sure that no human may occupy a bathroom unaccompanied by at least one cat.
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JeffersonChick Donating Member (338 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 12:15 AM
Response to Original message
12. My cat used to do that
But he grew out of it. However, when I'm asleep and he's trying to wake me up in the morning and I don't respond, he'll sometimes resort to knocking my water glass off my bedside table and then run. I'm pretty convinced he does this on purpose because it does wake me up, LOL
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csziggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 12:26 AM
Response to Original message
13. Museum putty - stick the stuff to the shelf
It may just piss the kitty off but it will at least make the stuff harder to knock off while just casually walking by it. Of course, that is not for things that you leave laying around, more for decorative stuff that you don't want to move.


Collectors Hold Museum Putty

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http://www.quakehold.com/safety-during-earthquakes-safety-preparedness-safety-furniture-straps/safety-preparedness-safety-furniture-straps-museumputtydetailQH.html
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 02:13 AM
Response to Original message
14. My cat does this, but only when he wants something and I'm not reading his mind
Example: He thinks it's dinner time, and I need to finish a phase of a job before feeding him. This is his signal to start knocking things off the desk.
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ellenrr Donating Member (619 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 07:44 AM
Response to Original message
15. my Kitty does that to hear the noise.
she loves to swipe pens, small objects off the table and if they hit the floor rather than the carpet she likes the noise.
and too they DO just like to do that.
Put your watches away and play with her more.
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joeybee12 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-03-11 12:34 PM
Response to Original message
16. How old is the kitty...is there a pattern to the items...yes, cats will do this...
but there might be something about the objects that she is attracted to...like being shiny...like the watches.
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