BAD KITTY! (need some cat advice)

Boingo1

Boingo1

Cathlete
I remember before getting our newest cat (we have 2), seeing a video of a cat unwinding an ENTIRE roll of toilet paper, and thinking how SO not funny it was, and how I PRAY our newest cat doesn't do THAT!

Well, my prayers didn't work.

He does it. :eek:

how do I stop it?

And one more question, while I have you here...

I keep the cats' litter box in an upstairs bathroom, under an open counter. I clean it out twice a day. But sometimes the smell is gross (I have a very sensitive sense of smell). Any pointers on how to keep the area smelling "fresh"?

Thanks in advance....
 
OMG, my cat destroys toilet paper too! I came home one night after work and the ENTIRE BATHROOM was covered--and I mean COVERED--with shredded toilet paper. It was hysterical! I actually took pictures of it because I thought it was so funny. But it's not so funny after the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time. :mad: I eventually started keeping the bathroom door shut all the time so she couldn't get to it. That was my solution. :eek:

Yours isn't so easy, though, since the litter box is in the bathroom too. Honestly, I don't know what to tell ya. I moved into a new apt. in March that actually has an adorable little basement so that's where the litter box is now. :D YAY! I don't worry about smells or the cats getting litter everywhere anymore. It's pretty sweet. You may have to resort to taking the toilet paper off the roll and storing it on top of the toilet or something where the cat can't get to it. They love to spin the roll--that's why they're doing that.

Maybe Kathryn will have some ideas. She's the resident cat expert 'round these parts. ;):D
 
I can't stand the smell of cat box which is why I wrote PUT IN THE CAT DOOR TO THE BASEMENT! at the top of DH's "to do" list just this week. :D I have found though that the quality of food can impact the strength of the smell. I gave Maggie Iams for a couple of days and the smell was unbearable and possessed the ability to, um, linger. When we put her back on Wellness brand it improved.

I don't have the TP problem - yet!

Sparrow
 
THanks!

I can't put the litter box in the basement, it's where I work out! I could NOT work out with litter box smell!!! :confused:

OMG. I just started reading the TP answers. THIS cracked me UP!:

put the toilet paper in a cabinet where he cant get to it. leave an empty roll on the holder, so he can still play with it. mabye you could even write a little note on the empty roll to let your visitors know where the toilet paper is hidden.
Click to expand...
 
Oh that's the other thing he did. We took the paper off the holder, and he knocked it down, and pushed it down the stairs , where it all unraveled!

Funny little bugger!!!!
 
They're such little brats, aren't they Chris!!?!?!?

I scoop their litter daily so the smell doesn't get too bad--I workout in my basement too (and it can get pretty darn smelly sometimes :confused:).
 
try this

Boingo1 said:
I remember before getting our newest cat (we have 2), seeing a video of a cat unwinding an ENTIRE roll of toilet paper, and thinking how SO not funny it was, and how I PRAY our newest cat doesn't do THAT!

Well, my prayers didn't work.

He does it. :eek:

how do I stop it?

And one more question, while I have you here...

I keep the cats' litter box in an upstairs bathroom, under an open counter. I clean it out twice a day. But sometimes the smell is gross (I have a very sensitive sense of smell). Any pointers on how to keep the area smelling "fresh"?

Thanks in advance....
Click to expand...

Try the arm & hammer scoopable litter, I find that the best. Good luck with your toilet paper problem, that is toooooo funny. I am so lucky my guys do not do any of that, though my rag doll kitten does like to take a dump on the bathroom floor instead of in the litter box sometimes. I can't figure that one out at all.

Also try Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, they have an entire message board for cat problems & behavior

karen
 
You could try putting a rubber band around the roll if you leave it on the back of the toilet. At least it wouldn't unravel when he pushed it down the stairs.
 
Which way do you have the toilet paper? Over the top or under the bottom? Maybe under the bottom may help? I think ours did this once many years ago but I don't know what we did to curb it (she's now 15 yrs old).
 
I'm so lucky my Princess doesn't do the toilet paper thing ... but I've had cats that have done it. My litter box is in my workout room because there is no other place to put it - but it doesn't smell - I'm pretty fanatical about cleaning it AND when my cat does No. 2 she lets me know to clean it out right away - seriously. She meows and meows until I get up there and scoop it out... pretty funny. She bolts out right afterward too - like she is embarrassed about what she has just done... such a GIRL!!
 
I've only had TP problems with my cats one: the first time I left them for a couple of days (with auto feeders and waterers). I came home to a long strip of TP unravelled on the floor. No problems before or since.

I think the key is making the TP less attractive (placement, putting something around it that people can remove, but that frustrates cats, etc.) and making something else more attractive (try to figure out what it is about the TP that is so fascinating: is it the rolling? then give him an empty TP tube to play with, etc.

As for the odor. Baking soda can help neutralize odors (Arm and Hammer makes some litters that already have it in. Though I found their "Multi cat" litter doesn't clump as well as their other stuff...very odd!). You can also hang up various things that neutralize odor (I wouldn't recommend most air fresheners, because kitty might not like the odor--especially citrus--and it may dissuade them from using the litter box). Look online at www.petsmart.com and I'm sure you can get some ideas there.
 
Yep, some cats have a real paper fetish. Mine don't but one of the three I care for tears the heck out of toilet paper and paper towel rolls. That's why I have the toilet paper near the toilet but out of his reach of the cats and the paper towels are on top of the fridge. When I forget I come home to a big mess.

But, if you were a cat, wouldn't you have a ball with the tp?
 
My Kiwi is always looking for fun! He's not quite a year old, and our other kitty is about 2 years old, and she is so quiet and never gets into ANYTHING, except when Kiwi chases her, and then she'll play tag like a nutcase!

thanks for all the great ideas. And places to look! I appreciate it..

I do use the Arm & Hammer Baking soda kitty litter. I also have one of those Oil Plug Ins in the bathroom. I ALSO scoop out the clumps twice a day! It really isn't horrible, just sometimes it gets gross. And like I said, I have a super sensitive nose, so it's probably no one else even notices but me!

Here's my crazy cats, rear-view (Kiwi's on the right):
 

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How sweet - the two of them sitting together like that. Did you have trouble introducing Kiwi into your household with the other kitty? I tried once with my Princess and she spent 2 months under the bed. So she is a sole kitty and I think she mostly prefers it that way - it's MY guilt when I have days that I'm not home and the only time she spends with me is when I'm sleeping, working out or getting ready for work. But she definitely can't tolerate another kitty - she is pretty emotionally disturbed really....poor thing. She is such a lovebug though.
 
Samantha, the tiger one, is about a year older than Kiwi. I read and was told that it's easier to introduce a younger cat into the house and I think it helps that one is a female and one a male.

I kept them separated for a few days, and just let them "smell" each other's stuff (I'd alternate them into the same room). And then I introduced them by having Kiwi in a carriers, and letting them sniff each other, and then slowly letting Kiwi out. They did some weird stuff at first, Almost like a "power" struggle, where one wanted to be superior. It was like watching Animal Planet. LOL! But they got pretty used to each other after that.

You can tell Kiwi is younger, He's most likely to start a chase or a game of wrestling, and she goes along with it. They're VERY cute together.

how old is your cat, Mary?
 
Miss Princess is somewhere between 10-14, we aren't quite sure. I adopted her 4 years ago and she was found abandoned in her cat carrier in the middle of a cemetery in January! Ugh. When I spoke to my vet about finding her a friend, I had had her for about 2 years and he said that definitely get a male and a kitten would be best. At the time, I lived in a one bedroom apt. and he said it would be okay to just throw them in together - that's what he's done with his cats. I know that the best way to do it is the way you did it though. Well, the kitten turned out to be an "alpha cat" and he pretty much called the shots - and when feeding time came, I had to lock him in the bathroom to eat so that Princess could finish eating cuz he would devour his food and then go after hers. It was a pretty traumatic two months with him. Princess reverted back to the "scaredy cat" she was when I got her and I missed her like mad! I found a friend to take the kitten and after a while she was back to normal. While I would LOVE to have someone to keep her company while I am out all day, I know she is a much better "single cat"....
 
Hi Mary,

It seems at your kitty's age, she's pretty much set in her ways. And as you said, she probably likes it that way.
I can't believe how people abandon animals the way they do! We adopted our first cat from a Homeless Cat Shelter in February. They said she was abandoned by a family that moved. They just left her (in the middle of the winter). And she is the sweetest , friendliest cat you'd ever want to meet! She loves the kids too!
 
It's already been mentioned to reverse the toilet paper. If that doesn't work, try flattening the roll before you put it on the spool (step on it). Then it can't be spun around easily by your cats.

Diane
 
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