Chewing cat?

Hello,

Our little 9 month old rescue kitty has recently started to destroy
anything she can sink her teeth into.. she doesnt scratch at the
furniture, but she DOES try to rip, tear, and shred anything (paper,
carpets, books, clothing, shoes, etc she can get her teeth into... to
the point of nearly injuring herself to get things down off of
coathangers, bookshelves and trying to get into cupboards (we've since
installed stronger magnetic locks). Is she going through a phase? Is
this normal for some cats?

I suspect she is doing it out of boredom, but we have a huge
scratching/climbing post, many toys (ping pong balls etc) that we/she
plays with for hours a day. She has "shreddable" toys but doesnt play
with them at all.. what gives?

She usually only starts wrecking things after we go to bed, but
occasionally it happens when I think shes in another room sleeping..
suddenly its *smash* and Ill go in to find her shredding a roll of
paper towels or a area rug I say "no" and hiss at her a bit, clean
up and remove whatever she has been doing and thats usually the end of
it. We've tried making sure that there is nothing out that she wants,
but some things we CANT move (rugs, coats etc.)

any suggestions? Shes not an aggressive kitty at all, a complete
cuddlebug!

Tidey

On 16 Mar 2005 04:04:01 -0800, "Tideypoo"
wrote:

Hello,

Our little 9 month old rescue kitty has recently started to destroy
anything she can sink her teeth into.. she doesnt scratch at the
furniture, but she DOES try to rip, tear, and shred anything (paper,
carpets, books, clothing, shoes, etc she can get her teeth into... to
the point of nearly injuring herself to get things down off of
coathangers, bookshelves and trying to get into cupboards (we've since
installed stronger magnetic locks). Is she going through a phase? Is
this normal for some cats?

I suspect she is doing it out of boredom, but we have a huge
scratching/climbing post, many toys (ping pong balls etc) that we/she
plays with for hours a day. She has "shreddable" toys but doesnt play
with them at all.. what gives?

She usually only starts wrecking things after we go to bed, but
occasionally it happens when I think shes in another room sleeping..
suddenly its *smash* and Ill go in to find her shredding a roll of
paper towels or a area rug I say "no" and hiss at her a bit, clean
up and remove whatever she has been doing and thats usually the end of
it. We've tried making sure that there is nothing out that she wants,
but some things we CANT move (rugs, coats etc.)

any suggestions? Shes not an aggressive kitty at all, a complete
cuddlebug!

Tidey

Sounds to me like she is bored. Any chance of getting a second kitty
for her to play with?
If not, maybe try scheduling some playing sessions with her to tire
her out.

Justin - not an expert

In article . com,
enlightened us with...

Our little 9 month old rescue kitty has recently started to destroy
anything she can sink her teeth into.. she doesnt scratch at the
furniture, but she DOES try to rip, tear, and shred anything (paper,
carpets, books, clothing, shoes, etc she can get her teeth into... to
the point of nearly injuring herself to get things down off of
coathangers, bookshelves and trying to get into cupboards (we've since
installed stronger magnetic locks). Is she going through a phase? Is
this normal for some cats?


She may just be bored, but she may also be breaking her back molars in. That
probably itches (bordering on hurting) something fierce.
She may (probably will) grow out of it. In the meantime, you could try that
stuff to numb human baby gums (check with your vet first, but if it's for
human babies, I would think it would be safe for kitties) and use it a couple
times a day in the back of her mouth. Sometimes they just need to chew to
break those teeth, though.
Have you tried getting her a teething ring made for small dogs?

In my opinion, 2 cats are always better than one. They entertain each other.
I see SUCH a difference between my cats and my Mom's cat. He is so very
dependent on her because he doesn't have anyone else to play with.
Do you have it in your heart (and space, budget, etc) to adopt another of
about the same age?

--
--
~kaeli~
Cthulhu saves our souls and redeems them for valuable
coupons later.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
enlightened us with...

Our little 9 month old rescue kitty has recently started to destroy
anything she can sink her teeth into.. she doesnt scratch at the
furniture, but she DOES try to rip, tear, and shred anything (paper,
carpets, books, clothing, shoes, etc she can get her teeth into... to
the point of nearly injuring herself to get things down off of
coathangers, bookshelves and trying to get into cupboards (we've since
installed stronger magnetic locks). Is she going through a phase? Is
this normal for some cats?


She may just be bored, but she may also be breaking her back molars in.
That
probably itches (bordering on hurting) something fierce.
She may (probably will) grow out of it. In the meantime, you could try
that
stuff to numb human baby gums (check with your vet first, but if it's for
human babies, I would think it would be safe for kitties) and use it a
couple
times a day in the back of her mouth. Sometimes they just need to chew to
break those teeth, though.
Have you tried getting her a teething ring made for small dogs?

In my opinion, 2 cats are always better than one. They entertain each
other.
I see SUCH a difference between my cats and my Mom's cat. He is so very
dependent on her because he doesn't have anyone else to play with.
Do you have it in your heart (and space, budget, etc) to adopt another of
about the same age?

Great idea, Kaeli! My two have just begun playing together and I
feel so much better knowing that they have each other for
company when I am elsewhere or here and occupied.