Why is your cat destroying everything? These 6 tips can help you solve this
This unwanted behavior can be caused by being bored, stressed and anxious, and therefore, they end up releasing their emotions on the nearest furniture. This feline behavior can be controlled with a few simple tips, just needing to adapt the house to some of the cat’s needs.
Check out 6 tips in this text that can help you.
Cat destroying everything: discover the reasons
Find out why your cat could be destroying your home.
Boredom
One of the most common reasons your cat can destroy things is boredom. Yeah, the lack of activities at home may be leading your cat to this unwanted behavior.
Cats that are unoccupied, without activities and points of distraction tend to direct their interest to available objects. To solve this problem it is important to have correct distractions and activities available daily for the kittens.
Toys for cats and games with the tutor’s participation is a great way to distract and spend the cat’s energy. Ideally, the cat should play for at least 20 minutes a day to spend its energy, but this time can be divided during the day.
Stress
A stressed cat can demonstrate its behavior by destroying things and even urinating in inappropriate places. If the cat has toys available but still continues to destroy their objects, it is necessary to find out the reason for the stress.
Cats can be stressed by changes in the environment, coexistence with other animals and inadequate introduction, noises and other reasons.
There are some products that can be used to calm cats, as they have properties and pheromones that emit a feeling of calm, well-being and serenity.
syndromes
Felines usually gnaw and scratch objects, but some may have a syndrome that makes them eat unusual objects, such as lines, fabrics, shoelaces and in some cases even sanitary sand from the box.
If you notice that your cat is swallowing some of these objects, he may be suffering from a problem known as Pica Syndrome, where the animal feels compulsion for things that are not edible.
This behavior does not have a specific cause, but it can involve problems such as poor diet, some illnesses or emotional imbalance. It is important to be aware of this and not leave objects that can be eaten easily accessible.
If you notice this attitude in the animal or see that it has swallowed something strange, take it to the vet immediately, as it is a practice that can put the kitty’s life at risk.
Cats destroying everything: tips to solve
We cite some reasons that can lead the cat to destroy things, but how to make the kitty improve its behavior? Check out 6 tips that can help you.
Have a scratching post for cats
A scratching post is one of the most important items to have at home. Scratching is a natural behavior of felines, and if they don’t have a suitable place, they do what is available, such as beds and sofas.
There are different shapes, sizes and materials of scratching posts and you can have more than one around the house, such as in the bedroom and living room, thus reducing the chance of your kitten scratching where it shouldn’t.
Provide activities and stimulation
Playing with the cat is a way for him to exercise and spend the accumulated energy. Playing with the cat during the day and close to bedtime allows your cat not only to avoid destroying objects in the house, but will also make it sleep at night, even avoiding waking the tutor to get attention.
An activity-rich environment will keep your cat content and prevent it from destroying your furniture.
pay attention to the cat
Negative behaviors can be a way for the cat to ask for the tutor’s attention. It may be that you spend a lot of time away from home or do not pay attention when you are around, so play and pet your kitten so that he feels loved. Just spending more time with him can make him less destructive.
Even the amount of kitty litter boxes has an ideal amount. Cats are territorial and don’t like to share spaces, so make sure you have at least one litter box per cat.
So you avoid some accidents and do the needs outside the indicated place.
Have niches and shelves
Niches and shelves are a playground for cats, so they become one of the best ways to make your cat distracted. This space is an environmental enrichment for the kittens, as they can go up and rest at will in an appropriate place.
There are kits with built-in niches, shelves, bridges and scratching posts that allow you to create a good space, ensuring your kitten’s physical and mental health. If you have more than one cat, ideally it should have more than one niche to avoid territorial disputes.
Reeducate your behavior
The negative behaviors of cats can be re-educated with attention and patience.
Do not yell or even hit the cat when you see that it is attacking in an inappropriate place, instead, redirect its attention to the correct place and offer treats as a form of positive reinforcement so that it understands the behavior. Fighting and punishing only makes him maintain the behavior, but avoid the tutor.