Why cats mess with our stuff.

Leaving Our Stuff Alone

by WereBear on Sep.12, 2008, under Training, amusement

Why do cats mess with our stuff? There are many reasons.

They are curious, and experimental.

They are bored, and need amusement.

They miss us and want to feel close to us.

They are terraformers.

more cat pictures

Terraformers? What do I mean?

Cats are used to not only patrolling their territory, but participating in it. They rearrange things to suit them better. They want a clearer shot at an ambush, or to close off an escape route. This is why cats love to manipulate objects. They want to know what they can do with them.

Since this is a survival skill they must practice, we can’t expect cats to just leave everything alone. If we have a cat who is manually inclined, we must supply them with plenty of things to play with. If they are playing with our stuff because they are bored, it’s even more important they have toys they like.

We don’t have to stay with traditional cat toys, either. Old electrical equipment with knobs and switches can fascinate the lively Alpha, while Gammas love the subtle play of lights and shadow from a plastic snow globe. Even if what they want is not safe or playable, we should try to come up with a substitute which is.

If we see the cat playing where they shouldn’t, we should distract them with one of their toys, and make a fuss over them showing an interest. We should show an interest in it ourselves, demonstrating how it could be played with. Hopefully, the cat will see grave errors in our technique, and be eager to show us the right way to play with the toy.

If the cat specializes in playing with our stuff while we are gone, we might have to use cat traps. But we shouldn’t be unreasonable. Anything fragile or special to us should be moved to a safer place. The cat can be insistent about having vantage point or a place near us, and these impulses need to be respected.

We have arranged our place to suit us, and cats have the same desire to create spaces where they are comfortable and secure. The cat might be communicating this wish to us, so we can help them out.

After all, we both live here. By recognizing our needs, and the cat’s, we can live there happily, together.

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:cat traps, terraforming, territory behavior

1 comment for this entry:

Thomasina
September 13th, 2008 on 12:38 am
My cat Earl Gray carry those roound cat beds, I bought at Target, to every part of the house. And there was the time, he got in my closet and got ahold of a sweater. Dragged it all the way to where I was in–in another room. He still held the sleeve in his mouth as looked at me. I planned to donate this sweater to the Goodwill. Well, right now it’s in a corner, with Earl Gray curled and asleep on it.