And what has your cat destroyed today?

Valerie Durham · 17 May, 2010

This is the silly forum. If you have serious behavioral issues, go to the behavioral forum, where you will get good advice. I'm just having fun here (or my idea of fun: I love my cats, no matter how naughty they may be). And before we start--among my present brood of cats, I have some whose potential for destruction simply boggles my mind. Do I scold them? No. For one thing, I believe that their behavior is actually rooted in intelligence, which leads to curiosity, which leads to...destructive behavior. And since the destructive behavior is always carried out when I am asleep or not at home, there is no way for me to hiss at them or otherwise try to tell them that their behavior is not nice. Do I know about ways to prevent destructive behavior? Yes. Punishment is not the solution. Prevention is. No cats have been abused in regard to this post...unless you consider the occasional "WHY did you do that!" a form of abuse. ( Said cats never appear weirded out by said Human's occasional outbursts.) I am not angry. In fact, the stranger my cats' behavior gets, the more I find it amusing...within limits, perhaps... This is a topic that I have written about on other threads. To be succinct and accurate, since January, my cats (names to follow) have bitten through my telephone line three times (yes, the telephone guy had to come and put in a new line each time), disengaged the telephone cord from the wall once (yesterday), and destroyed my computer LAN connection by biting through the cord once and disabled it countless times by other means. Not to mention that they have killed two laptop computers since January. When I say "killed," I mean that the computers in question went to the computer hospital, and came back with the diagnosis of everything dead--from the keyboard to the motherboard to the fatherboard (har har, if you've been reading up until now, I hope you realize that I am pulling your leg regarding the fatherboard). I am complaining but not complaining. I left my computers on when I went to take what I thought was a brief nap, and woke up several hours later to find that the computers were...dead. Obviously, two computers didn't die on the same day. One died in January, one in February. RIP. I now know enough to turn off my computers before I go to sleep. Recently, I have been posting about the fact that my cats have moved my Dyson vacuum cleaner to another room and otherwise savaged it. Since I hate this vacuum cleaner like the plague, I actually commend them for their good taste. However, I remain puzzled regarding how cats (even in unison) could have moved this very heavy piece of machinery to another room. No, I am not being delusional. The cats did it while I was asleep. They also committed violent acts on it which are still leaving me scratching my head. Okay, the latest. Yesterday, the Internet router (which you may know under the name of modem) was--yes, yes, this is true!--found in their water bowl. Maine Coons are obsessed with water. My guess is that they were trying to express something by putting the router in their water bowl. The funny thing--and I really do mean funny--is that after giving the router an hour or so to dry, it decided to come back to life, and, at this moment at least, is still working. This reminds me of a past episode that had nothing to do with cats. I had a plant on top of the TV. Dumb. I watered the plant. The TV was flooded. I figured that Mr. TV was dead. I turned him on with great trepidation the next day. I was afraid of being electrocuted. Hallelujah. Not only was Mr. TV still functioning, but the picture quality had improved. I am a total idiot when it comes to anything mechanical, but I believe in magical thinking, and hey, if a TV or a router (modem) can survive a bath, I am willing to call this a miracle. Long post. Tired. I love my cats. I love them whatever they do. Oh, and the names. Harvard has inherited Chibi's intelligence and personality. He has chosen to stay with me, and will. His brother Lowell will be sold at one point. I can't save every kitten from every litter. Lowell will get a good home, you can be assured. I hate separating the two, because they are brothers and buddy cats...and I actually find the mischief they get into together to be amusing. Hail, Harvard and Lowell!

Jennifer Novak · 17 May, 2010

Over the weekend, he destroyed my official Anderson Cooper bookmark. Here's the video: http://www.catster.com/video/990039/this_is_what_i_really_think_of_my_namesake Um...by the way...Coopurr is named after Anderson Cooper.

):)):))

Sophie Veilleux · 18 May, 2010

Last week my power cord for my laptop died and I suspect kitty bc there was a tiny nibble mark so she must have bit it just one time and there it went..it's ok only 10$ to replace, not like a whole laptop computer...twice!! Poor you! Last night my kitty decided she would have fun with my mosquito net that I drape around me when I go to bed and made holes in it! I was pretty upset by that but que sera sera..again at least it's not my laptop! Still love my kitty and her crazyness!|^|

Lucybelle G · 22 May, 2010

My box of Puffs! Not that she would admit to destroying it, more like creative shredding.

)

Valerie Durham · 23 May, 2010

And today...my telephone was killed. Yes, yes, they bit through the line, and I should have sprayed it with bitter apple...but the parent phone and the child phone (sorry, direct translation from the Japanese...) were totally dead. The phone guy came and ignored the cats who were terribly curious about checking out him and his briefcase, but...well, Mr. Phone and Phone Jr. are now officially dead. The phone line problem was caused by the cats (unless I have smaller, sharper teeth than I think, and have a habit of biting through electrical lines in my sleep). The phone problem is due to the fact that the phone in question was terribly old, or to my habit of dribbling liquids on things when talking to people on the phone, or to cats getting into interesting acrobatic positions to wee wee...the possibilities are endless, but I need a new phone. I do have a cell phone, but cell phone rates in Japan are so obscenely high compared to landline rates that I use my cell phone only sparingly. Sigh...

Timmy_Tomcat · 23 May, 2010

Meows. I cannot get the lid off of the treats. He hides them in the cabinet or puts them in that container that requires thumbs. Bad father! Bad. No matter how much I knock them down and roll them around they do not fall out. I wish is was like before he found my hiding spot for the empty treat bags. He would get another out and I could sneak up during the night. Pull it down. Drag it under. Zip it open and eat the treat! Meow! That Toby playing with the empty bag ruined it all.|^|

Valerie Durham · 23 May, 2010

When you go to cat shows, you get freebies. As well you should, as it costs a lot in Japan to put a cat in a show. These range from free samples of Science Diet (which sort of dominates the CFA) to things like powdered kitten milk (most exhibitors are also breeders). I had these stashed in a closed container. The cats (yes, YOU Harvard and Lowell) managed to open the container and rip open (with their tiny sharp teeth) a packet of powdered kitten milk. Said packet, empty and shredded, was later discovered under my bed. Good work! And I hope you enjoyed that treat! ;c;

Vicky Chan · 23 May, 2010

My buttercup busted the turtle aquarium several weeks ago. Today my mom had to show him how to jump onto the window sill, and he broke a vase on the way.

Valerie Durham · 25 May, 2010

Today\'s exciting episode: Mommy\'s watch disappears!!! ;c; Mommy thinks that people who buy Rolexes have too much money to waste, but has always enjoyed the aesthetic appeal of the Cartier tank watch. Art Deco and all that. But she is too cheap to actually buy one. Instead, she bought a Japanese version of the tank watch (rectangular, Roman numerals) many years ago, and it is probably her most precious possession. It is 18 carat gold (for some reason, 14 carat gold is not big in Japan), and she bought it the instant she saw in a newspaper ad that it was on sale. Why gold? Mommy has extremely acidic sweat, which turns silver black within a day and eats away other metals within a year. She loves this watch. It has been with her for many years, through experiences she is not about to reveal on this thread. She was disoriented this morning. Got up, got her cuppa, logged on to Catster. Finally realized that the time had come to get ready for work. After she\'d finished showering, she couldn\'t find her watch. Usually she puts it near the showering area or near the clothing she is to wear that day. No watch. Nothing had been thrown out in the trash that morning, so the watch was in the apartment. But where? She searched and searched and finally gave up. And then, just as she was about to leave, the watch was found next to the bathroom door. Yeah, probably Harvard and Lowell. Mommy was happy. Her watch is her lucky charm, and when she dies (yes, she will die eventually, and you will, too), she wants it buried with her. Mommy was happy to go to work today with her watch on her wrist. Right now it has a pink leather strap (Mommy hates pink, which is why she perversely chooses pink things). Since Mommy\'s sweat is so destructive, she has to have the strap changed several times a year because of the ODOR. Mind you, she sleeps with her watch on. One reason: she is extremely nearsighted and having a watch on her wrist at night gives her a better idea of time than a clock next to the bed will. Another reason: Mommy sleeps with the light on. No, she is not afraid of the dark, but she sleeps better when she knows that when her eyes open she will be able to see the things around her. And, finally, Mommy, who is always late for everything, has a strange habit of accumulating clocks. There are probably around 13 clocks in the apartment right now, but (heh heh) because of our antics some of them have had their batteries knocked out. When Mommy has to get up extra early, she sets numerous clocks in numerous locations throughout the apartment, and sets them all to slightly different times so she will be sure to wake up. Which is silly, because she\'s getting so old that she wakes up at dawn anyway. Silly Mommy. Mommy got her watch back, and we\'re not telling who took it in their mouth and left it on the floor outside the bathroom. Or why. We\'re cats. We don\'t have to have reasons.

Valerie Durham · 25 May, 2010

And now...today\'s episode... I tend to wake up at dawn. My eyes open when the sun enters my south facing room. This morning, when I was still in that netherworld between sleep and wakefulness, my eyes opened and I saw a red tabby clinging to the curtains over my bed. Splayed out in an x-shaped position. Unable to disengage himself from the curtains. Usually, I would suspect Harvard, but this time I think it was Lamont (aka \"The Screamer,\" aka \"Orangie\"). I screamed \"What ARE you doing?\" and gently disengaged him from the curtains. Good way to wake up. The cats are, for some reason, fascinated by the windowsill. It is probably only 4 inches in depth, but they love sitting there. Can they see outside? No. The window is made of clouded glass. At one point, I collected plastic Diet Coke bottles (I was addicted to Diet Coke at that point), put water in them, and lined them up on the windowsill. Yes, that prevented the cats from jumping up there. But the water ended up developing a toxic looking green mold, so I got rid of the Diet Coke bottles. The windowsill is now a place which the cats compete to dominate. Today\'s curtain episode was related, but probably a fluke. The cats\' inexplicable fascination with the windowsill has apparently caused a hole to develop in the wall directly beneath. The hole is real. How it happened, I don\'t know. The wall is thin, and almost any shock could have created the hole. Perhaps I kicked the wall in my sleep. But the area around the hole is now bereft of wallpaper. Little kitties tearing off little bits of wallpaper bit by bit. Oh, anyway...waking up to find a ten pound red tabby spider hanging on your curtains is...an awakening experience.

Unknown · 26 May, 2010

Umm. Storm has broken the hermit crab lid. And a tiger statue we had. Sabrina as well as I can think right now has not broken anything worth remembering. Sabastian has broken tons of little statues around the house. He has broke more than anything. Sammi doesn't break much but he has unplugged the wireless internet thing a few times. Ohh wait. I lied. Sabrina broke a china tea cup while seeing if she could jump from the jewelry box to the top of the meter (which didn't work and when she fell that was when the tea cup was killed)

Sarah Clark · 30 May, 2010

Misty loves to tear through loaves of bread (plastic wrap and all) , so now all bread is kept in a rubbermaid bread keeper. She also tears through full rolls of paper towels and toilet paper...and makes sure to spread it around everywhere. All of this is amusing..as long as its not the last roll of toilet paper ~a~

terri echols · 31 May, 2010

hi! i\'m Gymonee! i\'m almost seven months old, that picture is old. i came inside about three weeks ago. the very first night i came in the house i broke a vase my mom was given for her last birthday (most recent birthday? hope it\'s not the last...)bent a curtain rod and ruined a bus pass giving it a bath in the water fountain. i like it here.:D (human note: the force is strong in this one...:-O )

Sarah Clark · 7 July, 2010

Today I attacked the toilet paper. Silly fur-less ones did not put it up after bringing it inside so I had fun with the new pack of it. Unfortunately (for me) they found it before I fully tore up a roll. I also knocked over and successfully took off with a puzzle part, and Im not telling where I put it no way no how. The box the puzzle used to be in? chewed. Annabelle\'s favorate stringy toy? chewed/torn up. Carpet? still intact. I dont want those fake cat nails (soft claws) again... and they said If I left the carpet alone it would be OK.

Sara Leedom · 13 July, 2010

Sam has performed his evening rite of sacrificing a paper bag to the deity Trader Joe. Other than that, he is thinking of destroying a pile of newspapers near the doorway.

And what has your cat destroyed today?

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