I absolutely love plants, the problem is… my kittens are very interested in chewing on them (no worries, all the toxic ones are in a separate room for now) At this point, I’m starting to think I’ll have to get rid of my plants that are toxic to cats.

But then I keep seeing aesthetic apartments online full of houseplants (including my favorite pothos!) where people also have cats. It makes me wonder, are there really cats that just never chew on plants?

If your cat used to do this, how did you train them to stop?

To anyone who has gone through misdirected aggression with their cats (especially those who had a bonded pair prior to the aggression) how long did it take you to reintroduce them and how are they doing now? Did their relationship ever go back to how it was before? I’m heart broken that I’m going through this with my 2 year old bonded males right now and it’s so heartbreaking. I worry I will never be able to have them together again safely and that they will always be skittish and stressed.

My partner's cat is a very affectionate guy, around 6 years old but still very active and excitable. He loves sleeping on the pillow with me, is very food motivated and generally wants attention like many other cats. In general he is very affectionate and loving.

The issue is he wants A LOT of attention. Being a deaf cat, he seems to vocalize a lot to interact with anything and everything, and is always quick to greet when you enter the room and wants to be petted. When he doesn't get this attention, he yowls very loudly and repeats until he gets tired--this behavior is not rewarded with petting or even looking at him, and oftentimes I will leave the room to discourage this, but none of this seems to have any effect.

He also gets pretty aggressive with playing pretty quickly. And he also basically never gets tired of playing! I've yet to see him ignore the wand unless food is involved, he'll keep going even if he's tired. Play time is always with toys, but he has a nasty habit of going after my hands and arms and sometimes feet. I've tried many typical things, like ending playtime, leaving the room, hiding my hands, no attention, etc. When leaving the room he'll yowl for quite a while, take a break then yowl some more, going for upwards of 20-30 minutes.

His attention demands are consistently excessive, or seem so to me, but he gets a lot of attention already. He is a solo cat, and does get playtime, but it's possible he's just at a social deficit. And the play aggression stuff just seems to be that he's quick to get overstimulated and has basically no self-control. Any suggestions?

Title basically says it all. I got a kitten 2 months ago and since then my senior cat spends most of his day downstairs away from her. He used to be so vocal and hang with me all day. They get along, she’s just very annoying. Always jumping on him and smothering him. When will she grow out of this annoying phase? Will it get better???? I can’t take this much longer. I’m not sure what to do. I feel so guilty. It’s breaking my heart. Has anyone dealt with this before? 😞

Hi everyone! I was looking to get some experiences from people who have introduced a 6 week old female orange kitten to a 1 year old male orange resident cat!

Long story short, I will be picking up a new kitten this week and I’m super excited and probably over prepared with all my stuff from when I got my first kitten about a year ago! I was looking for some pointers beyond the take it slow introductions. The plan would be for the new girl kitten to be housed in the bathroom with her own litter box, toys, and food and water fountain until the boy cat and her get used to each other, then house them together in my bedroom at night and through the house during the day!

Currently in the house I have my 1 year old male orange tabby who hasn’t really been around other cats, but is very social and very playful. We also have two dogs who enjoy being around the cat and try to include him when they play (the cat likes being bullied)

Can’t wait to hear all the tips anyone can provide!

I have two kittens, siblings, 6 months old and recently spayed/neutered. They are bundles of energy, but unfortunately that energy sometimes gets redirected at the wrong things.

Small context: I've had cats my whole life, but never indoor only kittens (my other cat was already a year old when he became indoor only, also he doesn't live with me anymore).

So, I've tried since the beginning of owning them to give them toys and stimulation to ensure that they DON'T become destructive. They have places to hide, places to climb safely, a bunch of boxes and toys and slow feeders to try and exercise their nature and instincts on something positive. They also get played with regularly and play with each other.

Here's the problem: they are menaces when it comes to any random things they can access. We've closed off two rooms: the kitchen (besides feeding time) and the bedroom (where we now hide items that they were playing with that weren't their toys). I can hide tiny things away to avoid them stealing them (to an extent; I have no where else to put my bookshelf and they love climbing that too), but the biggest issue started a few weeks ago: they're destroying my walls.

They're classical German walls and they have texture. They are also kind of cheaply made and my cats' favourite scratching post (despite the fact they have multiple others).

I have no way to stop them from doing this. We've tried redirecting them, blowing air at them (to imitate hissing?), nothing really works. Even if they stop doing it while I'm in the room, they'll do it overnight. All the classical tricks are impossible to use (moving the item where they can't teach it, for example) so I'm just lost as to what to do about it.

We're already going to have to repair the walls before we move out, but I'd still really like to know if there's any way to get these tendencies out of them. Also is there any hope they grow out of behaviours such as these?

i'm asking because i'm reading conflicting things.

my kitten is turning 12 weeks old and so far i've been checking in on her during my lunch breaks and feeding her. apparently after 12 weeks old you should transition them to 3 meals a day? so i've been wondering how necessary it is.

she gets along really well with my resident cat so she's not alone for a whole 8h either + i kitten-proofed my entire apartment.
when would be the appropriate time to start getting her used to my absence for a workday? she does play a lot on her own and with my resident cat.

i'm not in a rush or anything but would like more chill lunchbreaks soon lmao

Hello, i really hope to get some advice here. i had three cats, felix, carrot, and molusk. felix is the oldest, carrot is the youngest, molusk being in the middle. molusk and carrot used to play together a lot, but sadly molusk passed away, and carrot shifted his playful energy onto felix, an felix didnt like that. its been a while, and since then carrot outgrown his playfulness and just doesnt care about felix that much anymore. but felix still hisses at him even when hes just walking by, or trying to sniff him, and it causes me a lot of mental pain first and foremost and im really not sure what to do about it.

I adopted a 3 month kitten because my 6 year old cat spent his days either sleeping or stealing food. My job needs me outside a lot so I wanted a cuddle and play buddy for him. He is a calm chill little guy but the issue is that our new Siamese kitten is absolutely bonkers and has an insane amount of energy, as these kittens do. We introduced them over 2 weeks and my cat is chill asf. He doesn't hiss or attack him and they eat in the same room, seemingly they are okay with each other but here's the issue. I have spent the last few days over the break trying to absolutely wear out the kitten with toys and give him all the attention he craves but he always jumps our cat and tries to play fight. At first my cat plays along but now the kitten kicks the cat out of his little sleeping hut and wakes him up if he's trying to sleep. We have a cat tree but the kitten bothers him regardless as he will simply get up and walk away if he seems the kitten coming. The kitten won't let him sleep or chill, no matter what time of day it is. My cat is getting increasingly annoyed at the crazy kitten but he just doesn't seem to discipline him harsh enough for the kitten to stop. My cat play fights in the beginning but the kitten doesnt seem to have a stop button. I just can't seem to get this kitten tired and im literally chasing him around the house trying to distract him but my cat is starting to hiss at him whenever he gets close when he's trying to sleep/chill because the kitten is not giving him any space. What can I do???

Hey so this may be a bit odd, but I want to train my cat to wake me up. Yes, you read that right, I want to train him to do something many owners complain about. The thing is that I have a non-dangerous neurological disorder that makes me fall asleep constantly/makes it hard for me to wake up, so I would like the extra help.

I would love to hear suggestions about steps on how to progress this “trick” or even how to structure it. I picture it as an alert system of some sort, like dogs do sometimes, but harder because this is a baby with knifes attached to his hands and the attitude of an annoying teenager.

Pros/positive aspects about my cat:
- follows my sleep schedule almost every night and he comes to sleep with me on my bed
- as many cats, he has a routine and an internal clock that rarely changes
- he lays next to me when he senses strong emotional changes
- he has been very receptive (for a cat) about tricks like sitting before eating, stay outside a room with the door open, jumping through a hoop and staying on my shoulder for solid 20 meters
- he understands a lot of words like “food” “grandma/grandpa” “best friend” “tv” “run/long shot” “clean” “stay” “sit” “up” “stretch” “through”, etc.
- he responds to his name most of the time, ofc he also ignores it, but he turns his face towards you when you say his name
- he is fairly young (1 year 9 months)

A base I could work around is that he knocks on the door in the morning to let him out of the room, or that he walks/jumps on my back to reach my window in the mornings to watch my neighbours light turn on (Ik, weird little fella). These two things might be useful but I don’t mind changing to another thing and not using these.

Disclaimers:
- I do not intend on trying to pretend he is a service animal of some sort
- I know he will not be a 100% reliable, so I do not intend on relying on him to wake me up consistently every day, I just want the extra help whenever he can

TL;DR: help me learn how to teach my cat to wake me up when I have a neurological episode and in the mornings.

Well, a bit of an update for now, hissing and occasional swats still occur but they're playing by chasing each other and it's hilarious, I had to make this edit :D

Any feedback on if this is going well for now? Kitten just turned 2 months old so a tiny baby. Older girl is 7 years old.

Hi! I'm doing some research regarding training cats for public and unfamiliar places, kind of like adventure or working cats.

I'm just doing a simple interview, so if anyone is able to answer these questions, it would be greatly appreciated!

Questions: ● How old were they when you started training? ● Did you use a carrier, stroller, harness, or another method? ● How long were your outings in the beginning? ● How did you help your cat become comfortable in new environments? ● Do you have any other tips or things that you'd recommend others try?

Thanks again to everyone participating! It's greatly appreciated. This is being done for research purposes, but no names are listed.

I have two male cats, a 6 year old tuxedo named snape and a 1 year old black cat named Navali.

I live alone in a one bedroom apartment.

I got Navali when he was an only a few weeks old and has been rasied by Snape. He was a farrel that I picked up while working, has been to the vet and gotten his shots since. Not neutered, he’s not super aggressive or territorial so I was hoping I wouldn’t have to right now. For the most part he’s a really docile cat. He’s a hider and doesn’t like to show himself around people and is not curious about going outside. However as he gets older he’s starting to get more restless and playful. I’ve seen plenty of cats with more energy than him, he’s not a sprayer either, but he’s got a healthy appetite for playing around.

His increased energy is the problem in the cats relationship, but he’s not the problematic cat.

My other cat, Snape, is well…. A bitch. That’s the best way I can describe it. Once upon a time he was my sister’s cat. She picked him up via the cat distribution system like I did with Navali. He is neutered. He’s always been very choosy about who can be around and was her favorite. He lived in a 3 cat household with her up until about 3 years ago when she died. He was in the same room with her when it happened. I took him, her mom kept one and her friend took the other, it took 6 months of me laying beside him to even get him to come out from under my bed. He was confined to my room because I lived with my dad at the time and he had other cats. He got along with a senior cat of ours and the kittens we had fine. I had him for about a year before I got Navali. Snape likes to do this thing where he acts all big and bad when he’s got the upper hand, but can’t actually fight to save his life. He would tease one of our cats through the window, but get his ass kicked on the off time it was open.

I kept him separate nearly the whole time but he would always act like he was interested in making friends. There would be some progress, but ultimately he likes his alone time.

I got a kitten because I knew I was moving out soon and wanted him to have a friend/ have a cat of my own. Not just the one I inherited. They got along really well at first when Navali was a kitten, and Navali still adores Snape, but at one point Snape just snapped.

Now that Navali is older and getting closer to an adult size, snape does not tolerate them playing together anymore. It was like black and white, one day they were together all the time and cuddling, the next he wanted nothing to do with him. I think he’s intimidated now that Navali is big enough to win a fight. Now anytime Navali approaches him, he hisses and starts a fight where he’s screaming and fur is flying until he gets into a closed confined space where Navali can’t get near.

Navali always tries to approach snape and howls like “why won’t you talk to me anymore”. Sometimes he stalks and tries to do a playful swat but he never approaches with aggression. Snape is not very playful. Sometimes I get him to play but it’s not his favorite thing. I’ve made safe spots for him but so far he’s broken my bookshelf and two camps. He’s back to staying under the bed and they still fight each other every time they interact, it’s been months.

I separate them from time to time and play with Navali every day to get energy out of him. He sticks to me like glue when I’m home. When I hold snape I can bring him around Navali and hold them together, but not without an irritated look.

I’ve tried a couple things and it’s just getting worse. Now Snape is starting to poop under the bed because he can’t even make it to the two liter boxes right across the bed without feeling harassed. It smells awful and I’ve started sleeping on the couch when I’m too tired to lift my mattress and clean it every night.

I know I need to make more hiding spots and be more strict about separating them. They still can eat together although I have to move snapes food to the bed. Navali is admit about eating near him tho and I don’t always have the time to chase him down and pull him from under the bed to separate them before work.

I take snape out and let him in the living room while Navali is locked in the room like once or twice a week.

Snape has notably gained weight, but he does not overeat. He always gets the same one scoop of food and doesn’t always finish it. But that’s normal for him. He just isn’t moving around because he’d rather corner himself than interact with his brother.

Snape is very touch sensitive and gets overstimulated quickly. I’d rather not have to take him to a vet because I don’t have the money to blow on a bunch of tests and shit. But at this point maybe he needs something to manage his anxiety?

Navali is apart of the issue because he’s hopelessly persistent, but he’s trying mostly trying to be socialable and cuddle again.

I’ve been thinking about getting another kitten so that Navali has a companion to play with and take the pressure off snape, because he cries when he’s alone.

Now Im on the fence because I can’t imagine getting rid of either of my cats and adding a third that may make another problem that I get attached to doesn’t seem smart. I was just thinking that an actual hierarchy would make the situation better like when he was with my sister.

I’m at a loss of what to do. I don’t know how much longer I can tolerate my room smelling like shit and cats being at war when I work a full time job and am trying to go to college.

Any advice would be appreciated atp.

Hey there folk I’ve been slowly been trying to introduce Truffles (17F) and Yolk (14W) for a few months now (mainly through separate rooms). I had pretty good start with them eating on the opposite side of the door, scent swapping and the occasional site swapping. This went on for about a month and a half until we got the clear of Yolk being free of FIV & FELV and moved the little man into our sunroom that way Truffles could look at him through the sliding glass door into the sunroom. They still eat pretty close when I feed them in the morning and when I give treats in the evening. Because of this for the last almost 2 weeks I’ve periodically let Yolk roam about for a few minutes after I get home from work.

Now Truffles usually just observes him and doesn’t really interact with the little man until he gets up close to him, which usually results in a hiss or a swat like in the videos. But when/if Truffles starts to growl I usually pluck the little man away and put him back in the sunroom for a while before trying again (if I have the time). I know the correct thing to do would be get another little man or lady for yolk to be playmates but unfortunately, financially I don’t think it’s viable. Any tips folks would be much appreciated.

As for the video, it is in order of events of tonight’s introductions. There’s some hissing in the 2nd & 3 segment and some swatting in the 2nd. I just was wondering if any of that is a good indication of process between the two? For any of those who’ve introduced older cats to kittens before.

Okay so we have two female cats that are 1 year and 8 months old. They are a bonded pair and sisters from the same litter (so both are 1yr8months).

My mother-in-law's cat had a litter of seven kittens and are not keeping any of them they have offered us one of the male cats it's about 2 or 3 months old right now and we are going to end up taking it. Any advice for Intergration, and does the sex of the kitten matter for Intergration?? I know for the first week or so we will need to supervise, but what should we expect, and when should we \*not\* step in during the Intergration process (like when is it normal asserting a hierarchy type stuff???)

Thanks.

At the end of October, we'll bring home a 3 months old sphynx cat, and I have a few questions about how to train him to certain things.

I know there are netted backpacks that allow you to bring your cat wherever you want, and I heard that they do enjoy if they can accompany you.

1. How can I make my cat comfortable with bringing him with me like this?

I usually visit my parents every two weeks, and stay there for the weekend. A relative could take care of him while I'm not with him, but I don't want to leave him alone like this, so I'd much rather bring him home with me. My parents have two cats, a british short hair, who is kinda chill, and a siamese cat, who is quite territorial and jealous (he seems to dislike the british short hair too, even though they live together for 4 years now :( I'm guessing it's due to incorrect introduction or incompatible personalities). I don't want to stress any of the cats, so any tips for a relatively smooth cat introduction would be very much appreciated.

2. How can I get my cat get at least used to, or much rather enjoy travelling by car?

3. How can I get my cat used to being in my parents house?

4. How should I introduce my cat with my parents' cats as smoothly as possible?

I’ve had my cat, Silver for almost a year now. Shes almost a year old. I noticed that she doesn’t know her own strength. When she bites me, she does it with all her might and it hurts a lot. Today she was chewing on my computer charger so I got up and picked her up and put her on the floor. I sat back down on my bed and she attacked me, biting and scratching my arm. I feel like I’m raising her wrong. Help.

I have a 5-year-old resident cat, and I recently adopted a 3-month-old kitten. They’re both girls.The kitten has been staying in a separate room. For the first 5 days, I didn’t let them meet directly. I swapped their scents and let them see each other through a barrier. Both of them seemed fine: no hissing, growling, or fighting. I also let the kitten explore the rest of the apartment while my older cat stayed in the kitten’s room.When I finally let them meet face to face, the kitten immediately started running toward and jumping at my older cat. My older cat doesn’t hiss or fight back—she just runs away. I separated them after the first attempt.

Now the same thing happens every time. The kitten seems to want to play, but my older cat is not very active or playful and doesn’t seem to enjoy it. She doesn’t appear extremely stressed afterward and goes back to chilling normally, but the introductions themselves don’t seem to go well. I tried playing with the kitten before their meetings to tire her out, but she has so much energy that after resting for 10–15 minutes, she wants to play again. My older cat still seems curious about the kitten. When she runs away from the kitten, she often comes back to watch her from a distance. I also let my older cat sit on a high surface that the kitten couldn’t reach while I played with the kitten in the kitten’s room. She looked interested and didn’t seem stressed.

What should I do next? Should I let them work it out on their own under supervision, or should I slow down the introduction process and keep them separated until they get along better?

Came across these two having a sweet moment today! It has been 3 weeks since we adopted our tortie kitten (4 months now), our resident cat is a rescue, he is about 4 years old, we adopted 2 years ago. The kitten is non stop energy, our tux has been pinning her periodically but also seems super interested in her (and her food) and likes to play chase at times. Her addition to the house has been a bit of an adjustment so seeing this today is definitely reassuring that they are figuring things out. I’ve been finding this subreddit very helpful as I navigate a multi cat household so wanted to share!

I’m pregnant and my son will be here in just 3 weeks my cat has been clawing at the baby things jumping on all his stuff and even peeing he’s already been fixed does anyone know how can I correct this behavior I don’t want to rehome him but if I need to for the safety of the baby I will. My first step is to find a way for them to safely co exist thank you