Simply remembering all the horrors that my cat has done in the past just gives me a headache, now. I love my cat, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes there are just bad behaviors that she does that drives me crazy.
1. The Horror of Scratch Marks
When I first got her, I didn’t de-claw her or trim her claws at all. I didn’t think she would start aggressively scratching up my wooden stools and chairs like it was her toy. And don’t remind me about the time she messed up the door frame until the wood was chipping off.
Thankfully, this behavior is correctable, in my experience. You need to discipline your cat whenever she scratches, firmly say “no” for “bad cat” immediately after she does it, and buy tons of cat scratchers all over the area. This did the trick. I don’t think I ever saw her scratch anything else ever since.
2. Litter Where? Everywhere
You think you can contain the litter in a litterbox. No, it’s impossible. No matter what kind of method I use to prevent litter from spraying everywhere, it still gets everywhere. It drives me nuts when I walk around my place and suddenly I step on some litter.
Again, thankfully, the best solution is tucking the litterbox in a somewhat hidden nook that there is usually no or little foot traffic. I like to put the litterbox next to my washer and dryer. There’s a perfect, small little room just for a litterbox. You still get some litter in the surrounding area but at least vacuuming the small area is relatively less work and less annoying.
3. Butt Scooting
I was shocked when I saw my cat do this for the first time. Her hind legs propped up and scooting her butt across my living room carpet after she uses the litterbox. I was so disgusting and I mass sprayed Lysol all over the area. After talking with the vet and realizing it was her swollen anal glands that were causing the irritation in her butt, I had the vet get them squeezed (yes, I know, gross) so my cat could live her luxurious, non-butt scooting life. But little did I know, even after the visit to the vet, she still does it. I was going crazy. I’ve talked to the vet about her situation and we concluded that it could be just a habit of hers – butt scooting is easier than licking herself clean.
This still bothers me to this day, but I’ve made it apparent to my cat that I despise this behavior. Any day that she chooses to lick herself clean and not butt-scoot, she will be showered with treats and praises.
4. Water Bowl Puddles
How do you feel about stepping into a puddle of water, as you step into your kitchen to brew yourself a cup of coffee? Yeah, unpleasant right? I don’t know why they do this but they have a habit of always splashing water outside their water bowl when they drink out of it. It could be the bowl, it could be the cat, or it could be both. You would think cats would be sophisticated water drinkers, but no, their priority is to not get their whiskers wet. And so, that usually entails puddles forming on the floor. I usually have some paper towels folded up under the water bowl to soak up most of the water, but unfortunately, it usually is a large puddle every morning.
5. Moody
One moment your cat will be all over you, trying to cuddle with you, and purring her heart out. Then suddenly, she had enough. No more cuddles. Too much cuddling. She doesn’t want all that love anymore. Just like that – abrupt change of heart. I would be lying if I were to say that I don’t get upset by this behavior. It’s not like your cat doesn’t like you, it’s just that she doesn’t want it now. She had enough.
6. “I Won’t Stop Meowing Until You Feed Me”
Come home from a hard day and want to make yourself dinner because you’re starving? Well, you have to feed the cat first. She will be meowing so aggressively to get your attention that her stomach isn’t fed. It doesn’t matter how you’re feeling or what the situation is, the cat is the boss. Before it gets any more irritating, it’s best to quickly feed and appease the cat. This drives me up the wall sometimes, but then, I found the power of an automatic feeder. This automatic cat feeder is a life changer if you own a cat and your life will not be revolved around feeding the cat boss any longer!
7. The Devil Called Vacuum
The only creatures that hate clean floors are cats. They despise it with passion. They will hiss at it, claw at it, and become a devil once the vacuum is activated. Or they will run and hide from it, cowering in fear. Anyway, cats don’t like it. The best thing to do is to either let it out on the balcony or isolated in another room so you are not stressing the cat out.
8. Anything Small and Moving Must Die
Cats are predators and they are brutal. When you see them kill, they kill to death. Even when they are playing with toy mice, they will play with it and try to kill it by multiple claw slashings and biting. Drop a bottle cap on the floor? The cat will go after it and try to kill it. You will get used to it. Such is a domestic cat that has been cooped up too long.
9. Your Attention Please, Or Else
When your cat wants your attention, she will make sure that she gets it. She’ll purr so loudly and aggressive rub against your legs until you give up and say “what’s wrong?” And usually, she wants either food or cuddles. And she will continue to do whatever she’s doing until she gets either of the two. Unless you are going out of your way to ignore the cat, it will get what it wants.
10. How Often Do You Change The Litterbox?
Depending on the size of the cat, on average, you are supposed to change the litterbox 2-3 times per week. I use two litter boxes for one cat so I can get away with changing the litterbox once per week. I definitely do not have the time to change it that frequently so this method works very well for me. I’m happy and the cat’s happy.