Cats are typical outdoor creatures so when they become indoor cats, many of their innate behaviors more appropriate for the outdoors become more pronounced.
One thing many cats do is sharpen their claws on furniture. This is a natural behavior and outside cats usually do this on trees. Trees are not generally available indoors so cats use what they can to get the same result. One trick to stop your cat from using the furniture as a scratching post, is to provide them with a carpet or wooden covered post where they can scratch their claws as much as they desire. We tried this trick with one of our cats and it did not work. One article I read mentioning rewarding your cat when it uses the post by giving it a treat. The cat may need you to model the behavior to understand what the post is for as well. Keeping the furniture covered with a vinyl cover is also a good way to prevent cats from scratching the furniture. A light scent of ammonia on the fabric may also be a deterrent to scratching.
Puppies are not the only animals with a tendency to chew things. It is important to keep the clothing you especially like out of your cats reach as they are also chewers. Also, cats will sometimes eat things that cause indigestion and stomach upset. My cats always enjoy eating grass but when they return indoors their little box pays for it. One way to help cats avoid this is to keep what they might eat out of reach. This can be difficult when cats are climbers and can sometimes reach higher than we think they can. Provide larger items for cats to play with and it may help with the cessation of eating what causes indigestion. Sometimes cats munch on house plants as well. If your cat is a houseplant muncher, provide alternative plants for them to eat and deny access to the plants. This is another tip easier said than done. We cannot have houseplants as our cats turn them over every chance they can.
Cats are night-time creatures. They sleep during the day and roam during the night. For this reason, it may be necessary to put them outside, on a porch, or in another room when you are trying to sleep. The expression, “did you put the cat out” holds a lot of meaning. Our cats were once indoors constantly. Every week I would wake up and find something broken from where a cat’s tail had knocked it over or it had been knocked in the floor to play with. Their favorite toys are the hair bands we use to pull our hair into ponytails. I find those things everywhere!
If you have a fighting cat, chances are you have a male cat. Males are more likely to fight each other over competition with other females. One way of lessening this is to neuter the cat. However, territorial behavior will continue when other cats enter the area between both males and females. We have had a couple of cats beaten up from simply walking down a block from our house. I am not sure there is a way to curb that behavior as it is instinctive.
Sometimes cats are frustrated when they cannot establish territory in a small home. Perhaps this is because cats are more often outdoor creatures and have more territory. If your cat is a male and not neutered, you may find him spraying urine. To change that behavior, either allow your cat outside the house more or neuter him.
The most disgusting thing in the world is cat poop. Urine is really disgusting as well. Be sure to clean your cat’s litter box regularly. If you do not, they will not hesitate to poop or pee on the floor. Cats are very clean creatures for animals who clean themselves with their own saliva. Many times our cats have pooped or peed in our floors. We have one cat named Squirt who got her name because she constantly pooped and it was often runny. Squirt was hit by a car three days ago and is not in good shape as of this writing so I forgive her.
Hopefully these tips will help you better understand your cat if it misbehaves.
www.2ndchance.info/destructivecat.htm
www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brocheures/DestructiveBehavior.html
www.wikipedia.org/wikicat
