I need some help with a few things...

[melissa82686]

Hi guys!
I have 2 things...

Back in May one of our semi-feral cats came home with a broken leg.. I took him to the vet, fixed his leg & he's been in my house ever since (Ollie).

The thing is, I have a 10 year old cat (Dylan) and this one is very rough with him! Dylan's a sleeper, and Ollie wants to play all day so he attacks him. He also knocks things over, runs like a nut job all night long -this window, that window, the bed, the living room, my room etc.
I don't know how to calm him down! He's not crazy ALL the time... but when he is...
He doesn't try to go outside either! He seems very content in the apartment. Sometimes he might see one of his siblings outside, which is partially why I will never open my windows because I don't want him to break it, but even the front door, he never cries to leave or tries to run out! and he is a very loving cat - he is actually sleeping on my lap as I'm typing this
but anybody have tips on calming him down?

and the second thing - this is kinda gross... he will play with ANYTHING! and if I don't clean the kitty liter as soon as he uses it (which I can't always because I work) but he'll scoop his poop out and play with it like it's a ball... I find them all over the bathroom... and if theres a towel or rug on the floor, it will be all bunched up because he plays with that, AND his poop and it's just all over and it's driving me insane
So if anyone has any tips on how to stop him from playing with that, I would appreciate it!

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome. I too have suffered from a manic cat and I'm afraid that the real cure was time. She DID grow out of it (though even now she can revert.)

Do you actually see him playing with his stools? Or could it be that he's one of these 'gotta clean it up and do a good job' merchants who scrape something like a mat or towel into the tray, aren't satisfied with the result, scrape some more and pull the whole lot out again and...uggh, you certainly have my sympathies!

If he actually is playing football with it, could be a good idea to leave him toys like ping-pong balls, tiny toy mice, or even uncooked pasta shells, that are a bit more sanitary. Some cats love tiny things to bat about. Rattly things that scamper along the kitchen floor. Also, if you haven't got one, a very good toy for a manic cat can be 'Da Bird' or similar - wear him out a bit. But keep it out of his sight when you're out, in case he decides to play with it himself and gets tangled in the cord.

Hopefully there will be other people along with further advice but hope this helps for now, all the best

[Alice]

A covered litter tray should certainly help with the litter scattering problem - he'd have quite a challenge trying to get his 'football' out through the opening! Some covered trays come with a door flap, which many cats don't like,(and can be removed if necessary), but if he would use one then the contents really should stay in the right place.

Something like this.........

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... ter/284528

[melissa82686]

thanks guys!
I bought some calming treats, I hope maybe that will help!

as far as him playing, he has toys all over the apartment so I'm not really sure why he decides to play with THAT, of all things! I've actually watched him claw one out of the box and then swat it like a ball. I usually find one wrapped in the rug or towel too.
Maybe I'll try and get one of those more active toys for him to play with and see if that helps at all.
thanks!

[Lilith]

Oh, yuck!

I've never heard of a cat doing that!

I've known snakes come and 'help' when I'm cleaning out (I did that, Lil!) but that's more of an attention thing; keep pushing them away and back they come like a bad smell.

So he keeps decorating the bathroom with little maltesers... Most cats do it, cover over or don't even bother, but spring away from the dreadful deed quick before they're gassed. And if they smell anything distasteful to them, as you'll know, they'll go through all that ritual of covering-over and grab everything in sight.

I suppose there may be a hope that he might grow out of it ...

Best of luck ...

[mr_frisky]

A covered litter tray should certainly help with the litter scattering problem - he'd have quite a challenge trying to get his 'football' out through the opening! Some covered trays come with a door flap, which many cats don't like,(and can be removed if necessary), but if he would use one then the contents really should stay in the right place.

Something like this.........

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... ter/284528

I've often been tempted by something like this:

https://www.primrose.co.uk/easy-lantern ... _header-p1
https://www.primrose.co.uk/multi-cloche-p-6361.html

to put the cat trays in, to reduce dust going round the house.

Might be useful to prevent faeces going round the house too.

[Joaobeneditosimoes]

Do you play with your cat with wand toys or strings or something to interact with? I'm not saying throwing toys and let him play. Altough they are playful animals they get bored sometimes. Perhaps he wants something new to play. Have you tried hair ties? They are so so good toys for them.
My advice would be to try cleaning the tray as soon as you can, it will help prevent he plays with ''maltesers'' again. Give a few minutes to play with wands or feathers too, a good session of play time will make them happy and energy levels will get low, they will eat, groom and go to sleep mode


Your cats are like two cars... a ferrari and some other ordinary one. One is faster and agressive and the other is for family trip... it will get there but takes time.
Two cats, two different energies. You have to help him burst the fuel.