Galen update

[madbaker]

As I mentioned some time ago, Galen has learned how to open doors. We've been thwarting this by keeping the study door locked, and then picking it when we want to access the room. Galen runs over when we do this, but since he doesn't have thumbs we’re not too concerned that he'll pick this skill up too. A couple of nights ago I apparently forgot to lock the door - when I got up, it was open and Galen was sleeping on the desk chair with a smug "I belong here" expression. Very cute, but he still got thrown out of the room.

I bought a laser pointer last week. Galen adores it. Being relatively smart (sigh) he has figured out that the little red dot comes out of the pointer. If he sees you grab it, he goes into hunting mode with a specific "Mrrrr" that he doesn't say any other time. The hard part is getting him to look down from the pointer to the floor, so he can chase the dot. He doesn't seem to mind that he can't ever catch it.


One of the names I proposed when we brought him home was "Edmund Hillary". Because he's a climber, y'see. Well, his latest hobby is climbing onto any available horizontal surface. Presumably because "it is there." Two nights ago, it was the 6" wide glass shelf in the bathroom. He couldn't actually get up there - good thing as it certainly wouldn't support his weight - so he settled for knocking off all the wife's cosmetic-type products stored there. One by one. For two hours. Eventually we stopped trying to dissuade him and just disassembled the damn shelf. Maybe we can put it back up in a couple of weeks.

This is just the latest manifestation of his nocturnal thrashings about. He's cute and sleepy during the day; then when the wife turns off the lights to come to bed, he has the place to himself and takes full advantage. Which, of course, makes it near-impossible for us to sleep. We can't lock him out of the bedroom; we've tried that. He sat at the door and scratched incessantly. Can't sleep through that either. Now, he'd also open the door himself. We could lock him in the bathroom (the door opens in and he hasn't figured out how to pull it - yet). But the bathroom is only six feet from our bedroom, and his scratching there still keeps us awake.

The wife played with him for four hours straight last night, which mostly tired him out. But that's not a good long-term solution.
Any suggestions? Kitty valium? Another cat?

Comments

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Two things come to mind:

1) do you have a cat tree? They are a huge help. I have lived in some tiny apartments, but I always make room for a floor to ceiling one. Drs. Foster & Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?N=2002+113197) has very good ones at reasonable prices.

2) Harri was an only cat til he was three. He was good at events, because he had lots of people to play with, but during the week he was a maniac. His favourite thing was to run back and forth in the hallway at top speed and bite people (me usually) on the ankles.

I got another cat, Sigrid, for him to chase and bite, and seriously, he's not bitten my ankle in 10 years.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

We've had a cat tree nearly the whole time. Galen uses it quite a bit - especially to sleep in the top.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Heh...well then I guess you need to get him a little brother or sister for Christmas!

[goldenstag.livejournal.com]

Hard call. Galen is still young, and even if you got another cat, as was noted elsewhere, that may not solve the issue. Heck, our cats at 6 years old still beat each other up on the bed some nights (which means a well placed foot pushing them off the bed). However, our two are from the same litter, which means there is no issue of the two getting along. They've always known each other, and while they have their jealous moments (one is getting pets, while the other isn't, that sort of thing), they're usually pretty good about it. I hate to say it, but time may be about it ... <g> And the usual stuff with a water bottle or whatever to make him stop some things -- if it helps ... different cats, different attitudes. They are individuals, after all.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

We've tried the water (with a small amount of ammonia or vinegar). He runs away, but as soon as we leave he goes back to doing whatever he was doing. Regular water has no effect whatsoever.

[spiderdust.livejournal.com]

Another cat isn't necessarily a good option. They might be like ours and fight all night.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Birdfeeder. Well-secured fishtank. Hamsters.

For the door: http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=150780&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=150780&change=117

Hmmm...

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I may just have to order the lever locks. Thanks!

Re: Hmmm...

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

You can also get them at Babies R Us, Walmart, etc.

[roswtr.livejournal.com]

Wanna borrow the Scat-Mat? It's kept Grendel and Caliban from trying to open the bedroom door while we're sleeping -- they can't get close enough to the door without stepping on the mat.