GET DOWN FROM THERE

[diomybeloved]

Hi everyone,

I have a sphynx named Dio who is quite the athlete. Recently, Dio has discovered a new fascination with my 6-foot tall, gold-plated pedal harp. At first, he was chewing on the strings, so I put a cover on it. Now, he has taken to launching himself onto it and trying to climb up (he discovered he could use me as a launching pad while I was playing.. that was quite the surprise!)


This is stressing me out. It is a very expensive instrument, and he is a strong boy. I'm worried that, theoretically, he might be able to topple the whole thing over (though it's 80lbs so hopefully not ??)


He only does this in the evening between dinner and bedtime. This is when he is the most excited/active.


His current stimulation:

- run in hallway with his brother (oriental shorthair)

- chase ball/string

- school (he knows sit, paw, spin, stand)

- cat buttons (he has 15 words)

- puzzle food dispenser


We also have cat shelves in the kitchen. Mind you, I live in a 500sqft apartment so he can 100% view the entire space from his perch.

This also means I cannot put the harp in a different room cause .. I don't have another room to put it in.

I also tried moving a cat tree to the area to see if he just wanted a perch, but no, he continues to launch himself onto it from the ground.

At this point, I am at my wits end! Part of me wonders if he is doing it because it quickly gets my attention/gets a reaction out of me?

I am considering buying more cat shelves for the living room, or maybe one of those floor-to-ceiling climbing posts? Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else I might try to redirect his behaviour?

Thank you in advance!

- stressed-out musician

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Yikes I would be stressed out too. I definitely think putting up more shelves is a great start. You can also look at items on Amazon search cat deterrents. There are spike mats you can try…they are plastic spiked mats (won’t hurt them) that might work. There is also a Ssssscat that is a sprays air. There is a version that senses motion when lets out a hiss when they come near it. I have a friend with 2 dark haired cats and has a white couch (I can only shake my head LOL) and she placed 2 cans and it work like a charm. BUT as we all know cats have a mind of their own some are just little terrors LOL.

 

[Yoda mom]

@diomybeloved , oh my. agree with catzzzmeow's tips.
with the cover on it, is there a way you can put a bolt in the wall and secure it with bungee cords when not in use so may keep it from toppling over? I had to do that with a piece of curio cabinet adding a bold to the wall and cabinet living in this hurricane state.

following for updates. hugs n head smooches

 

[diomybeloved]

@diomybeloved , oh my. agree with catzzzmeow's tips.
with the cover on it, is there a way you can put a bolt in the wall and secure it with bungee cords when not in use so may keep it from toppling over? I had to do that with a piece of curio cabinet adding a bold to the wall and cabinet living in this hurricane state.

following for updates. hugs n head smooches

That's a good idea, if nothing else works I'll look into doing that

 

[diomybeloved]

Yikes I would be stressed out too. I definitely think putting up more shelves is a great start. You can also look at items on Amazon search cat deterrents. There are spike mats you can try…they are plastic spiked mats (won’t hurt them) that might work. There is also a Ssssscat that is a sprays air. There is a version that senses motion when lets out a hiss when they come near it. I have a friend with 2 dark haired cats and has a white couch (I can only shake my head LOL) and she placed 2 cans and it work like a charm. BUT as we all know cats have a mind of their own some are just little terrors LOL.

Those are good suggestions! I got a floor-to-ceiling cat tree for the living room which will hopefully help to redirect the behaviour (tbf, the column does look very climbable) and I got some "cat deterrent" tape strips to put on the fabric which will hopefully dissuade him from trying...

Before this, he had taken to biting the strings of my guitars and the bass strings of the harp... I'm just going to tell myself he wants to be a musician like his parents.

He is most certainly a little terror... but I love him anyways lol

 

[diomybeloved]

Tried to attach this the other day, but here is a photo from (one of) the first times he did it lol.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

What a stinker!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Toa and Ross]

What a little stinker Dio is! Dio sounds like a very active and intelligent Sphynx. @Catzzzmeow gave some great advice. The plastic spike mats work really well, I have them for my spiderman boy who keeps trying to climb the fence.
You could try to play with feather toys and let him jump to catch it.

 

[diomybeloved]

Hi everyone, just wanted to post a little update!

Thankfully he has (mostly) stopped doing this - I think it was a combination of having a taller, more fun tower to climb, as well as the sticky tape on the cover, so hooray! I put my guitar on the wall so he can chew on the strings again if he's mad at me (he has a knack for plucking each individual string, he is a musician just like me!), but I have also been faster to react when he gives me cues that are naughty but not extremely naughty (ex. biting my leg, chewing guitar strings, knocking things off the counter). I have been encouraging him to use his buttons more and that has also been working.

His energy peaks around 7pm-10pm, and I have been trying to create a consistent schedule of playtime in those hours so he knows to expect it! It is VERY active, VERY involved playtime. I usually am doing this while simultaneously doing chores around the house, and if I stop paying attention to for literally 5 minutes he will come back and start asking for my attention again.

Since I am starting my practicum this month, I was trying to catch up on my emails at 9pm, and he had a tantrum (he just started mashing all of his buttons at once! "upset upset upset" "mom mom" "dio dio" "play" "bye bye" etc etc). I wonder, is this what it's like having a toddler??

I've been having lots of fun coming up with new games to play with him, including volleyball, jumping on the bed, and running down the hallway. I wish I had a bigger place so I could build him an agility course!

That's all for now! I will try to get some photos of them on their new cat tree soon!

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Glad you have found a fix…for now LOL.