Not sure what’s going on but whenever I sit in the chair in my home office area, Sencha would come by and start scratching at all of the furniture. Eg. He’d scratch at the drawers next to me or the cabinet beside me or even the wall.
He doesn’t seem to just want attention since if I pet him too much he will start trying to bite my hand but if I stop he will go back to scratching at things.
Last night he was doing this and I gave him some food. But after eating it he came back and started scratching again.
If I sit anywhere else in the hoose he will leave me alone. It’s just this chair/area.
Stumped. Recent photo for cat tax.
Edit: Oh yeah I tried putting him on my desk as well when he does this but he just switches to pawing at my hand while on my desk.
Since posting this I started to think more about what was actually happening.
So basically he only acts strange when I sit in a particular spot in the hoose.
I ruled out all of the basic needs so unless it’s something medical it doesn’t seem to be related to a need.
Thus I have to consider the area itself. I think he simply doesn’t want me to be there.
I then considered why. What type of activities did I engage in when I sat at my desk?
One of the activities that I only engage in at my desk is attend work meetings.
I wonder if that is the cause. He doesn’t like it when he hears the voices of strangers. Furthermore I’ve observed him getting annoyed whenever I’m on the phone with anyone, even off loud speaker.
This is my best theory so far.
Maybe your PC / peripherals emits a certain frequency that only he can hear and it stresses him a lot
I guess that’s possible? But when I’m at my desk sometimes my computer isn’t even on. When I work I only use my laptop so my desktop is usually off. I work with my laptop in multiple spots in the house.
If it was a problem with my laptop I woukd imagine he’d bother me in other spots around the house as well.
I understand though that just because a computer is off does not necessarily mean it’s quiet. The peripherals could still be receiving power, etc. I would be difficult to test this theory though without a lot of effort. I guess ai coulf unplug everything.
It’s easy to overfeed cats when we dont understand what they want because food works temporarily for most “asks”. It’s almost never food they actually need, usually it’s some sort of stimulation like playing and hunting. Try playing more with him! Especially the part about him biting your hand when you pet him means he’s activated and needs an outlet for his energy. When you pet a cat, the rougher you pet and the bigger the area, the more energy you put into the cat - eventually it’ll overflow. Small scratches, and soft small pets on a small area works better to calm them. Even just putting your hand on them kinda heavy and barely moving it.
Different cats like different plays, but for almost all cats it’s best to put most toys away and bring them out when you play actively with them. Rolling balls or scrunched up paper, wand toys, ribbons… try different toys, and try getting the cat to move around, jump up and down furniture, roll, pounce etc. If playing with a laser, point it at a pile of food or candy occasionally and at the end of play so they can successfully “catch” something, otherwise an unwatchable dot will only build frustration.
Scratching serves both to stretch, file claws , and to scent mark. Put scratching posts and mats in the area next to the furniture he wants to scratch, so you can redirect by putting him, or his paws (or luring him there with wand toys) on the scratching place when he starts scratching furniture.
The way he bites/tries to bite me definitely looks more like an “I am annoyed bite”.
If I play with him, he just comes back once we are done. Basically all of the tests I’ve conducted seem to suggest that’s not the reason he keeps coming back.
We also have an insane amount of scratching posts. Something like 3 per area of the hoose. Then the cat trees alao have scratching areas. They get use too. Basically every need I can think of has been met.
I have some theories that I will comment on the main post.
Impossible to be angry at such epitome of cuteness.
True.
One thing I’ve found to work is keeping a string (hoodie cord work great just snip the ends off) coiled up on the desk. They walk in wanting attention and you toss an end at them etc. and they rawr and attack. See if that’s what the lil guy wants.
I’ve also had tremendous luck with the circular cardboard “dish” shaped (concave) scratchers, a modern take on the classic cardboard scratcher. Somehow the act of scratching it then curling up for a nap in it appeals to the cats. Both are snoozing in them as I type 😺
We have an insane amount of scratching posts. There’s like an average of 3 per area of the house. 80% of them get used too.
I have started to use the opportunity of him coming to me to groom him.
My comment was specifically about these round concave cardboard things - they, their shape and composition, is some weird magnet to the cats. It’s unlike a traditional post, there’s something in their brain that likes these things and they calm down after scratching and curl up in them. I’ve found them in various shapes and depths at Ross, the cats rotate from one to another as sleeping spots and all that cat juju. Here’s a random pic: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81bPWIbZPwL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
The biting probably just means overstimulation/showing affection. Cats are basically autistic.
Yeah I get that but it does not explain his scratching behavior :/.
Anyways I think it rules out that he was looking for pets.
The scratching is most likely him just trying to get your attention. He knows if he scratches when you’re sitting there you will pay attention to him.
