Any ideas how to stop this?

[catnapper]

Mikey has a special talent. Its actually impressive, if you have a sense of humor. You see, he can knock a glass over the moment you put it on a table. He could be in a sound sleep three rooms away. You can put it next to you, thinking its safe for a few sips since he's nowhere in sight. You change the channel, blow your nose, tie your shoes... whatever -- its just a 5 second thing... and when you're done, the drink is splashed all over. HOW does this boy do it?

We have come to laugh over it, because if we chose to get mad, we'd be mad at him all day long. We are always saying "Mikey struck again." and rolling our eyes.

We have made loud noises. We spray bottled him. We "evict" him from the room. Nothing seems to be working... and if anything, the things we're doing in effort to stop him are only making him more determined to do it. He's obsessed with the whole ritual of knocking over drinks.

The other night, I placed a drink on top of the dresser, next to the TV. Its the only place he COULDN'T get to it. I had a big tub of cat litter next to the dresser, and he was standing on the tub, jumping up and down, meowing his head off. He was DETERMINED to spill the drink that was just out of paw's reach. He's since figured out how to get to it. He took a flying leap from the top of a book shelf.... went sliding across the top of the tv, fell off onto the dresser, where he slid into the lit candle on the other side, and continued sliding til he fell off on the other end. Then tore out of the room as if thats what he meant to do. My heart was in my throat. The candle, the drink, Mikey!

Any ideas how to stop him?

[RICHARD]

Super Glue or Earthquake putty..

SIPPY CUPS!

Make him pay for the drinks?

Make him buy his own drinks!

Ask the bartender to make him leave?

Don't drink in front of him?

Film it and put it on You Tube!

Thats all I got!

[catnapper]

Film it and put it on You Tube!

We figured on that one. As well as building some kind of cup holders.

As for sippy cups.... know what soda does in one of them once its been knocked over? It fizzes and forms a bottle rocket.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

is he drinking it, or just knocking it over?

[catnapper]

is he drinking it, or just knocking it over?

Knocking it over. He walks up to it, as calm as can be, looks at it, lifts his paw, and swats it over.

[Freedom]

You mean you want to deprive him of a basic cat pleasure: watching things DROP? How COULD you even consider being so mean!

I love Richard's ideas. I was thinking of a weighted bottom cup, I think some of the travel mugs are weighted?

My Sparkle loves to knock things off a table, lean over and watch it drop and . . . roll, splatter, crack and break. She finds all of this quite intriguing.

Seems you have made a game of this because, from Mikey's point of view, you keep setting it up for him! Like standing up the pins in bowling, lol. Somehow, he thinks you WANT him to do this. Or maybe it is a way he gets your attention?

What about if you carry him over, place the cup down, sit holding him, and brush him? Maybe if he associates the drink with brushing he will cease? Or enjoy the brushing up and forget about the drink. Somehow, come up with something to redirect him.

Oh, and PLEASE, no more lit candles, not even in supposedly cat safe places! That is the LAST thing we want to be reading about from you!

[kuhio98]

We had the same problem when Willy adopted us.

I always have a glass of water on the nightstand at night. After getting drenched 2 or 3 times -- such a rude way to be awoken -- I got a water bottle with a screw on lid. Willy still knocks it over in the middle of the night once in a while, but I don't get wet.

We're not big soda drinkers, but I started buying Diet Coke in bottles for the same reason.

But, Willy has now graduated to knocking over flower vases Haven't solved that one yet. Our dining room table chairs are water stained. I was going to re-cover them but why bother -- until he grows out of this new habit.

[RICHARD]

--------------

If you can find Earthquake Wax

http://earthquakeinfo.com/waxdetailQH.html


It works fairly well.....

[orangemm]

Put a couple of empty plastic glasses around so he can knock 'em over to his heart's content. Maybe it's the noise or the rolling motion he likes. Or a bunch of disposable plastic glasses/cups.

You might have to put your real drinks in bottles that have sleeves and straps so you can WEAR them!

[lvpets2002]

As soon as I stop laughing I will think of something.. Richard seem to come up with a good answer.. For sure Film all of this next time ok..

[sasvermont]

I have had Juni perform this trick for Vermontcat when she came over a couple of years ago.

You can put a glass of anything, on the table or floor, and call her over and she will walk up to it and knock it over! She started doing that at the dinning room table, much to my dismay.

I put a glass of water in the basin, at all times, and that seems to have stopped her for some reason. She doesn't knock that one over....and has finally stopped doing the same to my glasses next to the bed, at night.

I will have to tell you, Juni ruined many a meal, by jumping up on the table and swatting the glasses....filled with tea or milk or water....didn't matter.

By the way, Juni was far from a kitten when she began the trick.

I hesitate to test her skills right now, for fear it will remind her how much fun it was...... for her, not me.

Try the glass filled with water in a sink and see what happens.