At my rope's end

[Chatanuga]

No, there is no room for them to be shut in because the rooms that have doors are the basement (where my painting studio and model railroad are), my bedroom (which I've moved a lot into to keep away from them), and my home office (don't want them getting into my computers and cables and other items stored in there as well as the Christmas tree).

They do have a cat tree, and they are allowed up on the kitchen table to look out the window at the birds and squirrels on the fence.

Their toys (except for the catnip mice) are always out for them to play with and scattered around on the floor.

I do spend time with them when I can, both one on one and two at a time, which they both love.

They also have a cat tent that I've been leaving out when I'm home, but I've been putting it away when I'm gone because Casey has taken to chewing on it, even though he's had it since he was a kitten at my parents' house.

[Karen]

Maybe take to hiding away some of the toys at a time, to vary the environment some, and make it interesting for them. Do other "environment enrichment" things like, one day, leave some paper grocery bags standing on the floor, then some other day leave a couple cardboard boxes, maybe with holes cut in them for them to explore, etc. In short, keep things changing enough so their minds are occupied, and they will find less "trouble" to get into.

Oh, and if they like catnip toys, keep a container - a coffee can or cookie jar will do - with some loose catnip in it, and throw some toys in there to "marinate" for a week or so - it makes old toys new again!

[moosmom]

Your cats are bored!!! Get them a their own cat tree. It'll give them places to sleep and play. One no-brainer toy is the laser light. You're sitting there watching tv, chilling? It takes a twist of the wrist to get them going and it tires them out! Too much work for ya? How about a battery operated laser light? Absolutely no effort on your part.

How about putting baby blankets or kitty beds in that black shelf? Cheap and easy.

Rule of thumb for being owned by cats: CAT PROVE YOUR PLACE!!! You HAVE to if you want to keep your sanity and your belongings. SEE FIRST PARAGRAPH

Feliway concentrated cat spray! Spray 8 inches from the floor (not directly on cats). Spray on their bedding. I SWEAR by this stuff! I've had MANY cats come and gone through my doors and have not once had a problem with neither them or my cats!

Please don't give up on them.

[katladyd]

My babies are all pretty good about not destroying things, except for Ming. Ming is my resident scratching machine. ANY surface in my house has felt the wrath of his claws and he just cannot resist chewing on anything plastic. Since he is a fairly lazy cat, not to mention LARGE, I just put most of my thing up where he will be too lazy to climb. I can't leave plastic laying around anywhere for his sake and my couch is denim, that holds up to long, sharp, Siamese claws pretty well. I know your frustration. I would leave paper bags and milk bottle tops out during the day. They can amuse themselves for hours with those.

[Chatanuga]

Well, I got another cat tree after work tonight. The one in the upstairs hallway is waist high. This one is about six feet high and fits nicely in the one corner of my living room where I'd been thinking about getting a cat tree for them. They've been checking it out ever since I brought it in. Once they get it figured out, I'm sure they'll be enjoying it.

[mrspunkysmom]

I have a cat tree in every room. trust me, it works. and it is worth the investment.

[Medusa]

One thing I noticed in your pic: their beds are right near the book case. Try moving their beds away from it and see what happens.