If you have a Cat, Chances are that you most likely witnessed, more than once, your cat knocking things off the table. Sometimes he will even look at you while doing it. It can be fun at first but not when it is a glass or a vase getting knocked over, that’s a different story. So why is he doing this? Is it in order to annoy me? Is it to get attention?
Well there are a few different reasons that could explain this behavior. Let’s explore them and find out what you can do to prevent it from happening.
Instincts
Your cat might be sleeping or eating most of the time, he might be scared of a door slamming and he might never have seen mice in his life, but despite that, he is what you would call a natural born hunter. They still have hunter instincts, and that’s contributing to why he does this.
As a matter of fact, the reason my cat here decided to flip over my pot of fake flowers is so he could inspect it. He needed to check if it were alive, if it would move around, he wanted to make sure it wasn’t dangerous, that it wouldn’t fight back and most importantly, if he could eat it.
In order to find that out, he would do what many animals would do, poke it.
Of course he knows that these fake flowers aren’t a mouse but his hunting instincts and curiosity overcomes his sense rationalism.
The best way to avoid this from happening is of course cat proofing your home, anything that can break by the poke of a paw should be put out of reach from your furry hunter, alternatively providing your cat with a lot of toys so he won’t get bored and start looking for other things to play with. Would also reduce the occurrences.
Attention Seeking
That’s right, your cat have started to notice that whenever he knocks something off the table, you react. Therefore it’s a great way for him to connect with you. Doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad attention, it’s still attention. Cat’s like to be the center of attention… Like many people.
Unfortunately if you decide to just ignore him when he knocks something over it wouldn’t help much due to the aforementioned reasons but it might still help a bit.
Curiosity
Whenever something new appears in your home, your cat wants to explore it. Doesn’t matter if it is toilet paper or if it is a new TV, it is getting explored no matter what.
Paws will go everywhere and everything will get smelled. Even if you just rearrange the living room a bit, your cat will thoroughly inspect the changes.
Cats are extremely aware of their environment and will often pick up on even the smallest change.
If you notice your cat doing this too much it could be a sign of boredom. Try to schedule more playtime with your cat check if he have enough toys or even consider getting him a companion.
Prevention
The three main methods of prevention are as aforementioned
-Cat proofing your home, meaning putting aside and away from the tables or any other elevated surface anything that has a risk of breaking upon falling.
-Making your home more fun for your cat. He might be bored and don’t know how to occupy himself he might be seeking more attention so make sure he have enough toys to keep himself occupied and don’t forget to play with him when you can.
-Ignore him when he paws something over and pick it up later when your cat isn’t seeking your reaction anymore.
