There’s an age-old relationship between cats and toilet paper. If you haven’t faced the wrath of your cat unrolling toilet paper then clearly, you’re doing something right. But if that was the case, you wouldn’t be here reading this post.
Read on to find out what causes this behavior in cats and what you can do to prevent it.
Why do cats like toilet paper?
Cats are easily entertained by moving and hanging objects. A cat is never going to miss out on an opportunity to unroll something that’s so invitingly hanging just above their eye-line.
Toilet paper has a smooth texture and is easy to unroll. They look irresistible enough for cats to explore, tear and make a complete mess. Getting yelled at by their owners is a risk they are willing to take in exchange for the fun.
How to stop your cat from unrolling toilet paper?
While you were off doing other things like going to work or sleeping, your kitty was probably bored and unrolled some toilet paper. If you look online, you are likely to find a lot of cat unrolling toilet paper stories. Read on to learn how you can prevent it.
Keep your bathroom closed
With mischievous cats around, it’s probably a good idea to keep toilet paper out of your cat’s reach. Better yet keep your bathroom door locked at all times. That will prevent un-authorized access to your kitty. My cat is tired of seeing a closed bathroom door all the time and hence uses every opportunity (to try her luck) to follow me to the toilet which brings me to my next point.
Use a cat proof toilet paper holder
There are many DIY videos for this on YouTube. You can easily create a toilet paper guard for cats or get one for cheap from Amazon. This should fix your problem once & for all.
Dedicate play time
Dogs need a walk every day and cats need play time on a regular basis. They need that mental stimulation and an outlet to expend their excess energy. Therefore, you may want to ensure you’re giving at least 15-20 minutes of your time every day to play with them. When you’re off to work give them some toys to keep them engaged. There are awesome interactive cat toys out there. Consider getting it for your kitty so that they won’t get bored or depressed when you’re not around.
Get a Scratch post
Cats’ basic instincts are to scratch, pull, tear and play. It’s part of their personality and they do this all the time in the wild. By scratching, they keep their nails filed and in top shape. Save your toilet paper by getting a cat scratch post. Oh, and by the way, it will also prevent your cat from scratching furniture. We experienced it first hand when our cat tore into one of our expensive couches. That’s when we got her a scratch post (sprayed some cat nip spray on it) and with a bit of training, our cat finally stopped clawing at the furniture.
Spray
Some cat owners recommend spraying something that cats are not fond of. For e.g. Apple cider vinegar spray. Well, let’s just say that it didn’t work on my cat. Perhaps you can try it out to see if it works for you.
My cat ate toilet paper. Should I be worried?
May be. If your cat is eating things that he shouldn’t be eating including toilet paper, they may have a condition called Pica. I have talked about Pica in cats here. If this behavior is accompanied with your cat not eating food and lethargy, it may be a sign of an underlying problem.
Get your cat checked out by a vet to rule out any signs of illness, mental or otherwise.
Summary
Your cat might be obsessed with the toilet paper because she either gets free access to it and she has nothing better to do than unroll it. It’s often best to stop cats’ bad habits at a nascent stage. As cat owners, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our precious kitty’s energy is channeled into something less destructive before these behaviors are hard-wired in them.
