Is My Cat Trying To Kill Me?

[ohiotom76]

One of our cats has taken a liking to sleeping at the edge of the stairs throughout the house. I've almost tripped over her and fallen down the stairs several times already - especially at night. I never had this problem when we had dogs, lol.

I'm not much of a cat person personally, but that's been one of the biggest adjustments for me since we got them since they keep running around my feet, between my legs and such when I'm doing stuff around the house. I'm paranoid about stepping on them all the time.

 

[Victor Leigh]

This is definitely something which must be remedied before (a) you step on the cat and it loses one of its nine lives or (b) you over-step the cat and end up losing your one and only life. Put a small thin case near the stairs and smack the floor with the cane whenever you see the cat sitting anywhere near the stairs. Don't smack the cat, though.

 

[Esperahol]

If Stewie Griffin were an animal he'd be a cat... so yes it is trying to kill you. That said you could trying avoidance training using some sort of essential oil your cat hates or by buying some sort of spray from the store. Just spray it in areas you don't want to trip over the evul cat. Or you could try sounds things like bells or whistles or some such. You can also use a cane, however being a cat your creature may decide to make you eat that cane. They're like teenagers... angry teenagers.

 

[wickerbaskets]

My two kittens LOVE running right in front of my feet. This is especially apparent when I'm walking to the kitchen to feed them and they just run right in front of where I'm walking. There have been so many times where I nearly fell flat on my face.

 

[LiquidatorBrunt]

I had a similar problem when I moved in with my girlfriend and her cat. Previously I hadn't lived with one and had similar problems, she was always underfoot. I didn't actively do anything to train the cat or solve the problem, we just got used to each other. Now it doesn't seem to be a problem, we've manged to reach some sort of understanding and do a intuitive dance around each other and no one gets hurt.

 

[Waynefire]

Use Tea Tree Oil where you do not want them to lay. This works on the pee so I am thinking it would probably work on getting them to stop with the laying on the stairs as well!

 

[Beth23]

I read somewhere cats avoid the smell of citrus for some reason. You could use a citrus scent on your stairs and see if that helps. They also have a product at the pet store called liquid no. It works we used it when they were scratching the back of the couch.

You could try providing some sort of perch the cat cat lay on. Maybe he/she will take to it instead of the stairs.

As for running in front of you. If they are kittens they are playing and will grow out of it. When an adult cat does it they want something from you. Attention or food is usually what ours wants.

Beth