She was a snuggly sweet kitten for about two weeks, then she became a pill.
I used to lock her in her kitty cage at night so she wouldn't scratch the carpet or the furniture.
Then I allowed her out at night, but kept bedroom doors closed because she's super annoying when the sun goes down. Cats are kind of nocturnal after all.
She developed a really naughty habit of sneaking into my room late in the evening and hiding under the bed where I couldn't get her, then just as I was about to drift off into sweet, sweet slumber, she made her "I'm about to be naughty" murmur and started scratching my bed. She always knew exactly when I stopped waiting to grab her by the scruff of her neck and toss her out. The moment I closed my eyes for sleep, she murmured and started scratching.
I figured her out and managed to close the bedroom door and keep her out most nights. But, not content to be alone at night, she started jumping up on my little cabinet to scratch on my portrait of Nicco. The scratching is bad enough, but the worst thing was the ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom of the frame against the wall at Three.O'clock.In.The.Morning.
Eventually, I just took the stupid portrait down at night.
My husband was mad that we were letting the cat dictate to us. I figured that since I was the one who got up in the night to deal with her, I would decide whether or not to adapt to the cat's whims. I chose sleeping through the night over trying to teach The Cat a Lesson.
Things have changed recently. The Cat has become more affectionate, more calm, less of a pill. We started letting her in our room at night. She stopped scratching the bed. She started sleeping at the foot of the bed. She wanted to be in our company while she slept her 16 hours a day instead of in a hiding place. I put the portrait back up. She didn't scratch and bang. I thought my pesky kitten was maturing into a nice, pleasant cat.
Until a few nights ago.
She regressed. She started scratching and banging on the portrait again. She always announces her naughtiness with her murmur sound then, Ba-Boom! Ba-Boom! Ba-Boom! at Three. O'Clock. In. The. Morning.
I tried to booby trap the cabinet by putting lego toys and shoes and other obstacles in the way. That did not deter Frankie.
Then I came up with a brilliant plan yesterday. I took everything off the top of the cabinet. I laid down a plastic trash bag. I placed a towel on top of the plastic. Then I put two cookie sheets full of water on top. Miss Kitty would get a very unpleasant and wet surprise if she jumped up there in the middle of the night! HA!
Curiosity got the best of Frankie and she sniffed the pans of water.
She drank some of the water.
She murmured in the night.
But she did not bang on the wall.
I Win!
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