Why cats knock things off the table and how to get them to stop
The cat that holds your gaze while nudging your mug towards the edge of the table is practically a classic. It isn’t doing it to annoy you, even if it looks that way: behind it lie instinct, curiosity, boredom and, very often, something it has learnt from you. Working out which of these applies to your cat will tell you how to solve it.
The hunter’s instinct
For a cat, patting an unfamiliar object with its paw is the natural way to investigate it. In the wild, a hunter uses quick taps to check whether something moves, whether it is alive or whether it is dangerous before bringing its mouth or whiskers close. A pen, a bottle top or an earring on the table are small, prey-sized objects, and the cat does with them what it would do with a mouse: tap, push and see what happens. When the object falls and makes a noise or rolls away, the experience becomes even more interesting. That is why it is usually small, light objects that end up on the floor rather than large, heavy ones.
Because it works to get your attention
This is the most common reason in indoor cats. The cat knocks something over and you get up, talk to it, tell it off, pick the thing up or chase it. For a bored cat, any reaction is a reward, even a negative one. After just a few repetitions it learns that pushing things off the table is a foolproof way to get you to notice it. That is why so many cats do it while staring straight at you, or just when you are on the phone, working or in bed. It is especially typical early in the morning: the cat that wants breakfast discovers that knocking your phone off the bedside table wakes you faster than miaowing.
Boredom and pent-up energy
A young cat that spends many hours alone in a flat with nothing to stimulate it needs to burn off energy somehow, and shelves full of objects become its playground. If knocking things over comes with other signs of boredom, such as night-time zoomies, ambushing your ankles, attention-seeking miaows or scratching the furniture, it is probably not getting enough activity. The answer is not to punish it but to give it more play and more things to do. A cat that has hunted, eaten and is tired rarely sets about clearing the coffee table.
Its territory is up high
Cats feel safe up high, where they can keep watch without being disturbed. If its favourite shelf or table is cluttered with things, it may simply be moving them aside to make room. The same can happen with surfaces it reaches in one leap: if it lands among objects, it pushes them out of the way. In this case the simplest solution is to give it high-up spaces of its own, clear and comfortable: a tall cat tree, a ledge by the window or a shelf just for it. And clear the surfaces where you don’t want it to go, so there is nothing to be gained there.
What not to do
Don’t shout at it, chase it or spray it with water. Besides being ineffective and damaging your relationship, every one of these reactions is attention, and it can reinforce exactly what you are trying to stop. Telling it off after it has already knocked something over doesn’t work either: it won’t connect the punishment with what it did a while ago. And avoid leaving dangerous objects within reach that it could knock down and then swallow, such as hair ties, thread, needles, earrings, button batteries or medicines: a cat playing with them on the floor may end up swallowing them, and that really is a serious problem.
What does work
First, remove the temptations: put fragile or small objects away in drawers or display cabinets, or well back from the edges. Second, give it a better alternative: small toys it can bat about and chase, balls, fabric mice, and puzzle feeders that make it work for its food. Third, schedule play sessions of five to ten minutes several times a day with a wand toy, mimicking a complete hunt and ending with a small meal. And fourth, if it does it to get your attention, don’t react: pick the object up later without talking to it or looking at it, and give it attention when it is calm, not when it is knocking things over.
The breakfast problem
If your cat knocks things off the bedside table in the small hours to wake you up and get fed, the problem is mealtimes, not the objects. An automatic feeder set for the time it usually wakes you breaks the link between waking you and getting food, because the food arrives on its own. A last meal just before you go to bed, after a good play session, also helps. And clear everything it could knock off the bedside table. For a few days it will probably try even harder, because what used to work has stopped working, but if you don’t give in, it will eventually give up.
Objects that should never be within reach
Some things should always be kept away, whether or not your cat knocks things over. Button batteries, which cause severe burns to the mouth and oesophagus if chewed or swallowed. Human medicines, especially paracetamol and anti-inflammatories, which are highly toxic to cats even in small amounts. Thread with a needle, hair ties and gift ribbon, which can get caught in the intestine. Air fresheners and concentrated essential oils, and toxic plants, above all lilies, whose pollen alone is enough to damage the kidneys. If you suspect your cat has swallowed anything on this list, don’t wait for symptoms: call the vet.
When to see the vet
Knocking things over is usually normal behaviour. But if it appears suddenly in an adult cat that has never done it before, alongside other changes such as increased appetite, more activity, weight loss or persistent miaowing, hyperthyroidism should be considered, especially in cats over ten. If an older cat starts knocking things over because it seems not to see them or misjudges its jumps, there may be a problem with its eyesight or joints. And if the behaviour becomes compulsive, together with other repetitive behaviours, a vet trained in behavioural medicine can help you understand what is going on.
Kittens and young cats
If your cat is under two, knocking things over is most likely play and exploration above all. Kittens investigate everything with their paws and learn how objects work: what rolls, what falls, what makes a noise. It is a phase that usually calms down with age, especially if the cat has suitable toys and enough play. During this stage the most practical thing is to adapt your home: move fragile objects back from the edges, fit child locks to cupboards if needed and give it plenty of chances to play with things it is allowed to knock over. A playmate of its own age also does a lot to channel that energy.
Cats knock things over out of hunting instinct, curiosity, boredom or because they have learnt it gets your attention. Put fragile and dangerous things away, give your cat its own toys and high-up spots, play with it several times a day and don’t react when it does it for attention. If it starts suddenly in an older cat, see the vet.
Educational content from Michipedia, translated from the Spanish original. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.