Bad Kitty Has Paper Fetish

If you have followed this blog for awhile then you have met Lilo, our very outspoken and tiny Bengal who was saved from near death while out on the street.

Did I mention outspoken?

She is quite demanding, so much so that when she deems it necessary her yowls can be heard blocks away. She does this when she wants something, whether that be to go out and enjoy the sun in the sunroom, us to sit down so she can be loved up, to be fed...basically anything a cat wants. She's just louder than others.

Lilo: I am pure cuteness!

She will not be pandered to either. "Later" isn't in her vocabulary. When she wants something, that means now, whether you like it or not.

We have a baby gate on the door to our office. Initially we put it up when we first got Misaki, so we could keep an eye on her while working in the office. A side effect was that, if we chose, it could also keep the cats out. That meant work could actually get done - it's difficult to type even an email with a cat on your lap, especially one (Sera) whose claws will sink into your flesh if you move the tiniest fraction of an inch.

Lilo does not like this gate, not one bit. See, she can yell all she wants and we tune her out. It's not that we don't love the little kitty, it's just that we need to get things done.
We have learned Lilo will eventually stop yelling. We have also learned that's when we should really get worried.

Lilo: That gate makes me angry!

See, this little kitty, all six pounds of her, has a paper fetish. She will lick anything paper, and the sound of a cat's sandpapery tongue pulling at 200 pages of a book is akin to nails on a chalkboard. She'll lick anything - mail, books, magazines, notecards, recipes, tax forms...

Thankfully licking is all she does with those. But, other paper? Like toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins? Those are her favorite.

See, when she yells for a bit and doesn't get her way, then she'll disappear. And then we'll find something like this little bit of wonderfulness that was left on the kitchen table the other day.

This is what happens when an angry Lilo doesn't get enough attention.

Awesome.

I can't count how many toilet paper rolls we have lost to Lilo (we've caught her doing it, just not on film, so we know it's always her). We no longer leave out the toilet paper like in a normal household - it's in a cupboard within reach (barely). We have to remember whenever we are going to have guests so we get the TP out - they probably wonder why it's never on the holder.

The paper towels are now on a shelf in the kitchen the cat can't (we think) reach - or, at least, hasn't yet. The napkins, following that little bit of deliciousness above, are now beside them.

We can't leave a single napkin out overnight, because it will be reduced to shreds in the morning when we get up.

Lilo, in the absence of paper to shred, will also just randomly throw things on the floor. We can't leave things on the back of the toilet or on the bathroom counters, because she'll get up there and just bat it onto the floor. She'll also do this with pens - even if we are trying to actively use them - and pretty much anything left on the kitchen table.

Lilo: Don't believe any of this - it's all lies! I am nothing but cuteness and sweetness!

But such is life with Bengals. Thankfully she hasn't destroyed anything expensive (Sera has thrown a Japanese doll case on the floor, shattering the glass, while Moochie tossed a toaster oven off the kitchen counter).

Anyone else have to hide the TP from their cat? Or have a cat that licks books? Or has something significant broken by their cat?