I've never had a cat that knocks things off of flat surfaces, before. It takes getting used to.

[Siwsan]

And the defiant look on Madoc's face after he's cleared a table - I think he practices it in a mirror. And now he's teaching his little brother how to annoy me.

Madoc can be a bit of a jerk.

[SheltieLover]

1. Lol

The price we pay to serve our felines for all their cuteness.

[Leghorn21]

2. Yeah, but he is SO GOOD-LOOKIN!!

So from my safe distance here, I can easily forgive his rowdy ways!!

[TDale313]

3. It's a cat thing 🙂

My cat will do it at 4 in the morning cause he knows it’ll wake me up. “Oh good-Since you’re up- could you feed me?”

[Phoenix61]

4. I had one that would look at me mid swipe

I’d firmly say “no” and he’d swat whatever it was off the table. They can such be jerks. However, it’s how we know the world isn’t flat. If it was the cats would have cleared everything off of it.

[2naSalit]

6. +1

[Sanity Claws]

5. Mine did it yesterday

and broke a glass in the bedroom. It was empty but shards went everywhere.

My cat's technique for knocking over glasses involves putting his paw directly in the glass and then leaning on the inside until it tips over. The little fucker.

[3catwoman3]

7. Your previous cats were holding out on you...

…and missing out on their own full cathood.

In my experience, there are 2 basic techniques:
1. The more refined tap-tap-tap-PUSH, which takes a 1-2 seconds
2. The nano-second full-speed SWOOSH, which is over in the blink of an eye

[wnylib]

8. I never had a knock 'em down cat before either.

But Ember lives for the knock down moment. And, yes, the defiant look is all part of the move; it's the grand finale.

Each cat is different, but for Ember, it is her attention grabber. She wants to play and I'm watching a movie? Poof! Books off the desk. Typing on DU and she wants pats and scritches? Paws on the hands to hold them still. Doesn't work? Poof! Cup of tea on the floor. If her dish is empty and I am doing a newspaper word puzzle? Poof! Glass of water to the floor.

Don't frustrate yourself and Madoc by trying to make him stop. For cats who do this, I swear it's in their genes. They can't stop. Try to make them stop and you will only get bad feelings between you. Try laughing or not showing any reaction. They will still do it from time to time, but less often without a reaction from you.

For what it's worth, Ember has mellowed after 6 years. Now she rubs my face and pushes her face under my hand for petting when she's hungry. She is not usually much of a snuggler, except at night, so I now know that extra snuggling means, "Fill my dish."

[Walleye]

9. Mine loves to knock the plastic bottles of shampoo into the bathtub

It makes a wonderful alarming sound. Sometimes it gets mommy up to look around for things. I’ve gotten used to it I just laugh

[Butterflylady]

10. My Boots considers himself as an expert in knocking down items

No matter where they are located. Bookcases, window sills, counters and even walls. You name it, he has done it. Amazingly he has never broken anything.

The only problem is that he is so dam cute I can't stay mad at him.

[Ocelot II]

11. My late cat Teddy used that technique to wake me up.

He'd start shoving things onto the floor, up to and including the lamp. I couldn't keep anything breakable on the dresser or side table.

[niyad]

12. "We have conclusive proof that the earth is not flat. If it were, cats

would have knocked everything off it by now."

[chowmama]

13. Fast Eddie loves to test gravity. It works every time.

I knew my first personal cat (not my family's cat) had started to get comfortable when he deliberately began to misbehave right in front of me.

His name was Banshee and he came off the streets at the age of maybe 16 weeks? The vet said his weight was more appropriate for an 8 week kitten. He terrified my husband, who had never had a cat before, because he looked like a Halloween caricature. (Although DH was the one who rescued him and got him inside before he wandered into a very busy street.) We found out later that the kitten had been kicked out to die by a man (and I use the term extremely loosely) who physically abused him.

For months, if you made a sudden move, that cat would try to escape in all directions at once, including up and down. It was like living with Don Knotts on crack. But he started to settle down, put on weight and get sorted out medically.

One day I was sitting where I could see the dining room table. Banshee knew he wasn't to be on that table (at least when we were home). Banshee was sitting on one of the chairs, waiting for me to look at him.

I did. He very slowly raised a paw and planted it flat on the surface, staring me right in the face the whole time. I clapped my hands at him and he danced off the chair down the hall - not panicked, but dancing. I swear I heard kitty snickers. He was gonna be ok.

[chowmama]

14. Oh, and I forgot my mother's cat Ton o' Buns

He was very dictatorial about being fed on time, and my mother was infinitely distractable. Ton o' Buns would get up on a counter, get the can cupboard open and start firing cans across the kitchen approximately every 10 seconds. The challenge was to get there before he hooked a jar.

The cupboard ended up acquiring a hook and eye at the top, where he couldn't reach it.