I had an epiphany today. There are some very easy steps you can follow to figure out which cat is to blame for “XYZ”. I have two kitties, which means double trouble. However, one is almost always clearly to blame.

Here are the basic steps to assign blame.

1. Whenever you first discover the problem, note the creatures locations. If it recently happened, the guilty party will likely be the one farther away.
2. Try to rectify the problem (eg: put the item back if they knock something over). The guilty party will be more curious about this.
3. Observe the kitty behavior towards one another. The innocent party will want to play with the other kitty, the guilty part will be thinking about whatever they just did (and probably want to try again).
4. Listen. The louder one often is guilty, but this is less certain.
5. Know your kitty personalities. This can help or hinder, as you might find that you blame one over the other in most cases. Knowing your kitty personalities helps you to determine which is more likely to have been the culprit, especially by assessing which one has interest in the particular item that was attacked.
6. Pick them up, and the one that won’t let you is guilty.
7. Taunt them with whatever they attacked, and the one that approaches the item is guilty IF that kitty is known to be bold, otherwise they are innocent and just curious what the guilty party did.

No, they haven’t broken our TV, yet. That’ll be a day of reckoning.