Dang it, The Little Prince learned how to open the doors a few weeks ago. I went to the pharmacy this afternoon. When I got home, he had opened the coat closet and the bedroom closet doors and trashed both closets. He pulled out everything he was strong enough to pull.
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The bedroom was a mess from the shoes etc that he pulled out. He didn't destroy anything, just asserted himself and trashed the closets.

This is my first cat. Is this typical dominant neutered male behavior? He is 18 months old and seems to be getting more naughty rather than less. I suppose I can put something relatively heavy in front of the doors before going out in the future so he can't get in. I have to wonder what his next way of displaying his displeasure in being left alone will be.

Dang Cat!!!!!!!
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Wow! I have a neutered male cat that's about 4 years old and he never displayed any of that behavior. He still gets frisky at times and runs around the house like a banchee but he's never been destructive. But he has a playmate. Maybe your cat is lonely and needs a companion.

If you have the door handles instead of knobs you might want to look into changing to knobs until he stops this!!
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Good luck.....I find it hard to get mad at my cats whatever they do....they're just so cute...
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cats looking for something, do you live in a wood structure or is the floor cement? we got one that goes goofy when something is creeping around the attic, and it doesnt matter whats in front of him he goes running head straight up and plows through everything that is in his way.

if there was something under floor, the cat would be digging for it, that or its still PO'ed it got clipped, mine got a bit cynical towards me and did bad bad kitty things, for a while like 6 months

just a thought

Indoor cats sometimes go nuts...have the maddies.

Giving cat nip every so often, really settles them down.

From what you described in the past, this is a somewhat feral cat...these cats need mental stimultion, or they go nuts.

Toys like the circular ball thing (a track that goes in a circle with a ball inside), active playing times,
periodic cat nip, and perhaps a good cat tree, really help.

When our females were young we did jumping games.
Making a pipe cleaner into a spiral (fold the sharp ends inward to protect the cat), and doing a jumping thing ...really uses up that energy. We taught them on the count of 3.... ONE, Two...THREEEEEEE toss up across the room.
I had a tom cat many years ago that fetched large marbles.
(choking hazard with small marbles). I'd roll them down a long corridor and he'd bring it back!
Wiffle type golf balls are also popular and easy to catch.

I live in a one bedroom second floor apartment for the handicapped. The doors DO have handles instead of knobs which I need because I have a good deal of arthritis in my hands. This wise guy can jump up, hit the handle and now pull the door open........on the first try.

Another cat is out of the question. I can't afford to take proper care of a second animal and will not cut corners on their care. I play with him for 45 minutes in the morning and then again after supper. He stays busy with independant play durring the day when he isn't snoozing in the window. He has two trees and all sorts of hanging toys in the living room and bedroom. His favorite activity is chasing noisey balls.......a regular soccer player.

I agree that he acts like he comes from a ferral background. His original owner got him at seven weeks. I understand he was exceptionally hyper as a young kitten.........whatever that means. She had to give him up after a month when she found out that she had an agressive cancer and could not keep up with him while dealing with chemo etc. A elderly male neighbor kept him on a tempory basis until a forever home could be found. The cat was well fed, watered, and litter trained but the gentleman didn't interact with him much. He was pretty much on his own relative to socialization for the next four months until I took him.

I didn't put the Rescue Remedy Drops in his morning water today because he was calm. I guess I am going to need to do that proactively. He has had a complete health check up recently because I thought that there might be a problem but the vet said he was the picture of health..........just a stinker. He did do labs on him.

When I was growing up, my family bred daschunds and some of them were real stinkers when left alone. As a matter of fact, his behavior is much like what they would pull.

Don't forget to vote!!!!!
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I think as he gets older he'll calm down. My male cat was very active as a youngster but never really caused any problems. As he's gotten older he sleeps much more....I think most cats sleep 20 out of 24 hours almost! Just give him some time and he'll settle down. In the meantime I know it's frustrating.
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My fur ball likes to open my bottom kitchen doors. Naughty kitty. She is a tortoiseshell calico and is rather young and playful. Sooooooo I went to the store and bought child safety locks for my cabinets. You might want to try that because I had to wash all of my dishes, pots, pans, etc. once I found out she was in there. I can only imagine what your closet looked like.
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I have a naughty, young tortie, Gracie. I have regular door knobs, but she sneaks into my closets when I open the door and often don't notice. When I did that, I came home to a complete mess! LOL! Everything on the shelves at the top of the closet were on the floor. I mean, it looked like a tornado had been in there.

Another time I opened the door and she leaped from the floor to that top shelf. (I don't know how she does this but she can leap tall buildings in a single bound, I swear! LOL) She started at one end and worked her way to the other, stuff falling left and right before I could get a handle on her.

I think probably your furbaby will settle as time goes on. I don't think it's a purposely aggressive act, just that he's having some fun.

Lordy, those handles are nice but I can't imagine any young playful cat passing up a chance like that!

In other words, I have no advice, LOL! Good luck.
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By the way, I love your stories and updates about the Little Prince.
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it sounds like your cat may just be getting bored being alone. a lot of times destructive behavior can be traced back to an animal being bored. its like with kids; "there wasnt anything better to do". if you can stomach the electric bill you might try leaving the television or a radio on while youre out. something for the cat to hear people talking and make him think hes not alone in the apartment. other than that you may need to put him up in a crate or bathroom while youre out to minimize the mess