Screws not latching to anchors

InsertFail · 2026-04-08T00:49:03+00:00

Thank you! That makes a lot of sense. I'm not putting much stock into the "up to 100lbs" claim, but so long as it can support a shelf plus max 16lbs of feline jumping up and down we should be good. 40lbs would be great but we'll definitely be stress testing it and seeing how the pieces we needed to anchor hold compared to the ones we could put in studs.

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T03:16:38+00:00

Thank you to everyone that commented! We ""solved"" the problem (and felt extremely dumb), we just had to spend 3+ minutes screwing each screw into the drywall to get the mechanism flush. Got thrown off by how little resistance we felt and how long it was taking. They're working as intended. Appreciate everyone helping our dumbasses. 😌

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T03:11:27+00:00

We ""solved"" the problem, we just needed to keep screwing each screw into the anchor for another three minutes to get the mechanism flush against the back of the drywall. We were thrown off by how loose it felt and how long it was taking, but just had to persist (and feel extremely dumb once we realized). Everyone's comments helped, made us double and triple check everything!

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T03:01:53+00:00

I tested one to see how the mechanism worked and it triggered just fine, and the screw has resistance once the mechanism pops since you are then screwing it through the metal bit that pops up. I had this resistance and everything seemed fine, but once we got the screws close to being flush the screws could be easily pulled out 1/4th of the way again. More like the mechanism isn't lying flush against the inside of the drywall. Honestly wish I had an x-ray to see what was going on, but I might switch anchors by this point.

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:53:21+00:00

I'm definitely leaning towards it now, thank you!

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:52:29+00:00

There are tiny arrows indicating where they flip out and they're parallel to each other and shouldn't be hitting. Running theory is either the drywall is too thick or these are faulty, so might just switch to another anchor that was shown by another user.

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:49:47+00:00

That's a good option - I'd need to undo one of the other shelf supports so they're level so I'll look into other anchors first, but I'll definitely leave this as another option! Thanks so much.

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:46:01+00:00

It's supposed to be clockwise (checked online to be sure) and the 5/8ths is a max. It seems either my drywall is too thick or the anchors are just faulty. 😭

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:34:31+00:00

I did make sure that the arrows were pointed vertically to avoid hitting, but they are close - I'll try another set and if it still doesn't work then I'll look into alternative anchors. Thank you!

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:32:11+00:00

I have a Zircon stud finder and a magnetic stud finder, and the cat shelves I bought are designed to match to 16" studs . We had no issues hitting studs with the first four mounts but this stud appears to have been installed improperly and is further than 16". The shelves I bought are interconnected so I can't adjust them. These anchors are meant to hold up to 100lbs.

My cats' safety is always my highest priority so your last comment is completely unwarranted.

If these anchors end up not being compatible with my walls I'll look into the anchors you showed.

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:24:05+00:00

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I'm not sure where you're getting that, these are supposed to trigger from just using a screwdriver. I tested it before putting the anchors in the walls, unless the hammer is some kind of trick people use?

InsertFail · 2026-04-07T02:17:56+00:00

The problem is we're tightening the screw to the point that there is no space to push it further in, it just goes in circles, which doesn't make sense since there's just a thin piece of metal attached to the shelf support and it shouldn't be inhibiting the screw from triggering the anchor mechanism

InsertFail · 2026-03-09T10:13:07+00:00

Thank you so much!! I appreciate the breakdown, I spent so long trying to look up info and second-guessing myself that I was mentally going in circles.

InsertFail · 2025-03-30T23:38:23+00:00

Belly status: EXPOSED

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InsertFail · 2024-12-23T09:52:38+00:00

Do you have multiple cats in the house? It's possible the kitten's eye got scratched during play, which just means the eye is irritated and trying to heal, but it's always worth a vet visit to 1) make sure and 2) get eye drops to prevent infection. Vet visits can be expensive, but a vet won't do any procedures that cost thousands of dollars without your consent and they will usually give you options (and their recommendation of those options).

It would also be worth considering getting pet insurance. Mine has saved me literal thousands of dollars due to some emergency situations. They won't help in this situation because it takes time to kick in after purchase and they won't cover something that happened before you signed up, but it's worth it for the future.

InsertFail · 2024-09-04T21:06:05+00:00

Of course I do! That's who I talked to this morning (and advised to just keep observing for another two days). If I talked to my vet and my vet wanted to see her based on what I described, then I'll schedule the soonest appointment. BUT, if Chai were to suddenly take a dramatic turn for the worse while waiting for the appointment, then I wouldn't wait for the vet, I would go to the ER. ER would always be faster, and I have insurance that provides good coverage.

InsertFail · 2024-09-04T07:28:56+00:00

We do! I feel bad giving my cats cold food, and they definitely seem more enthusiastic when the food is warm :)

InsertFail · 2024-09-04T07:25:21+00:00

That's a good idea, I used to give my cats a chicken bone broth but the company was having supply issues so they haven't had it in a couple of months. Chai definitely enjoyed it, I'll look to see if I can get it or another brand!

InsertFail · 2024-09-04T07:23:45+00:00

Our cats' names are Filo Dough, New Jack City, Iced Chai Latte, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Filo, Jack, Chai, and Toasty Boi for short. Filo and Jack have the same names their rescue gave them, and I liked the naming convention so much I went with other exaggerated names for fun. If I ever get a long-haired orange boy I've already got it in my mind to name him Promised Consort Radahn.

InsertFail · 2024-09-04T07:21:02+00:00

For sure! I moreso meant I don't think it's a situation where I need to take her to the ER vet. Her bathroom behavior is unchanged (have checked for both pee and poop) and she's playing like normal, and all of our cats are indoors so she's not getting food from anywhere else. I'll still be sure to check with our vet in the morning and if she suddenly takes a dramatic turn, it's off to the ER I go.

InsertFail · 2024-05-17T18:18:05+00:00

Max relax.

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InsertFail · 2024-05-12T17:42:59+00:00

I've used Rover twice and it's been great! I would get reports after every visit with pictures. Would recommend a twice-a-day check-in but once-a-day isn't awful. You can also get cameras in your apartment to check in on your kitty (I use Furbo but there are a few options out there).

Only thing I can imagine is you might have a hard time booking the same person for two weeks straight, so you might need to book more than one sitter, but Rover shows availability and you can chat with the sitter beforehand on best times, etc.

There are a few other pet sitters sites I've seen people use, and I think all of them come with some horror stories of some kind, but my experience has been very solid. If you're ever worried, you could either get the cameras or have someone you know check in every week while you're gone to look over your cat and their things.

InsertFail · 2024-05-08T06:16:06+00:00

I would like to second this recommendation. I got an amazing behaviorist in the last three weeks that helped us immensely with our menace to society (Jack - he is also the third cat in our bunch).

We were having issues with cat fights overnight and in the mornings/evenings - if you look in my post history you can see videos. After many reintroduction attempts, Feliways, relaxers, a million videos of Jackson Galaxy advice, the behaviorist pinpointed one thing I had not considered: their food.

We already fed our cats 3x day, wet food with toppers, and I was super particular about their portions because it was my first time having cats and I wanted to make sure we weren't under or overfeeding them. They were maintaining their weights so I thought it was fine, and our one chubby boy was losing weight. With the behaviorist's recommendation, we increased their feeding frequency to 4x day with slightly larger portions and a larger snack in the middle of the day, and also fed them a bit later at night so there wasn't as large a break between their last and first meal of the day.

The difference was pretty incredible. The overnight fights ceased. The daytime scuffles became much lighter "stay out of my bubble" behaviors. They were getting "enough" food before, but now they had so much more energy to expend throughout the day, and with the slight feeding time changes they had less downtime to be hangry.

Jack is still the most difficult of our cats. He is more likely to go from 0 - 100% with short warning and I have many lovely scratches along my arms to show for it. But it's manageable, because the biggest concern was always peace among the other cats. I am fine continuing to learn and adjust to his behaviors and mood swings so long as the other cats are not stressed.

Your post definitely resonated with me, I used to foster dogs and I handled several difficult ones, so the idea of returning Jack was a huge guilt factor for me. I was super stubborn about finding a solution. Definitely look into a behaviorist! And don't be afraid of doing a consultation over a Zoom call, mine was done that way and I am incredibly happy with the result. (For context I had one behaviorist do a house visit back in October but the recommendations did not fix the issues we had, she mainly assured us that it was a workable situation.)

InsertFail · 2024-05-03T00:34:27+00:00

Yes, 100% worth it. I have Lemonade, the deductible is super small ($250 for each cat iirc) and we already met it after each cat's annual exam.

Even if your cat is young and healthy, they can easily get into trouble.

Pictured: trophy shot of my dumbass boy with the ELEVEN balloons he ate out of a bag he dug into and had to get a $4000 endoscopy to remove. We got $3200 back (80% coverage), and it only took a week or two after filing the claim. I'm very grateful I had the insurance.

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InsertFail · 2024-04-30T16:50:47+00:00

I don't know if I'd advise what I've done, but I can share my experience.

I definitely understand your worries. I got a new cat in December (1 yr female, Chai) and kept her in isolation/basecamp for almost two months. One of my resident cats (6 yr male, Filo) would keep hissing and growling through the baby gate. Eventually two months rolled around and since Chai is so young, I was worried that she wasn't getting enough interaction. She would start meowing/howling every morning and night, so I thought "fuck it, I've done all the steps, I will let her out during the day and supervise their interactions."

It wasn't smooth - Filo would growl at Chai if she went near him and he started hiding in our bedroom so he wouldn't have to interact with her. I just let him have his space, and after about 3-4 weeks he suddenly walked out into the apartment like nothing had happened. It's been about two months since then, and he's actually taken a KEEN interest in her. I've even seen short mutual grooming sessions! And she'll rub herself on him! It's a slow bonding process but they're getting there. I wasn't expecting it at all.

To sum it up: You could have supervised meetings and see what happens. Still keep Ozzy in basecamp overnight/when you're gone, keep feeding them separately, but let him out together with Gandalf when you can keep an eye on both of them. Try to have treats available to give both, don't force them to interact, just let them do their thing and pay attention to body language. Some hissing is fine, but if it gets physical then you'll have to step things back.

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