Cat owners - I could use your advice!

When she becomes too rough grab her by the scruff of the neck and push her down to the ground. Hold her for a second or two and saying in a commanding voice "NO." Don't yell. Then withdraw from the cat for a while, and give it no attention. The cat must associate rough play with zero attention from you. What I do is lock mine in the basement for an hour or two so she gets the idea that when she scratches and bites it means getting grounded. Be consistent.

Also, young cats tend to be rougher and most will mellow out as they become older.

[edit on 18-2-2008 by TheComte]

Your kitty sounds very playful. With patience and time she will mellow. Get something fun and tie it to a long string. Some people even use a small fishing pole, and tie some colorful straggly strings on the end, a sock ripped up, anything you have on hand and toss it across the room and have fun teasing your cat back. Sounds like you got yourself a 'mouser'.

Oh but do not use fishing line as it is dangerous for animals.

[edit on 18-2-2008 by antar]

Originally posted by TheComte
When she becomes too rough grab her by the scruff of the neck and push her down to the ground. Hold her for a second or two and saying in a commanding voice "NO." Don't yell. Then withdraw from the cat for a while, and give it no attention. The cat must associate rough play with zero attention from you. What I do is lock mine in the basement for an hour or two so she gets the idea that when she scratches and bites it means getting grounded. Be consistent.

Also, young cats tend to be rougher and most will mellow out as they become older.

[edit on 18-2-2008 by TheComte]

Sounds a bit harsh to me.

reply to post by _Phoenix_

Why? I'm not hurting it or depriving it of food or water, if that's what you're thinking. The fact is this is the method the mother cat uses to discipline her kittens when they get too rough.

Originally posted by TheComte

Why? I'm not hurting it or depriving it of food or water, if that's what you're thinking. The fact is this is the method the mother cat uses to discipline her kittens when they get too rough.

This is correct, and I have tried, to no avail, she will squirm her way out of it every time - I let go because I don't want to hurt her. I mentioned she didn't spend much time with her mother at all so I don't think she understands what this means, hence no results.

I don't know about locking her up for over an hour though, now that seems a lil harsh to me
I have put her in the laundry for a good 20 minutes, which worked at first ... until she learned how to open the door lol

reply to post by antar


Yes I am hoping with time she will mellow out, she seems to be with each week that passes so I'm keeping my fingers crossed

She has many toys, lots of them on a string, and I can usually tire her out with those

Ya, when I said lock her in the basement I didn't mean shackles and chains. I just put her downstairs for an hour so she gets the message. There's lots of space and toys to play with, just no people.

reply to post by TheComte


ahhh ok, gotcha I figured as much but you know how that sounded right ?

Originally posted by TheComte
reply to post by _Phoenix_

 

Why? I'm not hurting it or depriving it of food or water, if that's what you're thinking. The fact is this is the method the mother cat uses to discipline her kittens when they get too rough.

It was the locking up that I thought was a bit harsh, when you hold her down and shout NO she would probably understand why, that's probably ok.

But locking her up in the basement, she may not understand why you are doing that, and after a while she will really have no idea why she is there.

It's the same when I seen someone lock a cat out of the house as punishment because it made poo on the floor, the problem is the cat won't understand why they did that. lol And sometimes the poo has been there for quite a while, so they already forgot about doing the poo haha.

Not saying your wrong, just that I see it as something that wont work, and doesn't benefit the cat.

[edit on 19-2-2008 by _Phoenix_]

reply to post by _Phoenix_


You are right in that also phoenix. You gotta be quick! 9 times out of 10 kitty won't know wtf we are on about and why they are being punished.

I have also learned not to ever touch her or pick her up/carry her when she has done something bad because she takes that as a reward for what she did. and assumes it's playtime lol




[edit on 19-2-2008 by ImJaded]

Originally posted by ImJaded

Originally posted by TheComte

Why? I'm not hurting it or depriving it of food or water, if that's what you're thinking. The fact is this is the method the mother cat uses to discipline her kittens when they get too rough.

This is correct, and I have tried, to no avail, she will squirm her way out of it every time - I let go because I don't want to hurt her. I mentioned she didn't spend much time with her mother at all.

This may be part of the problem, kittens learn a LOT from their mothers, the mother is the perfect example to them, when they play too rougth the mother screams at them and hits them, they also learn things by watching their mother, like cleaning themselves the right way, and respecting each other. All this helps them treat you the same.

[edit on 19-2-2008 by _Phoenix_]

reply to post by _Phoenix_


Yup, sure does. Which is why I am having so many issues with this lil one. I had to teach her pretty much everything but her behavior is proving the hardest and I am now convinced she thinks she is a dog because she spent most of her early life with a dog lol
I have been reading on any and everything to do with kittens since I got her and I'm doing my best. I just wanna give up sometimes but then she does something adorable and wins me over again awwww

I guess I was looking for some tips or advice from someone who had the same problem with their own pet and saw results as a result of doing something in particular. I don't want an easy way out .. well not all the time haha

I reckon we'll be alright though Well, here's hoping lol

reply to post by ImJaded


One thing I can say is keep it up!

Show her love everyday, I'm telling you now, last year a cat that I grew up with died from old age, and that cat was such an amazing cat, the older they get the more clever and human they are, they really become family. When she was young she did have quite a temper lol. But that went away, and she was the nicest cat ever, it was in the eyes, the way she would look at you full of passion and happiness and respect.

What I'm saying is, when they are young they can be a little wild, but show it love everyday, and in TIME she will mature, love you and respect you, things will turn out great. I mean think about it it is amazing how much they learn and change in so little time, what could we do at age 1? lol.

Time is key. They really are clever emotional creatures. And they mature, learn a lot and become more calm as they get older. And when your cat is an old old cat, you will see it in their eyes how human she has become.

Good luck.



[edit on 19-2-2008 by _Phoenix_]

Oh yeah one more thing, I don't know if you do this, you might not.
But I'll advice anyway.

I recommend to never use your hands as a way to play with her, instead throw her a ball or play with a string or some other toy. ( My cat is like a dog, I throw him a ball, he fetches it for me and drops it by my feet, haha)

This way she will start to understand that your hand means petting and comfort, and that play time is with toys, not your hand.

[edit on 19-2-2008 by _Phoenix_]

reply to post by _Phoenix_


Thank you Phoenix, you're right on point with your advice
She is a very smart lil thing and I do give her a lot of love and care which she seems to appreciate for the most part. She just lay with me on the couch for a while and was so sweet and snuggly with me. Love her when she's like that

Part of my frustration has been in helping her understand hands are not for playing, seems she just doesn't get it no matter what I try. She has an abundance of toys and balls which we play with a lot.

She even plays fetch! I will throw her favorite lil stuffed doggy toy or her favorite mouse and she will go chase it and bring it back, dropping it at my feet for another run Adorable. She chases her tail a lot too lol

That dog that found her must have really rubbed off on her

She has been playing with a dry chick pea (Garbanzo bean) for about 45 minutes now and shows no signs of stopping
She picks it up in her mouth and drops it on the leg of the chair so it "ping's" and then chases it, rolling around etc .... So cute.


[edit on 19-2-2008 by ImJaded]

Originally posted by ImJaded


She has been playing with a dry chick pea (Garbanzo bean) for about 45 minutes now and shows no signs of stopping

She picks it up in her mouth and drops it on the leg of the chair so it "ping's" and then chases it, rolling around etc .... So cute.


[edit on 19-2-2008 by ImJaded]

Haha yeah they have those funny moments.

Sometimes they feel like playing at the worst time, like when I try to sleep, I hear them playing around lol.

But a lot of the time they get into your routine, when you go to sleep, they know it's sleep time too.