Getting your cats to leave you alone?

Question

How can I get my cats to leave me alone when I'm doing things? They always want to "help" me when I am on the computer, reading a book, doing laundry, and things like that.

I've tried pushing them away, taking them into another room and telling them that "mommy can do this by herself and doesn't need their help"! But nothing seems to work.

What do you do?

Answer 1

*The Can of Coins is a simple and easy method. You can make it yourself:

Take a cleaned empty, dry drink can (soda, fruit juice, etc.) and fill it with a few pennies or small stones. You can seal the top with strong tape or leave it open (just don't turn it upside down if you leave it open!). This makes a rattle with a particular sound frequency. Different can materials (steel, tin, aluminum) have different sound frequencies.
When Kitty is doing something that is unwanted, get the can IMMEDIATELY and shake it hard while commanding "NO!" or "STOP!". The vocal command reinforces the sound. Kitty will stop and run off. Over time, kitty will associate the sound with the discipline and eventually the can itself with the discipline. So in many cases, just showing the can to the cat will stop the behavior.
Other noise makers that can work are: A large bell (i.e. a cow bell), a "clicker", a rattle, a drum.

DO NOT shake the can next to the cat's ear! Cats have very sensitive hearing. Shake it loudly but at a distance, and stand while doing it (this shows dominance).

For many years people have used spray bottles and water guns to "spray" a misbehaving cat. This can be effective, but there are some problems. If you use a water gun the stream can hit the cat's eyes or ears and cause permanent damage. Cats don't like to get wet.
*A simple and safe method is the water flick. To do it, you need a water source (bowl of water, etc.) and your hand:
dip your fingers in the water (or get them wet somehow) and flick your fingers at the cat's flank, back or rump (NEVER the face and eyes, ears!). When you flick, do so in a way that your hand shape changes from a closed type of fist to an open one with fingers outstretched and keep your hand open for a few seconds after the flick. Be sure and stare at the cat when you do this.
The cat will usually stop immediately and run off. Because the cat has such a wide range of vision, it will see your open hand and angry face. The open hand means something. It is a visual signal, similar to a cat's open exposed claw posture. This means "Watch out!" to the cat. It is an aggressive sign.

Eventually, the cat will associate the hand sign as a signal, and you may no longer need any water at all!
http://www.clydesight.com/livecat/catdisc.html

CAT FACTS:
Cats are intelligent. The solitary cat answers to no one and is motivated by the need to survive. And while trainability may not be the feline's forte, cleverness and adaptability certainly are. Many of the cat's remarkable mental and physical abilities are dismissed as simply instinctive. However, just as humans are born with innate communication skills but must learn over time to master a language, cats refine many of their inborn abilities through practice. The widely-held belief that they learn through observation and imitation of their mother or other cats is now being called into question. Cats do learn, but in a different way than do humans or dogs; they have a special kind of intelligence.

A cat never forgets.
Once attained, even if by accident or trial and error, most knowledge is retained for life, thanks to the cat's excellent memory. Easily frightened, a cat will retain very strong memories of any incident that it considers threatening. However, positive experiences are just as easily stored and recalled, particularly if they have to do with food or play.

Speaking to cats can be ineffectual. Felines possess their own vocabulary of sounds.
http://animal.discovery.com/guides/cats/behavior/forgets.html

Answer 2

If you are very consistent cats can be trained just like a dog .

I have two cats and they are both just over 1 year old and they have both been taught not to come up with me until invited .
They will come sit in front of me and wait to be asked up , then they do .

Now once in a while they just can't help it if I haven't paid them attention for a while and then they let me know .

Answer 3

Cats tend to act a lot like a child that wants their parent's attention. They love their owners and want to show their affection by being with you, even if it is at an inconvenient time. Take a minute from what ever it is that you are doing, sit down, talk to and rub your cat for a few minutes. Usually that is all that is needed to be able to complete your tasks without your cat's assistance.

Answer 4

That's pretty sweet actually. We just moved our cats from Japan to the US for the small fee of $5000! All that and our girl cat won't give me the time of day.

I agree with the water gun. The hissing thing only works with my male cat but I can't bring myself to do that in front of others lol. Just don't be submissive with them. Dominating them is different than making a dog submissive but you can stare directly into their eyes and say no. Look at them until they walk away. My cats hate this.

It's hard to be "mean" to a cat that loves the heck out of you. :)

Answer 5

You can either rub a dog scent all over you, roll around in lawn fertilizer, or wild cat like lion dung.
For real, my kitten (9 mos old) does the same thing. You have to have lots to keep them busy then they go about their curiosity and come back just for reassurance and brief attention. I bought two cat trees, toys, and I have large windows all around my house so she jumps on the windowsills to see all the birds. She can do this for hours. So my best suggestion would be get a window perch. Cats love them.....

Answer 6

Keep a plastic or paper bag around and then make a lot of noise so they'll get scared and run off. That's what I always do. Heh, a vacuum will work. Drag your vacuum cleaner everywhere with you. The sight of that sends my cats running.

Answer 7

I would recommend investing in some toys, and maybe a crate for the kitten to feel safe and secure. The pet stores sell many brain teasers for cat's entertainment. Hope this has been helpful.

Answer 8

I pick the one bothering me up and give him a lot of attention. Cats like the bothering thing to be their idea went it's yours they go the other way. Also a 104 pound dog helps too! Don't worry he's not allowed to touch.

Answer 9

my cats do that to me too... rather than losing my patience altogether, I now keep a bottle of pills next to my computer and when Kaffe or Cato are becomeing especially pesky, I pick up the bottle and rattle it - they hate the noise so they slink down to floor, settle down and lick themsleves or do some calm cat-thing. They now associate the rattling sound of the pill bottle as "Don't bug mama-mama right now." Of course, after they have settled down for a good half hour patiently waiting for me, I do reward them with praise and a treat (food or play time or walkies).

Answer 10

Maybe get them to play with a cat toy to keep this busy . My kitten does the samething everyday . And when I give him a toy to play with he leaves me alone . Good luck.