how do i get my cat to stop?

Question

I love my cat Omar but he has some bad habits that I just dont know how to break. First is that if his uses litter box once he wont use it again until its cleaned out. I usually keep up on because I know how he is, but if I go away for a few hours he'll kick all of his litter all over the floor. His second habit is that he claws the heck out of my carpets. He has scratching posts and other toys, but he wont play with them. I can't put him outside because he hates to go out. I'm also worried about his weight. He's about 27 lbs and I feed him iams weight control, but he just likes to lay around.

Omar gets plenty of attention..lol..he makes sure of that. He's right now sitting on my computer desk sleeping. He follows me everywhere like a lost little puppy.

Answer 1

Problem 1 - Kicking Litter out of box

There is nothing you can do to stop him, and this has nothing to do with the box being clean or dirty. Many cats will do this immediately after it's cleaned. The only thing you can do is prevent a mess, by buying an enclosed litter box (one with a lid) to stop the litter from leaving the box. You can't stop him from kicking it around, and honestly, since it's part of their nature, shouldn't even waste your time trying.

Problem 2 - scratching furniture

This one's always fun. Buy 2 things ... a catnip spray to spray his posts with, in hopes that he'll radiate towards those more often, and a water bottle or water gun .. to spray him with when he goes near your furniture with his claws out. One quick spray at the cat when it starts and he soon learns not to do that.

Problem 3 - Outdoor cats

Don't put him outdoors. Housecats aren't meant to be out of the house, and in many places, will be picked up by animal services if you try.

Problem 4 - Weight

If you're concerned about his weight, take him to a vet. They'll give you a diet and feeding schedule to suit that particular cat. Don't expect him to do a lot of physical activity and run off the weight, it won't. As cats get older, they play less and less. It's perfectly normal. When weight becomes an issue, then is the time to see your vet.

Answer 2

Wow! Okay, as to his weight: put Omar on a diet - measure out his food. Ask the vet how much - I would guess about 1 cup of food per day, something like that.

As to his litter habits - some cats are very fussy that way. I'm glad you keep up on it. Try getting a pan with high sides, and that will help contain most of the litter. I used to have a cat I nicknamed "The shoveller," because she would do the same thing, no matter how clean the box was. Really high sides on the pan helped.

Scratching: Keep his claws clipped, just like you'd clip your own nails if you kept them short. Do that once a week or so. If you're not sure how, ask your vet to show you. Basically stay away from the pink part.

Then, try different kinds of scratching posts - different cats like different surfaces to scratch. One of my cat loves those corrugated cardboard scratching pads, another of my cats loves those sratching posts covered in rope. My 3rd cat likes scratching posts covered in carpet. So... I have all 3 kinds. I also rub catnip on the scratching posts from time to time. I also keep a squirt bottle handy to squirt them when they scratch something they shouldn't. Having things they like to scratch, plus keeping their claws trimmed, plus reminder squirts when they scratch something they shouldn't = no problems with my furniture or rugs.

Good luck! ;-)

Answer 3

Try getting a litter box with the opening at the top. Some cats won’t go for it but if you can get yours to accept it then that would take care of the flinging litter problem. Also, have you ever tried Soft Paws before? They are a type of cap for your cat’s claws that most people use to control kitty’s clawing habits. That way kitty just won’t wait until you leave to scratch your house up.

Answer 4

Cats like rough surfaces to scratch on. Often the best type of scratching post you can get is a tree stump with rough bark still on it, nailed to a wide wood base so it can't tip over. The other kind of scratching post my catst like is a floor to ceiling cat tree with rough carpet on it, its sturdy, won't tip over, and the cats love to scratch it, climb it, and sit on its perches and look out the window. When someone does try the couch I scold them and spray at them with canned air to discourage them. I also pinned old towels to the back corners of the couch where the cats wanted to claw, when first starting to teach them not to claw the couch. The towels made clawing the couch much less fun because the towels slip and slide and also didnt offer the firm rough surface that a cat prefers to use for scratching. Many common scratching posts don't appeal to cats because they are too flimsy and tip over easily.

There are self cleaning litterpans available although I haven't tried them. With cats that were that finicky about litter, I've found that offering them multiple litterpans is one solution, and using the kind of litterpan that is completely enclosed with just an entrance hole is a way to help stop litter from getting kicked all over the place. Putting the litterpan on newspaper or a big throw rug also can help for picking up any litter that the cat does manage to throw out the door of the enclosed litterpan.

Answer 5

Ok here's the deal. Dont put him outside, I think that's just cruel and inviting danger. Make sure his litter box is clean at all times. If you cannot clean it so much, see if he will tolerate one of those LitterMaid boxes that clean themselves. Or try a different litter. Get a tray to put under the box so at least if he does spill litter it won't go everywhere. You can get stuff to spray on furniture and stuff so the cats won't scratch - just check your local pet store. Or is there a smell he doesn't like? Try sprinkiling something that smells like that on the floor. Ask the vet about his weight first of all to make sure he doesnt have any illness. Then see if they can recommend a diet to put him on. Give him lots of toys to play with that will let him move - balls, strings on a stick, etc. Try to make him run around and play as much as you can. Good luck!

Answer 6

When cats claw carpets they're marking their territory and sharpening their nails at the same time. Trying to get a cat to stop clawing a carpet is like trying to get a 8 year old child to sit still and not play. Also, cats are very clean animals. Some will only go in a clean litter box. And personally, I don't blame them. Would you want to sit in a box that already has old crap in it? As far as the weight issue goes, I'd get him to the doctors and have him put on a prescription diet. It doesn't sound like you have much experience living with cats. Maybe you should have done some reading before you got one.

Answer 7

Most cats hate dirty litter. They really are clean animals regardless of what some people seem to think.You can go to a Pet Supply store and buy some toe nail clippers for cats and trim his nails. When you catch him scratching the carpet squirt him with a small spray of water. And you may not be giving him enough attention so pet and talk to him more.

Answer 8

Well, First of all, cats are very peculiar. My cats are the same way. Even after my cats use their liter boxes, they seem to be "Scratch happy !" They will scatter their liter all over. It is hard to break them on this one. I suggest that you put down newspapers around the liter box. This is what I do. As far as the scratching of the carpets go; I usually take a rolled up newspaper him gently tap on them, and say NO !! Then, you want to take him to his scratching post, and take his claws to the post. Good Luck.

Answer 9

The rule with cats and their litterboxes is +1 for the # of cats you have. Most single-cat households can get by with 1 litterbox, but it sounds like maybe Omar needs another one as I'm sure you can't be there all the time to clean up each time he goes to do his business. The automatic cleaning boxes I have heard are good, but at the same time, they are pretty expensive. Before having to resort to getting one, I would suggest investing in another plastic one and see how that goes.

For the scratching/clawing problem, I would suggest trying one of those sprays from the pet store that "attracts" the cat by scent. Also get a water sprayer. One of my kittens was scratching at our new couch and before we realized, she had shredded the material in the back. All we had to do was watch her and anytime she got close to looking like she was about to scratch, we sprayed her with water a couple of times and since then, she really hasn't been as keen on scratching up the couch as she used to be.

How old is Omar? I have noticed that the older the cats are, the shorter their play time ends up being as they either get tired quicker or lose interest. My bf's parents have a cat that is 13 yrs old and faaaaaaat. They try to get her to play, but she rarely does. And if she does, she only plays for about 5 minutes. I have 2 kittens at home that sleep A LOT, but the second I whip a toy out and play & interact with them, they're all over the play running around. That's how I get them to excercise. If Omar is unwilling to get up and play, then consult your vet on what sort of diet foods you can try and maybe also get suggestions on what types of activities you could try to entice Omar with to get him up and about instead of laying around all the time.

Good luck! =)

Answer 10

Be very careful and watch your kitty.....if cats provide up ingesting with out note - it would want to no longer be the foodstuff. Cats will commonly provide up ingesting in the adventure that they are ill (i.e. Urinary tract an infection, blockage, abdomen soreness). Watch her intently, is she performing common except purely no longer ingesting? Has she used the muddle field? Now if each and every thing else is common - attempt to %. different new colored products out of the foodstuff and note if that helps. If no longer, i have been there and finished that attempting to change my cats foodstuff previously they are "waiting". they are obdurate little creatures and could make themselves ill previously they substitute their foodstuff! one way I actually were efficient is putting their established foodstuff contained in the bowl and using the hot foodstuff as "treats" till time to absolutely intergrate it in. Now if she nevertheless gained't devour for yet another day or so. Take her to the vet, cats can get very ill by no longer ingesting and by no ability using the litterbox. wish this helps and please do not provide a cat milk (cow's) they do no longer be able to digest it and its no longer reliable for them....