Do you know of a cat deterrent that is not a squirt bottle?

Question

Help! How do I keep my cat off of the table and doing other things she shouldn't? I clap my hands, yell "no" and have even gotten a little squirt gun. (My cat, it turns out, loves water and is impervious to the squirt gun.) I do give her lots of attention, so I don't understand why she has to do things that she knows she shouldn't do--eats food from the table when we're not looking, dumps over the trash, tries to pull the tags off of our clothes. It's almost like it is fun for her to do bad things! She is about 8 months old.

Answer 1

Well of course -- all the bad things are the "fun" things for a kitten. Right now she is also testing her boundaries and by default your boundaries too. The good news is this behavior doesn't last forever. Usually.
I'm impressed she's "into" the squirt gun, so it does leave you without a great resource. The next option -- and this will draw some heat -- is the two finger (a medium tap should suffice) smack on the nose. This in combination with holding her down and scolding her firmly should do the trick.
I know this sounds "mean" but this is often enough to bring a quick halt to the unwanted behavior. And with a mild "punishment" like this your feline friend is often quick to forgive. Good like with the little girl. --Andy

Answer 2

She's a cat! Do you really believe she knows she is doing anything bad? She does what comes naturally to her and since she is so young, there are a lot of things that will come natural to her. She isn't trying to pull tags off clothes because she wants to defy you. She plays with them because they wiggle and move when she tourches them. She doesn't stand in the room eyeing the trash thinking to herself "I think I'm going to be really annoying and dump the trash". It gets dumped because it isn't secure and there was something in it that smelled good to her. The dumping was a side effect of her curiosity. As for eating on the table - as far as she is concerned "what's a table?" She only knows something smells good up there so she jumped up to get a better look and found something to eat. Maybe you aren't feeding her enough. This is an animal you are talking about, not a child. It sounds to me like you would be happier with a dog. They obey commands much better than cats. It may suit your particular mindset about how pet is supposed to conform to your expectations and lifestyle.

Answer 3

She knows you don't want her to do those things, but it's fun. My cat goes up on the dining table, work surface etc when I'm not looking, and when I see him the way he stops and looks at me makes it clear he knows I'm going to shoo him off. It's a shame your cat isn't deterred by the squirt bottle. Keep clapping your hands, or pick the cat up and put her back on the floor without talking to her or giving her any attention every time. She'll learn eventually. Don't leave food on the table when nobody's looking!

Answer 4

There are different things you can buy from the petstore that smell a certain way - which cats hate. Comes in a spray (I believe), and a pouch that fits nicely on your couch - and in this case, a table.

My cats learned not to by my mom doing the clapping and yelling no. If they go up on something new, and we don't want them up there all we have to do is say their name firmly, and they get right down. Although I'm sure they go up there when we're not home - so try that product from the store.

Answer 5

Hi there...consider using double-sided sticky tape to deter countertop and tabletop surfing. Cats dislike having their paws stuck to tape and soon learn to avoid areas which are unpleasant and this method is beneficial as you do not need to be physically present which trains cats quicker.

To keep her out of the trash it's best to purchase a garbage can that has a lid/top that isn't easy to access.

Kittens are very curious and like to play with everything. They not only need a lot of attention but plenty of toys. Some free toys are the best such as paper bags, cardboard boxes, straws, plastic bottlecaps, etc. Be sure that no string like substances are available as a cat can accidentally ingest these and slice their intestinal tract which requires surgery.

More on string-like dangers: http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/caring_dangers.htm#string

Other dangers for cats: http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/caring_dangers.htm
http://www.mainecoons.org/h/dangers.html

Answer 6

in case you save squirting at him he will start up to resent the different cat and affiliate him with being squirted,so go away them introduce themselves yet supervise in case it receives to demanding and out of hand,that is likely to do with who's boss and the recent one is making an attempt to make certain if he might want to correctly be the right cat yet for sure its no longer on, the older one became there first so the older one wont enable it take position no way! so see how they get on once the recent has realises the older one continues to be boss issues will cool down, good success.

Answer 7

Cats can't stand the smell of citrus. Put lemon and/or orange slices/peel around the areas.


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