troubled cat?

Question

I have an 8 month old kitten, who seems to be untrainable..For instance,I bought her scratch pads and she refuses to scrath them! When I see her scratching other things such as the chair or carpet I take her to the scratch pad and 'show' her and she literally will stand on it and continue scratching the carpet. Also, I have been trying to break her of her habit of climbing on top of things like the fish tank, or entertainment center and she just doesnt stop. In order to curb her running and attacking others I have implemented a 'time out' for herin the bathroom for a few minutes at a time and even that doesnt work! Just this moring I was calmly petting her and she latched on to my hand, and started kicking with her paws- breaking the skin! My fiance and I really love her and make it a point to pet and play with her but how can we get her to listen?? Thanks!!

ps- the cat is indoors only, and she likes water!! she loves going in the shower afte ive come out, loves the toilet, and i have tried the water bottle and she just kept coming back for more!

Answer 1

Oh you definitely are kitten-challenged. Everything you describe is completely NORMAL. Your kitty is not troubled at all. She's a kitten! I have had cats & dogs for over 35 years and I've seen it all. Here is some advice that I hope will help you:

1. First and foremost...LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS! This is a kitten. In fact, it's a pain-in-the-butt teenager in comparable human years.

2. Second, remember this is a CAT...an animal. You cannot put a cat in time-out. It won't work. She doesn't have any idea what you're trying to accomplish by locking her up. In fact, you are only causing her more pent up energy that is bursting at the seams when you "release her".

3. Cats must scratch. It's natural. I don't know what you mean by a "scratch pad", but it sounds like it's not very appealing to your kitty. You need a scratching POST. The post should be wrapped in sisal rope (far better than carpeting) and it should be TALL so your kitty can get a good stretch on it. A "kitty condo" or cat tree with different levels and perches is best, but you need a minimul of a 3 foot tall scratching post. Rub some catnip on the post and grab an interactive toy and make her play with the toy by climbing up the post. She will not only LOVE it...she will realize how much more fun this scratching post is compared to the furniture and carpet.

4. Biting and playing with hands is one of the most common kitty problems. Kittens rough-house with their littermates. It's an important part of their development. But obviously, it doesn't work well with humans. That is why playtime with interactive toys is so important. By "interactive" I mean, toys that you and kitty play with together. The best ones are the fishing pole type teaser toys. Your kitty WILL attack your hands and you need to show your kitten that it's no fun when she does it and that when she stops, she gets to have fun. In other words, don't yank your hand away when she attacks. Do the opposite. Make your hand completley rigid and still and "play dead". That stops all the fun for your cat. Keep doing this and she will become bored. When you yank your hand away, she thinks it's a game of chase. Get it? Leave it still, and the game is over. When she's calm, that's when you reward her with playtime. Trust me, she will learn the difference - hands are no fun...toys are lots of fun!

5. Discipline is important but it only works if there is a.) immediate correction, b.) when kitty is "caught in the act" of naughtiness. And discipline only works if there is a reward for NOT being naughty. In other words, when kitty uses her post, praise her, pet her, love her, flatter her! If your kitty cannot associate the discipline with the crime or if there is no incentive for her to be well-behaved, your kitty will continue to be a terror.

6. HAVE FAITH! Your kitty will eventually mature and become a well-behaved adult cat with your consistent love and attention. Use this time to bond with your kitty. Equal doses of love and discipline will go a long way in gaining your cat's respect. Cat's pretty much own us, not the other way around. They are clever critters that have a knack for getting their way, but when they love and respect their mommies and daddied they're more inclined to reward US with good behavior and manners! Really, it's true!

Good luck!

P.S. Just read the other posts...declawing is the absolute worst thing anybody could do to a cat. Please read this: http://maxshouse.com/facts_about_declawing.htm

Answer 2

Ignatia is the homeopathic remedy for grief. You can purchase a vial of pellets (30C) from a health foods store. Get an amber bottle with dropper at the same time. You put four or five pellets in the bottle and fill it with filtered water. When the pellets are dissolved tap the bottle about ten times and put a teaspoon of the liquid into 1/4 cup of filtered water. Give your cat a dropperful of that liquid then discard it. Give another dropperful the next day - taking a teaspoon from the amber bottle again and mixing it with another 1/4 cup of filtered water. You should have enough still in the amber bottle to use the third day. Misty needs to eat something in the next day. Try some baby food from the grocery store - chicken or turkey are best. The baby food must have NO ONION or garlic powder so read the labels carefully. See if Misty will eat something from your finger and feed her a fingerful every several hours till she will eat on her own.

Answer 3

Your kitten is just that, a kitten. They like mischief. Your cat seems to have a lot of energy. Time outs will not work, it will only cause her to have more pent up energy. My suggestion would be to dedicate more play time with her. One thing you might want to invest in is a laser pointer. Cat's seem to love this and it takes minimal energy on the humans part. Move the laser around the room and let her run herself ragged, she'll be less likely to climb and get over stimulated if her needs are being met.

Try rubbing a bit of catnip on the scratching post you bought her and put it directly on the spot of the rug she likes to scratch.

She won't be like this forever. After the age of two you will notice her calming down and sleeping more.

I would also suggest getting her spayed if she hasn't been already. This also helps reduce aggressiveness.

Answer 4

well for starters, kittens are always up for play, so really the only thing to help when you are petting her at this age is to keep your hand covered to help prevent scratches. she will grow out of this.

as for other training... a lot of people don't like it, but i have successfully used "water therapy" on 3 kittens now. the youngest is just shy of 2 and i no longer used water bottles - ever. i don't have to. i make a "Phshh" noise with my mouth and both cats i have stop what their doing. they don't like to be wet. squirting them makes them stop what they are doing and run from it. negative reinforcement needs to be complimented with positive reinforcement though. so when she goes all day without scratching at furniture and jumping up on counters and such you don't want her on - reward her. gradually phase out both and your cat will behave.

but attacking people and things that move... try some good toys for that - i found a fishing rod that stuck to the window and had feathers and a ball on the end - my kittens loved it! i had a couple of balls with bells in them too. mechanical mice (also available at pet shops) work well too. then they are more likely to go after the toys than you or your friends. you have to give her an outlet for her energy that isn't you, your boyfriend, or your guests.

if push comes to shove you can declaw her as bobthebuilder said. contrary to popular belief it is pretty humane so long as you intend the cat to always be indoors. there is no need to 4 paw declaw, but the front claws can be. my high school chemistry teacher used to be a vet assistance and actually showed us how it was done - it's easier on the cats than getting a rectal temperature.

Answer 5

Ok, I have 4 cats and have own'd plenty. For starters, get a squirt bottle. You can buy them at the Dollar Stores, Just fill with water and when you see her in a location that you dont want her to be, squirt the bottle. Of course, she wont know where it came from, but soon she will relate to it. Keep it close by you while you are watching TV and such. And secondly, it may be to late for the kicking of the hind paws. You should have never started it with her....playing to rough with her with YOUR hands. But, keep working on it, she might come around to calmly petting. I never, ever allowed mine to attack my hands. If they attempt to, I simply give a firm no and put them on the floor. They eventually get the hint. "Oh, she's not going to pet me, if I bite. Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

That is a tough situation. Have you tried a different type of scratching post? My 2 cats have 2 posts. They clearly love one and couldn't care less about the other. The one they prefer looks like it has small cords of rope tied around the post - and they've (happily) shredded it. The other looks more like corrugated cardboard and they don't touch it. It may just be preference?

As far as the biting, I've tried to (gently) rap the cat right on his nose, push his face, adn say "no" firmly. He did seem to get the hint after a while that biting is not allowed. Good luck!

Answer 7

Please, please do not declaw your cat for that will only make matters worse. They tend to bad biters and some will not use the litterbox.
First I would get some caps to put on your kitty. Then to discourage say "ouch" and give her time out. They will learn it just takes patience and lots of TLC. Get a carpet mat that has points on the bottom and place it upside down on surfaces you don't want the cat on...they hate it and will soon stop jumping up there.
Don't play with your hands always have a toy to play with her. There are many things you can do and I would do a search and read up on bad behaviors and the different ways to cope. Try each one till you find the one that works for you and your cat.
Good luck!

Answer 8

OMG it so sounds like my cat. She's been on 5 different medications and no changes. The vet says that she has aggressive disorder. She doesn't listen for nothing and she bites also. One minute she loves you, the next minutes she's trying to bite me. As for keeping her off of the things that you don't want her on, I've found the following link that helped me with trying to stop her from her habits. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=10802&N=2002+2017
it's not the same exact one I have but it does work. I bought like 3 or 4 and scattered them where I don't want her and they work... Good luck. I find that no matter what I do, she's not going to change her behavior so I just give her the love she needs and leave her alone when I know she's in the mood. Also, the bathroom thing didn't work with me either...lol

PS, my cat got declawed and I would def. suggest it especially if she is as crazy as mine. I thought that she would grow out of her ways but she's now 5 and still the same way.

Answer 9

Sounds like you got a typical cat :) one that thinks he/she owns the house and you are their personal slaves. i suggest water gun or fly swatter. with the water gun. shoot the kitty w/ water when he/she does something bad. after a few times of getting even just a little wet, the cat should learn to control its ways.

fly swatter works too. i'm not talking about whipping your cats butt or anything really hard. but a slight "spanking" right where the tail connects can get a cats attention to stop also. but you might run into the problem of the cat thinking the fly swatter is a toy and not for training purposes.

the part you said about the cat "jack rabbiting" your arm, breaking skin is honestly the kitten just playing like its big cat ancestors did and do today still.its amazing how natural traits stay w/ genes for so long.....

Answer 10

Your cat sounds like a typical, normal cat. All of my cats did that when they were young. I had one who climbed curtains and ate my plants. Another two knocked over my fish bowl that I had a Betta fish in and killed the fish. My cats still sharpen their claws on the furniture. Even if I yell when they do it when I'm home, I'm sure they still do it when I'm not there. Cats will be cats and I would not want them any other way. They do calm down as they get older.