what do i do with a cat that doesnt behave?

Question

shes about 9 months old and when i try to lay down the law to her she looks at me like im crazy. if she gets into something i threaten her with a paper or flyswatter,and still doesnt work? i dont want to get rid of her but she is getting out of hand.

Answer 1

I have a .13 cent bullet that will take care of that problem

Answer 2

First of all Tracy I want to thank you for asking this question. You know how the letters LOL are used ? When I read all the answers
I had tears coming from my eyes and my stomach hurt. A good laugh feels good.


I've had a lot cats you think you have problems I have 3 four month old kittens right now OMG never a dull moment around here they are into everything. I think Cindy gave the best advise it's obvious she's had cats. Cats are a lot like kids they do things for attention. I wouldn't recommend the spray bottle for two reasons if your planning on bathing her your going to have one heck of a fight putting water on her. And second you don't want her to be spooked every time you pick up something that appears to be a spray bottle. Use your voice if you use something that makes aloud noise they get used to that. She should grow out of it all of mine always did.

If she's not spayed your going to have different problems real soon if she's a house cat she will be calling for a mate and she won't care if it's 2 in the morning. Don't get rid of her that's sad she just wants attention give her it. I bet she's made you smile and laugh more times then she has made you angry. Get toys especially toys with cat nip in them furry fuzzy toys. They like balls but the only thing about them is they lose them under things.


Hang in there she should grow out of it cats live a long time they will give you many years of love..

Answer 3

First thing to remember is you HAVE to catch them in the act. Cats will not put 2 and 2 together if you point at something they did an hour ago.

Water is a good idea, but if that fails you can try computer dusting spray (the kind the shoots air on the back to remove dust). My cat Dr. Bob would sit through a 6oz. drenching with water and still try and chew my Xbox controller cords, but the sound from the spray sent him shooting out of the room and stopped the habit completely.

Now all I have to do is hiss when he or his brother acts up (Do not abuse this power). The only downfall is that I cannot open a can of Mountain Dew with out starlting them.

Answer 4

Cats don't "behave" or "misbehave"-they have instinctual actions that will be acted out no matter what you say or do. Thus, laying down the law or threatening her will not work. The trick is to determine what instinct she is acting on (e.g. hunting, playing, breeding ) and direct her to perform in a more acceptable manner.
For instance-if she is scratching you, you may be moving around like the world's biggest cat toy and triggering her playing instincts. To teach her to act more appropriately, use a toy with a long string and if she still attacks you, stop playing and leave her.
If she is scratching the furniture-she is acting out her marking instinct. Get her something that is appropriate to scratch-actually several throughout the house is better-and take her to it when you see her start to scratch.
An excellent book to understand cat behavior is "How to Be a Cat Detective" by Vicky Halls- I highly recommend it.

Answer 5

Our Gracie is almost 4 years old now. She's never been "destructive", but has on occasion gotten what we call the "wild/crazies". I have found that when she was/is doing something that she isn't suppose to, it's usually for attention. She wants to play. She's just like a human child. When they are bored, they can find all kinds of mischief to get into. If you see her heading in the wrong direction, distract her. Play with her. I also agree with the firm NO and finger pointing. Gracie responds well to that. I'm usually very tender and soft with her, so when I do change my tone, she listens. At 9 months yours is still a baby. I do agree about getting her spayed. The first time Gracie went through "heat", my heart just ached for her...we took care of that when she was about 7 months old! If your baby is just not ready to listen, you might want to confine her to one room(with her food/water and litter box)when she acts up. Let her out gradually.

Answer 6

1. If she has not been spayed, have it done at once. She will become a little more calm after.
2. Threatening her with various objects will never work; so, abandon that method as a tool of discipline. Your cat simply does not understand what you are saying and doing hoding a flyswatter in your hand. Actualy hitting her with it will just teach her to avoid you.
3. A better method of discouraging certain behaviors that you find offensive is to squirt her with a water pistol or squirt bottle (filled with water) when she is actually engaged in that particular offensive behavior (or IMMEDIATELY after). If she has already done IT and is engaged in another activity, squirting her will only confuse her as to what behavior you are actually punishing. So you need to be on top of her.

4. NEVER hit your cat as pointed out, that wil only teach her to avoid you and other humans.

5. You can also discourage offensive behaviors by making a loud noise to startle kitty to atention and to stop whatever it is she is doing. Some folks use a pill bottle filled with pebbles or beads or some other object that will make a rattling noise. Personaly, I just clap my hands.

6. Reinforce good behavior by praising, petting and rewarding with treats.

7. Use various aids like double-sided tape (to keep kitty away from table tops and counters and to discourage scratching on certain surfaces and objects) no-scratch sprays from the pet store to stop kitty from using the couch as scratching post; and of course lots of appropriate toys to keep kitty from getting bored. Bored cats become destructive cats.

8. Be patient. As you discourage bad behavior consistently and reward good ones, and provide kitty with appropriate objects with which to expend her energy, kitty will become perfect little angel... well, maybe a NEARLY perfect liitle angel (it also depends of the temperament of the cat)

Answer 7

I've had cats all my life. I'm also a Vet. Tech student. If she has not been spayed, then I'd say that she is in estrous, otherwise known as being in "heat"---or will be soon. Call your vet. Make an appt. to get her 'fixed'. BTW, the your tactics won't work even if she is spayed. The only thing that you're accomplishing is making her mistrustful of humans.

Answer 8

Have you tried water? My cat used to get crazy and out of hand a while back and i read somewhere that when she/he is doing something naughty take a water bottle with a sprayer and give her a squirt or two. (use the solid squirt not the mist) They generally don't like the water that way and it kinda gives them a little scare. Pretty soon she'll associate the water with whats shes doing wrong... It worked for us hope it does for you too.

Answer 9

She's still a kitten and wants your attention!
Cats and dogs are definately different entities but puppies and kittens love attention and want to play.
Give your kitten some time and she might just get pooped out. However, if your kitty is starting some bad habits then time to bring out the squirt bottle.

Answer 10

I have a cat that every once in a while wants to get naughty with me, like she will try to attack my leg. Or she will want to go and play with my telephone wire. I have learned with her that if I say in a very loud strong voice NO a couple of times and point my index finger at her she will usually back down from what ever she is trying to do. It makes me feel like I'm scolding a child!

I'm lucky that she is well behaved for the most part as she doesn't scratch on my furniture or get up on tables, she will sleep on my bed or on the leather couch. But she is a good cat. I adopted her, she was an outdoor homeless cat when I got her, she is terrific.

I've never hit her or had to throw any thing on her, I don't believe in doing that. Cats are very smart and they some times will some times do naughty things just to get your attention. Try not to get to worked up when your cat does some thing, just try saying no very firmly. If they see that it bugs you it will become like a game to them.

I use to have a Siamese cat that just loved to bug me, he was a pistol. He would watch me and wait until I looked at him and then he'd scratch on my couch. If I didn't look at him he would sit there for a while waiting for me to look, as soon as I would he go at it with the scratching. He would get up on my shelves and systematically knock things off, but he always waited until he saw me looking at him. If I didn't look he wouldn't do it. He was pretty funny, I sure do miss him.

Good luck...!

Answer 11

Use a squirt gun or spray bottle of water when she does something you don't like. Cat's don't like to get wet. She'll catch on if you are consistent.