My 18 month old neutered male cat is excellent in every way, except that he's always underfoot. He thinks nothing of plopping himself down in the middle of the kitchen during frantic food preparations. He will silently follow me into the bathroom late at night and sit in the middle of the room in the dark. Sometimes, when he's in the middle of the hallway, and I'm about to step over him, he' stretch out a paw or even his head and put it right where I'm about to step. I haven't stepped on him in any serious way yet, but I'm afraid I will sometime and really hurt or even kill him accidentally. Any suggestions?
This is a really well-trained cat---he comes when called, "sits" on command, and will play fetch with a toy. But I can't figure out how to teach him that he needs to avoid being stepped on.
2007-09-11 11:31:24 · 5 answers · asked by cosmo 7 in Pets ➔ Cats
Well he trusts you completely which is sweet, but you could end up hurting not just him but yourself as well as you try to navigate around him.
Since he's smart, this should be easy. You need to instill a little healthy fear in him which will protect him in the long run.
You need to work on this in ideal situations when things are quiet in your house. For instance, when he is laying in the middle of the hall and you are walking through, put your foot on his front paw and start applying pressure slowly. The idea is not to hurt him but to press down enough so he doesn't like it and moves or at least gets up. Say "Move" when you are doing it and reward him with praise or a small treat if he moves even a little in the beginning. Go to another room, he will probably follow; repeat the same exercise again. Do this 3-4 more times moving to different locations and walking toward him. That's enough for one day. Repeat the exercises again the next day. After a few days or as many as it takes he should be getting the idea and soon you will have a cat that has another word in his vocabulary "Move" which can be used in a variety of other situations too -and- hopefully he will be moving aside on his own when he sees you coming.
(Note:Don't wear shoes when you are doing this, since it is harder to know how much pressure you are applying.)
Someone else with a similar problem:
http://justorb.com/2007/04/25/cats-underfoot/
He does sound like an excellent cat.
Hope this helps.
2007-09-11 13:06:10 · answer #1 · answered by Squeek E 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your problem may well lie in the fact that your cat is not associating getting underfoot with being a problem.
try being a little less careful, but carefuly so so you don't step on his head or anything, he'll learn.
I remember one of our cats as a kitten getting underfoot when i was trying to move quickly to avoid her,and she got kinda booted across the landing (mercifully perfectly fine, if a little unnerved) ... strangely enough shes a lot more careful about getting in peoples ways than she was before...
2007-09-11 11:46:50 · answer #2 · answered by mabel_noeyes 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not gonna happen. That is just somethimg cats do. I can't tell you how many times I have tripped over, fell over, and stepped on my cats. They just keep coming back for more. Sometimes I think they team up and take turns, doing it on purpose. They are curious and just have to see what we are up to.
2007-09-11 11:51:09 · answer #3 · answered by catsaver001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You CANNOT train cats. Keep him indoors until he gets to know you, and his environment better. Then take him to a vet to be neutered. Then he might settle down a bit. Please don't tell me he's already neutered because neutered toms don't act that way.
2016-03-18 04:16:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
just step on hi ma couple of times he will learn
2007-09-11 11:50:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
let him get stepped on a few times. if he is as smart as you say he is, he will learn pretty quick to get out of the way.
2007-09-11 11:39:12 · answer #6 · answered by c.a.d 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋