Need some ideas for our crazy cat!!

[Tazicket]

So, we've been trying to use a squirt bottle to deter our 1-year-old cat from misbehaving (biting, clawing, etc...). The problem is that it doesn't faze her at all. She'll stop what she's doing long enough to wash off the water and then pick up back where she left off!

She's a great cat and we love her a lot - she's a total sweetheart most of the time - we just need a way to get her to stop when she's misbehaving. Has anybody tried any alternative methods to the squirt bottle with any success?

 

[Kath2003]

Walk away?

Our cat's a chewer/scratcher because he's an enthusiastic playmate...if he gets a bit overexcited we just stop playing with him.

 

[Tazicket]

Walk away?

Our cat's a chewer/scratcher because he's an enthusiastic playmate...if he gets a bit overexcited we just stop playing with him.

Thanks for the input. We've tried that without much success. Most of the time, she'll be behaving and then launch into a surprise attack. When we walk away from her, she follows and bites at our feet.

 

[Kath2003]

Thanks for the input. We've tried that without much success. Most of the time, she'll be behaving and then launch into a surprise attack. When we walk away from her, she follows and bites at our feet.

Find out what her fear is. Our cat's second greatest fear (the first being the window cleaner ) is plastic bags. His third is when someone blows across the top of a bottle of soda (like playing the flute!) Exploit the fear!

She'll outgrow it, I've had less 'surprise ankle attacks' lately as our kitty has matured.

 

[Tazicket]

Find out what her fear is. Our cat's second greatest fear (the first being the window cleaner ) is plastic bags. His third is when someone blows across the top of a bottle of soda (like playing the flute!) Exploit the fear!

She'll outgrow it, I've had less 'surprise ankle attacks' lately as our kitty has matured.

I'll have to keep an eye out for anything like that. The only thing I know of that freaks her out is the neighbor's cat.

Yay!! There's hope! She just turned a year old last week (the rescue group we got her from was unsure of her exact birthday but estimated it at October 1). It's been years since DH or I last had a kitten. She's actually the first pet that DH and I picked out together. She was roughly three-months-old when we brought her home and she was super snuggly back then. We keep joking that she must be in her obnoxious teen years.

 

[Kath2003]

I'll have to keep an eye out for anything like that. The only thing I know of that freaks her out is the neighbor's cat.

Yay!! There's hope! She just turned a year old last week (the rescue group we got her from was unsure of her exact birthday but estimated it at October 1). It's been years since DH or I last had a kitten. She's actually the first pet that DH and I picked out since we were married. She was roughly three-months-old when we brought her home and she was super snuggly. We keep joking that she must be in her obnoxious teen years.

Yep, at about 18 months old they start turning into cats, rather than kittens. Until then you just gotta walk away and wear shoes to protect your ankles!

 

[KAMLEM]

Try putting some coins into a can and shake it when she's doing whatever you don't want her to do. Most cats are scared to death of that sound.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Get an empty soda can and fill it with small rocks, gravel or pennies. Anything that will make an annoying, clangy, rattle-y noise. Tape over the hole with masking tape or duct tape and EVERY SINGLE TIME the cat starts to misbehave, shake the can.

Works like a charm. Or at least it did with our cat.

 

[Kath2003]

Try putting some coins into a can and shake it when she's doing whatever you don't want her to do. Most cats are scared to death of that sound.

Muahahaha I just found the cat's 4th fear

We also just dump the wriggling furball outside if he pushes his look. Then he glares at us from the garden. Particularly effective in the rain.

 

[Tazicket]

Awesome! We'll have to give that a shot.

I had a cat years ago that was terrified of plastic bags. (Somehow one got caught on him and he ran around the house three times at twice the speed of light before I could catch him to get it off - poor thing had issues with plastic bags for months!) His tail would "foof" to 4 times its normal size whenever we brought home groceries.

 

[Laura]

Noises like the coins in the soda can are a good deterrent. Put double-sided tape anywhere she's clawing.

Also, if she bites you, put your finger on her tongue and push down. They don't like that.

 

[KAMLEM]

I had a cat years ago that was terrified of plastic bags. (Somehow one got caught on him and he ran around the house three times at twice the speed of light before I could catch him to get it off - poor thing had issues with plastic bags for months!) His tail would "foof" to 4 times its normal size whenever we brought home groceries.

My younger cat LOVES plastic bags. She licks them, no matter where they come from. Then she climbs inside of them so I need to be careful that we don't leave them around because she'll probably suffocate.