My cat is giving me a hellofa trouble

[Faroth]

You can also try these:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo

They are safe for the cat (though will drive her bonkers at first) and keeps those claws from scratching for a while. However, don't put them on and go on as if it's all okay since she can't scratch. You still want to watch and deter negative behavior if she acts like she's trying to scratch furniture even if she's wearing. Again, the ol' spritz of the spray bottle!

Also, noises. Put pennies in a soda can and toss it when she's acting up. Sudden, loud noises bother them and if it happens when they're doing something wrong, they'll start to associate the act with the noise too.

---------- Post added 2012-11-16 at 10:06 PM ----------

Get some toys for your cat. They don't even have to be expensive, either; just something small and fluffy/jingly/bouncy that she can chase.

Warning: Cats are picky. She may like it or hate it. Buy cheap and a plethora of options and let HER choose what she wants to play with. Cats like to believe they are in control.

I highly recommend the technologically advanced toy known as the paper bag too.

[DarkTZeratul]

Laser pointers can also be good.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

Just a minor heads up on the cat nip (haven't read through all the posts to see if it was going to be tried/ have been tried / not going to be tried). My friends cat was an outside pet. Primary job was to kill pests. Well that cat knew exactly where the wild cat nip grew at and the cat loved to self medicate. Here is the catch, the cat was very loving and fun to be around... when it was sober. Once that cat got high though it became crazy as all get out. I remember going to his place to help work on his tractor. Here his cat was sitting in the middle of the driveway meowing like crazy. I watched it do that for five minutes before I got my friend. He tried to move it and the cat decided he was a super mouse getting revenge for all the small one's the cat killed and went nuts on him. Bout pissed myself laughing.

Given that cats will like catnip will eat it when they get the chance and that the active ingredient in catnip causes a sedative effect when ingested in cats, I tend to think that your friend just had a crazy cat whose crazy behavior you blamed on catnip.

Cats only get aggressive when they simply smell catnip, not when they eat it. If it was a wild catnip plant the cat had access to, it would have eaten it.

[whywhatwhowhenhow]

If your cat is eating anything and everything it can get it's claws on, it could possibly have worms. If it's got worms, then also check it for fleas, they kinda go hand in hand. Fleas can carry tapeworm eggs.

I'd get treatment for both to be safe.

[Deleted]

May I recommend a good ol' beating. Kids (and animals ) love me some good ol' beatin'
No need to thank me. I just don't like to see a cat gone unbeaten.


Infracted.

[Faroth]

If your cat is eating anything and everything it can get it's claws on, it could possibly have worms. If it's got worms, then also check it for fleas, they kinda go hand in hand. Fleas can carry tapeworm eggs.

I'd get treatment for both to be safe.

This is another point. While the winter is a lower risk, USE PREVENTATIVE. Revolution is about $80 for a six month supply and you often get 1-2 months free. It prevents fleas, ticks, heartworm, roundworm, and I think one other worm. My vet is a little more expensive than buying from other places, but they also offer a guarantee. If your pet gets heartworms, for example, while on preventative bought from them, the treatment is free.

I just got a dog this year and while she's the best dog I've ever had or known, she had heartworms. We've been undergoing treatment to the tune of $1300. I'd rather pay for prevention over time than put the dog through the boredom of restricted activity with treatment.

[tibben]

It's obviously one of "those" cats. You know...the kind that sit around all day plotting how to kill all humans. If you don't get rid of it now, it may find a way to get rid of you.

Note: I am a dog lover. My advice may be biased.

[Realsykes]

This is why I cannot wait to get out of college, and get my Doberman.

My mom is a cat person, I love her to death, but for fuck's sake I hate cats.

I've had 9 growing up, the only one I REALLY liked was this badass one we had who was this tank of a cat named Grizzly, and he got mangled by a Great Horned Owl...

Every other one shows traits I cannot stand in a pet. The whole "I'm too good for you, I'm the king of this house," mindset ticks me off. It's like, I BOUGHT YOU FROM THE STORE YOU S.O.B, the least you could do is be more mellow and not as stuck up.

Granted Joey, my friend's cat is one of the coolest animals I've had the pleasure of being around, but he's an outlier in my mind.

Dogs forever.

[PrawnStar]

The family I am currently living with got a cat about 6 months ago (she is also 6 months old).

Had zero problems with her until ~2 months ago. She started being extremely rude and annoying.

I can best describe it with some examples:

1) We all eat, she goes under the table and jumps on somebody from below. Claws right into our legs or hands if we had them under the table for some reason. I have some serious injuries already. My arm looks like I was in war.

2) Something she only does with me. If I walk without shoes on she always jumps my feet and trys to bite me and scratches me. Putting her away only makes her attack again. Only way to stop her is to put some shoes on or to carry her into another room.

3) She fights my dog for the dogs food. I always have to seperate the cat when feeding my dog, or she would simply eat everything away. This cat eats fucking dogfood

4) We build a scratch tree for her, but she just doesnt want to fucking use it. Instead she scratches all the old and valuable furniture. The old man in the house is getting extremely pissed by her and starts being aggressive. I try to calm him down and not to attack the cat but I think he is reaching his limit; and I can understand him. The furniture is really expensive and it would be a shame if a cat damages it.

She was a wonderfull cat until two months ago... calm, yet playfull. She has a huge garden to play in, but now she refuses to go outside because it's getting colder.

My dog isnt a problem. She's leaving the cat completely alone. She's ignoring the cat 100%, and for the most time the cat doesnt give a f about my dog, too.

We thought it might be because of her hormones... she's just about that age where she could start breeding, so we took her to the vet and got her sterilized. After ~4 days of being silent and groggy from the operation, she is just back to being a huge cunt. Old behavior, no changes.

My friend had a cat once, and it didnt show any of this antisocial behavior.

What did we do wrong, and what can we do to fix her?

ps.: She is also hungry all the time. All. the. time. If I want to eat a banana in the kitchen she trys to steal it from me....
Yet the vet says that she is actually too fat and eats too much. How does this work, since we are not overfeeding her in any way?!

#1: Cats, don't understand, they have fur and think your clothes protect you just as well. Plain water in a clean spray bottle, will solve this in a few days. Just give her a quick squirt.

#2: The cat loves you, and wants played with. Also, Natural instinct. Cats are predators, Kittens are Play-Predators. She want's to have a mock fight and doesn't realize she's hurting you.

#3: Some cats are picky when it comes to food, some are not. Feed them a different times, and give the kitten a good playing with before doggy food time.

#4: Catnip, Catnip, Catnip. Anything you want the cat to use should be catNip'd. Spray is cleaner and easier to deal with, but fresh is always a welcome (And edible) treat.

The #1 rule of Owning a Cat is you must play with the cat. An Underplayed cat will do anything for attention, and will have too much free energy. This is especially true for cats under 2 years old. Cats, by nature, are Predators. They Hunt, they Chase, They climb. It's what they do, and they are very good at it. You Kitten should have a good 30 minute play time at least twice a day. Mine are very fond of the "String on a stick", But be careful not to poke the kitteh's eye with the stick.

[Anastacy]

Water bottle.

Squirt the fucker any time it does something you don't want it to.

/end cat training thread

[Mihalik]

So what is this catnip stuff? Any effects on human?

I don't like cats. They seem so illogical to a dog person.

Well the thing you need to understand about cats is that, they are not your pets. You are theirs.

Also they are very independent compared to dogs. If you simply leave a dog in a forest to fend for itself, it will starve to death on no short terms. While a cat will usually just start hunting after a couple of days.

[Dengir]

Think the mods need to go though this again and ban some people... reported one for telling the OP to put the cat to sleep. Still nothing done about it.

[Landrii]

Make sure you play with the cat and try to tire it out(it seems impossible I know). I recommend a toy called a 'cat dancer'. It's the best toy ever and it's literally small pieces of cardboard on a thin wire. Some cats love laser pointers - just don't shine it in kitties eyes. Also keep around toys she can play with herself.
If your cat reacts to cat nip(not all cats react to it and sometimes age is a factor) use it ON the scratching post(and toys). Sometimes you can even press lightly on your cats paws (so her claws are protruding) and show her how to scratch on her post by help her go through the motions.
Try different types of scratching posts if she's not interested in the one you have. You can get cardboard, ones with rope, or ones that are just carpet type material, or even ones that have a mix of materials.

I recommend keeping her claws trimmed too, it will help dull the pain she might cause with them and it may also help keep damage she does down.

Squirt bottles with water are good, make sure you avoid the face and make sure when you do squirt her you catch her in the act of whatever she is doing. She wont understand if you find new scratch marks in the furniture and go and find her to squirt her.

The biggest thing is it sounds like she is under stimulated and acting out because of it. Remember she is still very young and probably has tons of energy. Cats typically start to chill out the older they get - but that doesn't mean you can ignore them, they still need to be played with and payed attention to.

Also with the eating... when my cat was young I needed somebody to take care of her when my I was away so my Aunt with 2 dogs took her in for the week. My cat is also a female and would eat the dog food (its funny a cat about the same age as yours scaring off two small dogs and pigging out on their food). Make sure your cats diet isn't just dog food. Cats need taurine in their diet, which dog food does not have.
My female cat is now 4 years old and her gorging on food has not subsided. My vet said it's actually very common for spayed females to be over eaters. I saw other people saying make sure she always has food, but in my case I wish I didn't. She got very fat very quickly and her weight has been an issue ever since. I have another cat and I have to make sure I feed them separately... which you may have to do with your dog. It sucks I know.

Good luck and please don't give up with your kitty. It's hard, but too many of them go back to the shelters and it makes me sad

[ryotte]

You can discipline her with a small water gun. When she does things that aren't acceptable, give her a squirt, every time.

You can make your own catnip toys! Just two small squares of cloth with catnip stuffed between them, sewn together (kind of like a pillow), maybe put a jungle bell on it. Cheap, easy, and most cats will love it, especially young playful ones.

[loki504]

Water bottle.

Squirt the fucker any time it does something you don't want it to.

/end cat training thread

that doesn't work. instead of punishing the behavior look why he does it and change that. works much better then punishing.

yes for cats small things like a table or couch that changed could cost alot of trouble with the cat. and a water gun ain't going to change it.

[HungryHippo]

Tell the cat off in a raised voice when ever she does something wrong and give her a sharp tap on the nose. rinse and repeat unstill your cat isnt doing nuaghty things

[Martyn 470]

This cat sounds quite tame to mine.
Sister got a Ginger male cat for her birthday.

Now,we already have 2 boisterous dogs and a skinny black female cat.
The ginger cat kicks the living crap out of the dogs, attacks them, bites them, hurts them, steals our food from our plates, steals food from the breadbin, knocks the bin over and steals from it, eats the dogs food, eats random stuff it shouldn't, like potpourri, bullys and bites my small black cat, if she's in the house, the ginger won't give her any time at all, he chases her and bites her.
He drinks coffee out of peoples cups, drinks milk, knocks everything over, he's a devil cat.

In the mornings he's alright and sleeps and is nice, but after that, he grabs your arms, rips the crap out of them, attacks your feet as you walk past, attacks you if you just sit there watching TV, if you're putting your shoes on, he goes for you

I think he's learnt from my dogs tbh, cause, they knock the bin over and eat out of it, and they also chew anything they get a hold of ( coathangers, etc)

I wish there was a way they could get on tbh, cause my small black cat dosen't even come in the house anymore, she's turning feral slowly, just because she can't get a break inside.

Edit: he's also neutered.

[Ferocity]

I understand, you wrote that you feed your cat and she is like always hungry. How about... to give her more food? ^.^ Fact that she keeps scratching furniture might be explained by bad ration. Make sure cat gets enough of meat and milk portion. And don't give her dry cat-food, there is nothing good about it.

[Mjau]

I understand, you wrote that you feed your cat and she is like always hungry. How about... to give her more food? ^.^ Fact that she keeps scratching furniture might be explained by bad ration. Make sure cat gets enough of meat and milk portion. And don't give her dry cat-food, there is nothing good about it.

Don't give her normal milk though, most cats are lactose intolerant. http://www.knowyourcat.info/info/lactose.htm

[Deleted]

I understand, you wrote that you feed your cat and she is like always hungry. How about... to give her more food? ^.^ Fact that she keeps scratching furniture might be explained by bad ration. Make sure cat gets enough of meat and milk portion. And don't give her dry cat-food, there is nothing good about it.

My vet disagrees with you first dry food is actually healthier than the canned meats, but cats don't like it as much so you should alternate with the foods, also like the poster above said, cats normally drink water not milk since they can't digest it above a certain age (there are exceptions though), still milk should never be the most prominent fluid you give your cat to drink. The give your cat more to eat because she demands it is also an awefull advise, because some types of cats tend to overeat themselves and get fat and lazy and then they die young. Just like in humans obesity isn't good for a cat either and some cats tend to not know when to stop (my grandmas cat died because of this at a rather young age).

So, you will have to train your cat not to do things. I trained mine mostly through positive enhancement since i don't like negative enhancement much even though it works.
For the food begging, ignore her, thats the only way for her to learn that you decide when she gets something to eat and when not, i think by what you told us that she is testing the limits, meaning she tries to get food and if you give it to her she learns that whenever she begs for it she gets it, also this tends to make the cat more "dominant" in her behaviour. My cat got fed 2 times a day, once in the morning when we were eating breakfast (note, she ate in the kitchen while we ate in the dining room, this seperation was to keep her from begging for food from us while we ate, and she never begged once in the 16 years she lived) and once at around 6 o clock when we ate in the evening, at first she tried begging for more too but after a while she gave up and got used to this routin (she also always had dry food in case she got really hungry and wasn't just begging, if they are hungry enough they eat the dry food, thats a good way to check if shes hungry or just toying with you)

I got to go now, maybe i write more tomorrow.

Just a short advice, if you want to keep her busy for a while and distract her from ruining your furniture, give her an empty cardboard box to play with 90% of the cats like that.

Also a lot of the cats behaviour depends on her race (a savannah acts very different from a scottish fold )