Cat Forum : Cat Discussion Forums - Behavior

Growling at Cat >:|

Ducman69 — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:39:40 GMT

My little furballs are usually angels, but at times discipline has been needed.

Buttercup abhors constraint and water, which made washing paws when she steps in poo a serious challenge.

Before I tried to be calm and soothing with disastrous results, getting her more wet than necessary and having her struggle for freedom (and draw blood from my arm upon escape... ouch).

This time on first signs of struggle I opened my eyes wide, showed teeth, and growled menacingly at her.

Tail tucked between legs, she FROZE solid, and washing was over in a snap with fur almost perfectly dry. After I reverted to super sweet talk and yummy treats. Naturally concerned she'd learn to fear me, but instead she has actually been unusually lovey-dovey nudging for petting and purring quite a bit.

So is this a good idea to apply to other disciplinary corrections, or just asking for trouble long-term?

How to tell if it's retaliation

karate0kat — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:39:10 GMT

My kitten is normally just fine with the litter box. However, twice now she's peed on my bed.

One the one hand, both times were when the litter box was in less than ideal condition. I usually scoop the litter box every other night, and the first time it happened I had missed a night on accident and it was getting rather poopy. This time, I knew the litter box was reaching the point where it was beyond scooping and I just needed to change it, but I hadn't had time (was going to do it tomorrow, have now done it tonight).

On the other hand, both times also followed a situation that made kitty very upset. The first time my landlord had had to put her in her carrier while work was done in my apartment (studio apartment, no rooms to shut her in). I got home from work to find that landlord had left her in there (5 hours with no food/water or toys, I was not happy and made sure landlord knew it). She peed on my bed sometime between when she was let out and when I went to bed.

Tonight she fell in the toilet so I gave her her first bath. She really really really really did not care for the experience. She licked herself for about half an hour and then started wondering around. I didn't pay attention to her, so I'm not sure exactly when she went and peed on my bed, but boy did I get a surprise when I crawled into bed (yeah, she crawled under the covers to do it, so I didn't see until my feet landed in it.

She's a very sweet kitty, very affectionate, and retaliation would seem out of character for her, so I want to believe it's a total coincidence that both times happened when she wasn't happy with me. Is there any way to tell, or any way to discourage this behavior?

Cat who doesnt like to be held

ThreeCatzGirl — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:46:59 GMT

I have this 2 year old tortie shell female cat who i call Ms.Brindle...

She does not like to be held. Like i can hold her while sitting on the floor and i can hold her in my lap while im sitting in a chair. But the second i pick her up and start moving around the room..she gets nervous and wants to be put back on the floor.

For the time being i am fostering her. I want her to get used to being held. So how do i do that? When i hold her..she has his scared look in her face and starts to panic.. i feel bad for her.. How is she going to get a home if she doesnt like to be held.

Please help.

playing with blinds??!

aimsriley — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:36:47 GMT

Hello All-
My cat Riley is 2 years old and in my apt I have 2 windows that have just blinds on them, no curtains. Even if the blinds are open enough that she can look out them...she STILL plays with them. She runs her front paws down over and over and over, she got declawed about a year ago and wasthinking that had something to do with it.

Well I bought this double-sided sticky tape from PetSmart that said the cats won't like the feeling of the stinkiness on their paws...ha! WRONG. Riley isn't bothered.

HELP PLEASE! How can I stop her from it. She knows "no" and "get down" when i tell her to get off a table or whatever. The noise thatis made when she does this blind thing is very annoying.

Please Help! ANY thoughts will help! :)

(sorry so wordy :? )

Thanks!

new kitten how to introduce

ragdoll — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:34:15 GMT

Hi, ok so i posted on here last week about a kitten i had found which id taken in, owner came to pick her up which i was happy and sad about.
Anyways i liked having 2 cats about the house so went out and got another kitten.
She is in a safe room but when 18 week old Shadow goes near her he jumps on top of her and bites and kick her! Im a very new cat owner and therefore know very little about cats behaviour etc.
I dont think that Shadow id hurting her and she gives as good as she gets even though she is only tiny. I take Shadow off her and say no then pet shadow.
Will i ever beable to leave then together???????????:?:

Kitten Peeing next to the litter box

Cindley — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 11:20:57 GMT

Our 4 month old Sophie has gotten into the habbit of peeing right next to the litter box instead of in it. She only seems to do this when we are near any of the litter boxes, we have 4 for 2 cats (mostly while we are cleaning one). I have not found any other pee spots where she has done this when we were not near by. She did this again this morning with my husband standing right next to one of the boxes. We are using the same litter the previous owner used and did not get the kittens till they were over 3 months old so they should be good and socialized. They have had a URI but yesterday was their last dose of antibiotic and she did it again this morning. Our other cat Max, who we got at the same time, originally showed her where the boxes were. He is also about a month older than Sophie, different litter same dad. When we have caught her doing this we have picked her up and set her in the litter box and immediately cleaned it with scent remover. We also have a mat around the litter box that normally she sits right off of to do this. When we are not near one of the boxes (again we have 4 in multiple places) she goes in the litter box just fine. Any ideas?

Cats and My 4 year old Nephew

MrPurryMotors — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:06:12 GMT

Wowsers... it's been ages since I've dropped by these parts. Off-topic to begin with, I know, but... Hi!

Anywhom...

So I've got a 4 year old nephew. He's smart, he's affectionate, he's great.

Our cats, Drizzle and Boo, being older, did not like him at first. Boo had some concept of what he was; she had seen Drizzle go from kitten to cat. Drizzle still has no idea what "this thing" (my nephew) is other than it's loud and moves far quicker than any of the rest of us.

Boo is occasionally tolerant, will allow Evan (nephew) to pet her and what not. Drizzle... runs away. He sometimes sniffs. He's let Evan pet him a handful of times in 4 years. It hurts the kids feelings. A great deal.

So... on that one... ideas on how to convince older cats (7/8 year old) to warm up to a rammy 4 year old?

On another note, he recently got a kitty of his own. Little tuxedo names Sushi. Adorable little scamp, reminds me of Drizzle a lot at that age.

My nephew doesn't grasp the concept of "gentle" though, unless reminded first. He and Sushi get along quite well most of the time, and Sushi certainly thinks of Evan (nephew) as his father-figure and such. But... at 4, trying to explain how cats prefer quiet and slow and gentle people... it's just not getting through to him.

Any ideas on how to make a 4 year old boy understand how very fragile a kitten is?

Oh and while I'm here, unrelated to the nephew...

Drizzle (7 year old male) has had a long-term nasty habbit of throwing up. But it's not vomit-vomit or hairballs, rather, it's quite clearly an entire recently eaten meal of the dry kibble-cereal food left out 24/7. It's plain as day the stuff is A) too dry and B) he doesn't chew it nearly enough.

That said, our other cat Boo is a food whiner. Her stomach has a clock inside, we swear. So simply removing the kibble-cereal food until applicable meal times isn't an option.

Any ideas how to get a cat to chew better, swallow slower, maybe even eat slower?

I had the thought of some sort of timed dispenser, that could let loose a 1/4 cup of the cereal-kibble every 6 hours, so he couldn't gorge himself on it as he does but... dunno where I could find such that does that. Only ever seen 24-hour timed feeders.

Thanks all!

Will she be safe if i go to bed? lol

lizaloo152 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:01:05 GMT

So i got my second kitten tonight. I already have 4 month old Bailey and now 2 month old Izzy. (She is soooo cute :love2)

I was told that they would be fine together from the get go as she has come from a house full of cats and Bailey has not even been with us for 2 weeks yet and was in a cat sanctuary with loads of kittens.

because of this i stupidly didn't think to buy another litter try in case i needed to separate them and i'm not sure if their behaviour is ok to leave them together.

Right now they are both asleep in the kitchen seperately. so far they have not got on too well. Bailey is fine if we distract him but the second he sees her he has to dart straight at her. he has only actually attacked her once but has tried to have little bites sometimes. The new arrival just hisses everytime he darts towards her and this usually stops him in his tracks and he leaves or just sits there very wide eyed and low to the ground like hes ready to pounce. One minute it looks like he wants to eat her and the next like hes bored and walks away.

thing is i really need to go to bed and am not sure what to do with them both. are they getting on well enough to leave the together so they both have access to food and litter tray? Its now almost 2am and i have work tomoro. I don't want him to hurt her :? Am i worrying over nothing or will i be up all night and have to buy a litter tray tomoro, lol?

Help: My month old kitten just climbed into my purse and attempted...

phisigjuliet269 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:32:55 GMT

To pee in it!! ( She is 5 months I left out the 5 in the title)

I was like ahhh and she looked me straight in the face and did it!! Has anyone ever had a cat do something like this. When she was smaller she did it in my laundry basket once while looking at me but this is too much! The purse costs more then she did lol

I kinda feel like she did it to get some attention since I was super busy all week and I havent been home a lot. She is acting fine and eating fine and was purring up a storm when I came home.

She also fell out the window and spent the day outside Monday so I dunno if that has anything to do with anything. My parents are bad babysitters!

I am scooping her cat boxes now I didnt scoop yesterday since I worked for 15 hrs so I am guessing its a mix of both but geez cut me a break its not like the box is full of poop and pee!!!

Anyone else ever have something like this take place??

vocality -- how much can it be influenced?

ZoeH — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:15:20 GMT

SemiFeralKitty suddenly turned very vocal. So far, it's just when she wants something, like to get into her safe room or to be lifted onto the couch.

Last night, I started ignoring her miaus. How long do they have to be quiet before you can give them what they want?

When I didn't answer her demands for elevator service, she tried jumping onto the couch. Hilarious. Then she settled down beside it quietly, so I picked her up. She responded with a little miew.

How much of cat vocalising is breed-based, and how much is behavioural/environmental?

I already know I'm really not suited for having a kitten, and probably not for having a solo cat without a canine for her to taunt.

One Year Old Cat Behaviour Issues

Parallax Abstraction — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:23:34 GMT

Hello all! I apologise if this has been discussed elsewhere but I checked the forum a bit and couldn't find anything specific to my situation.

I have a Gray Tabby named Thrall. He's about a year and a half old and I adopted him from our local Humane Society when he was about six months old. I love him to death but have been experiencing some increased behavioural problems with him that I've been unable to correct. I've had cats my whole life (including kittens) and I've never experienced the issues I am having with him. Every web site I've checked gives the same advice of "You need to play with him more and try the following disciplinary measures..." but the measures aren't working and I don't believe this is simple a case of him not getting enough attention.

Thrall is good natured by and large. He's affectionate (though not really a lap cat), loves people and has never hissed at anything ever. I play with him for quite a bit each day and he loves to have fun and fool around. However, he has several very disruptive (and in some cases destructive) things he does that have been increasing the longer I've had him. They include but aren't limited to:

1. Hollering and yowling for extended periods at random times of day, often in the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep. It sometimes worries me as it is loud enough that it sounds like he may be in pain. The last time I had a cat that yelled like that, it was a female that entered heat before she could be fixed. Thrall has been neutered.
2. Running around in a hyperactive state, usually in conjunction with #1. This doesn't bother me in general except when he decides to run over me in the middle of the night.
3. Trying to climb the back of my plasma TV and frequently trying to scratch at the walls. He's destroyed several posters already (a couple of which I can't replace) and pulled stapled wires off the wall. He's also broken one of my home theater speakers by repeatedly knocking the stand over and badly damaged my expensive living room curtains. He has two scratching posts which he still uses often.
4. Being overly rough. This often happens when I have just gotten up and am trying to get ready for work or make breakfast on the weekend. He will chase you down the hall and leap at your legs, often digging his claws in and biting very hard. He's drawn blood numerous times from both myself and my girlfriend. I'm pretty sure he's just trying to play fight but this level of that is not acceptable.

As I said, I play with him for quite a while every day when I get home from work. I was self-employed and working from home for the first while I had Thrall so I assumed the increases in this bad behaviour was just him adjusting to being alone during the day. However, it's been almost 3 months and things have not improved. I don't believe in physical discipline (i.e. smacking him when he's bad), though I have had to shove him off me sometimes when he's dug in to my leg (see #4 above.) I've tried using a spray bottle to stop him from doing things like climbing my TV and scratching the curtains but while that stops him in the immediate, he doesn't seem to be learning to avoid doing those things and will keep trying. I've also tried changing his food a couple of times as he was allergic to one food I gave him a while back and I thought I may still not have found the ideal one for him.

I'm at my wits end here as he's not only frequently disrupting my sleep schedule, he's damaging things I can't easily afford to replace or can't replace at all, if he's not asleep, I can't have a relaxing evening without having to get up every two minutes to discipline him and he's causing me physical pain. I don't want to get rid of him and I'm convinced some kind of solution is available. A couple of people I know have suggested getting another cat (potentially a female that's a couple of years older) to give him company and a playmate. I'm not opposed to that but I don't want to run the risk of just doubling up the problem or him continuing this trend and making the other cat miserable. Before I take on the expense of another cat, I'd like to know from some people more knowledgeable than myself whether this is a good option or if there are other things that I can try. As I said, I've had cats my whole life (including one that was slightly feral) but I've never run into a situation like this and I want to make sure I'm doing the best thing for both myself and Thrall.

So what say you good people? Is another cat the best option or are there other things I could try first? Thanks so much for your help!

Cats and Bleach

Olivers-Slave — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:09:03 GMT

I have been having a large problem with my cat oliver and bleach. He goes insane over it. I like to put it in a spray and use it on the shower walls and the kitchen counters (some bleach in water) to help with the mildew in the shower and sanitizing the kitchen. BUT as soon as I do this my cat goes insane. He wants to roll around in it like its cat crack. He will physically push past you to get at it.

I don't know how many times I've had to run after him and wash him off (bleach cant be good right?) and it totally defeats the purpose of sanitizing a counter if a cat jumps on it right after >.<. Does anyone else have this problem? is it a normal cat thing? How do I make it stop?

Kittens climbing up my legs

rketto — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:48:56 GMT

My kittens both like to try to climb up my legs when they want to get closer to me or see what I'm doing. Lately they have been drawing blood because they tend to jump at my leg and then dig their claws in. They understand not to attack my hands or any other exposed skin, but when I have pants on they don't seem to understand. Anyone know how I can stop this habit? I know they aren't trying to hurt me, so I feel bad about punishing them for it. I've only told them "no" and moved them away so far, isn't really working.

What a disaster - help!

lizaloo152 — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:53:33 GMT

On Sunday i was to take my kitten Bailey to the vet for his second lot of jabs and to get his micro chip.

Set off in the car, (its about a ten min drive) and before i know it bailey has gone to the toilet in his box and then walked in it. he seemed very stressed making very strange noises which constantly changed tone. I stopped the car and tried to take out the newspaper we had laid in the bottom of the box and prceeded to make abit of a mess of sorting that (getting poop on myself urgh!!!!) Set off again and next thing he has wee'd and is slipping around and expressing his unhappiness. Then he promptly had another accident again and before i could manage to find the vets i turned around and came home! Had to wash him (and myself) and now have to put the poor little mite through it again tomorrow.

Will be more prepared tomoro (but was thinking for a 10 min journey it wouldn't be that difficult), more newspaper, wipes, and bag for any accidents and i thought a feather which hopefully the kids can distract him with as he goes nuts for them and doesn't matter if he does soil it.

Any suggestions on how to keep him calmer, i really don't fancy taking a cat covered in mess into a vets.:?

Missy & Murphy Reunion (not too good)

GoldenLion — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:54:47 GMT

Hey All,

The other night I decided it was time that Murphy (dadcat) got to meet his daughter who is now just under two weeks old. When I let him into the room Missy (momcat) was a bit weird.

He immediately ran over to the kitten and Missy attacked him, which I had expected but wasn't too worried about. But then she hopped up onto the windowsill along with him and they spent 30 + minutes sniffing each other as if they had never met.

The next time Murphy went over to the kitten and it hissed at him (not knowing his smell) he took a massive running leap, attacked Missy and then shot out of the room.

They are brother and sister (mistake I know) so I assumed their reunion would be pretty much problem-free but I am not sure I want them together again for a while until the kitten is bigger.

Any ideas?