[snowy]

ET is my 1st cat. With no experience, no knowledge about cats at all, I got most of my knowledge from reading googling. What I read from most websites, many do not believe in disciplining their kitties. ET do hurt me real badly the 1st few months and I was out of my wits about what to do except to start screaming whenever he bite or scratched. Later, I decided to just confine him in his own room, ignore him and refused to let him rub me and somehow it seemed to work. I know most do not believe in physical punishment but confining kitties and ignoring them is emotional punishment? but it works cos ET doesn't like to be ignored and to be confined.

He is certainly a better cat now, so do you all condone emotional punishment if not physical? Care to share your experience?

 

[Susan]

You did the right thing. Saying Ouch (or No) and ignoring a cat when he bites you is the best thing to do.

I don't believe in physical punishment, and I don't care for spray bottles (spraying water on a cat). I keep a can half filled with coins close by and, if the girls do something they shouldn't, I shake the can, but do it in such a way that they can't see me shaking it. They hate the noise, and they stop doing what they're not supposed to.

In addition, now and again, I give Abby a time out in my bedroom to settle her down, but that only happens perhaps once or twice a year. I've never had to do that with Muffs, who is an angel 99% of the time.

 

[scottd]

I push my cat away and tell her she's bad but that's about it. She bites.

 

[Ragdoll_Joy]

Joy get's a time out... Usualy it's a strong "NO" then a slide across the floor! She probably thinks it's fun more then anything... I know she usualy only does "bad" things for attention! I hope she grows out of it.... lol

 

[kittywitty]

My kitty Little Pumpkin used to bite me in the morning in bed so I started ignoring it (hard to do, her teeth are sharp) or just yell "NO". Since doing that, she hasn't done it. It took about a month before she realized it was not nice to bite the hand that feeds her.

 

[jadis]

I don't use any physical punishment on my animals, but I will clap my hands and say "eh eh" if they are doing something like scratching the sofa. It seems to be working, I see them use the scratcher more and more. I have sprayed Muffin with a water bottle...I guess that's physical punishment...for bullying the other cats while they're in the litterbox.

 

[3furbabies]

I have yet to find anything that works. I use to use a squirt bottle but that didn't work. Now I will snap my fingers and point at them with a firm no. They know what the are doing is wrong and stop and run away but I find them doing it again later(one scratches at the Berber carpet, another bites my fingers when she is 'playing', another chews on the blinds and stuff)

 

[OctoberinMaine]

I don't discipline at all. They don't get it . . . they don't relate the punishment to the bad deed, so they're just confused about why you're being mean all of a sudden. I think it's our job to change the surroundings or environment to make it less likely that a certain undesirable thing will happen, rather than expecting to change their behavior at all.

 

[doodlebug]

I tend to equate the word discipline with punishment...and no, I don't feel that punishing a cat does any good. They forget what it's about within a couple minutes. On the other hand, I do correct them when I catch them in some inappropriate act. My response depends on what they're doing, but it's usually a loud no, maybe physically removing them along with a no. I do believe that it is up to us to remove the temptations from their environment. Leaving your freshly made sandwich on the counter while you leave to go to the bathroom and expecting a cat to not steal the turkey is just crazy....but some people think it's a reasonable expectation.

I do use a squirt bottle on Kobi when he gets in his werewolf mode and attacks the girls. It's the only thing that stops him.

 

[Ragdoll_Joy]

I tend to equate the word discipline with punishment...and no, I don't feel that punishing a cat does any good. They forget what it's about within a couple minutes. On the other hand, I do correct them when I catch them in some inappropriate act. My response depends on what they're doing, but it's usually a loud no, maybe physically removing them along with a no. I do believe that it is up to us to remove the temptations from their environment. Leaving your freshly made sandwich on the counter while you leave to go to the bathroom and expecting a cat to not steal the turkey is just crazy....but some people think it's a reasonable expectation.

I do use a squirt bottle on Kobi when he gets in his werewolf mode and attacks the girls. It's the only thing that stops him.

I agree but to take the blinds down in every room of the house, no more privacy is just unreasonable and unrealistic! I already leave the blids up in the bedroom every hour of the day so Joy can't get at them.....working night shift then having the daylight shine through as early as before my shift ends made for a VERY rough summer. We also no longer change in the bedroom without shutting Joy out of the room etc. Some find it harder to make those types of sacrifices. The blinds in the livingroom and dining room are never shut anymore....

There are some things that can be adjusted alot easier then others..i guess that's what I'm saying. Lol

 

[jusjim]

When Missy starts to bite I withdraw attention and petting. The petting is when she at times tries to bite. Love bite that is.

With Zenobi she bit me hard when I was petting her shortly after I brought her home; then again a couple of days later. I never did really find out what 'I'd' done wrong because she was very angry, but anyway I went through at least half a dozen pantomimes of my teeth biting my arm as I pointed at her then myself as I said, "You bite me." She only did it one more time and I think that was a mistake as she seemed embarrassed after it. But then Zenobi apppeared to possess more than the average cat intellligence. What I'm trying to say here, is that if the cat likes you, it will try, most times, to be good, but there needs to be some way of letting it know you disaprove of something.

Physical punishment, though, is not the way. Shutting the cat in a room might work, but I think the time the cat is isolated should be short and the cat forgiven right after with a bit of petting and perhaps a treat to let it know you still care. Try to put yourself in the cat's place, how does it know that your actions are disapproval of its behaviour? How to communicate with an alien?

I'll stop now because I'm starting to ramble.

 

[Galathiel]

Discipline doesn't necessarily mean "to punish", it also means "to train". It's all well and good to think you can change the environment so that there is never any reason for the misbehavior, but the world doesn't necessarily revolve around the cat (don't tell them though, they might expire from shock). One of the main things that Sienna gets an "Ennnh!!" for, is harrassing my poor 12 year old dog. If he would only tell her off, she would quit (she is really playing ...sorta), but he won't do it. He has no problem telling off another dog, but was raised by a tyrannical Siamese and will not do a thing to her ... so frustrating for me as his momma to see him hounded by a rotten cat! I'm forever having to run interference for him. She really does like him I guess .. she will often charge up to him, sniff (he looks off into the distance pretending she's not there) and then will plop down 6 inches to a foot away and sprawl out. He usually then casually gets up and moves farther from her hehe. He's a shih tzu and with her hair are pretty much close in size although he's much heavier at 13 lbs.

In fact, if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them. I'm tired of young miss mistreating the old man!

 

[doodlebug]

My cats have broken the blinds. I replaced them with cellular shades that fit snugly inside the window frame and that did the trick for me.

 

[BigDaveyL]

I agree but to take the blinds down in every room of the house, no more privacy is just unreasonable and unrealistic! I already leave the blids up in the bedroom every hour of the day so Joy can't get at them.....working night shift then having the daylight shine through as early as before my shift ends made for a VERY rough summer. We also no longer change in the bedroom without shutting Joy out of the room etc. Some find it harder to make those types of sacrifices. The blinds in the livingroom and dining room are never shut anymore....

There are some things that can be adjusted alot easier then others..i guess that's what I'm saying. Lol

I'm going to have to buy new blinds... I bought new ones last summer.

But Gadget has gotten better. He only likes to play with the strings now.

 

[3furbabies]

I agree but to take the blinds down in every room of the house, no more privacy is just unreasonable and unrealistic! I already leave the blids up in the bedroom every hour of the day so Joy can't get at them.....working night shift then having the daylight shine through as early as before my shift ends made for a VERY rough summer. We also no longer change in the bedroom without shutting Joy out of the room etc. Some find it harder to make those types of sacrifices. The blinds in the livingroom and dining room are never shut anymore....

There are some things that can be adjusted alot easier then others..i guess that's what I'm saying. Lol

I totally agree. I just replaced my livingroom blinds with new similar ones(they were already half broken when we moved in) and she tries to chew these as well. She also chews shades and shower curtains. I close the door but when while I am showering she will chew this.

Cats lives with us therefore have to obey our rules. I believe they can be trained, they know what they are doing is wrong, they are just stubborn. It's just a matter of catching them in the act to discipline them , which obviously isn't possible all the tine

 

[binkyhoo]

The strings are the scary part. How about the old fashioned pull down shades or vertical blinds?

 

[3furbabies]

The strings are the scary part. How about the old fashioned pull down shades or vertical blinds?

Mine are the thick pull down blinds. The side that has the string is tied to the wall so they can't touch that. The other side is the stick that they occasionally bat which isn't a concern, it's the one who chews on the actual blind. There's already teeth marks. She knows its bad because as soon as she sees me she stops and runs away, but she does it when we are at work and when no one is in the room, I catch her several times a day

 

[doodlebug]

Cordless cellular shades, fitted inside the frame, mounted as close to the window as possible. Home Depot.

 

[goombella]

I had cellular blinds in my last house and my cats knew how to open them with their nose. It never hurt the blinds.

 

[snowy]

Hi all, thanks for all your input, its interesting to know how everybody train/discipline their kitties for bad behaviour.

They don't get it . . . they don't relate the punishment to the bad deed, so they're just confused about why you're being mean all of a sudden.

I can't say I know cats that well, but I'm sure they do get it. I don't get angry or confine ET when he scratches or damage the furniture, only when he bites and scratches me real badly and I must catch it immediately after he does it.

They forget what it's about within a couple minutes. On the other hand, I do correct them when I catch them in some inappropriate act.

I do use a squirt bottle on Kobi when he gets in his werewolf mode and attacks the girls. It's the only thing that stops him.

I guess they are the same with dogs, they forget within a couple of minutes, that is why I catch ET while he is doing it, not after. If he scratches at inappropriate places (furniture), I will clap + "no no", no confining or ignoring him. He does get it, kitties are smart, I'm sure they know.

"when he attacks the girls", that's what I meant, kitties need to know, they do hurt.

Physical punishment, though, is not the way. Shutting the cat in a room might work, but I think the time the cat is isolated should be short and the cat forgiven right after with a bit of petting and perhaps a treat to let it know you still care. Try to put yourself in the cat's place, how does it know that your actions are disapproval of its behaviour? How to communicate with an alien?

I'll stop now because I'm starting to ramble.

I confine ET when he bite/scratches real badly. I don't do it when he scratches the furniture or was at playful biting or scratching. I confine him for many hrs, but after usually about 1hr later, I will go to his room, talk to him sternly, show him my wound. Crazy right? talking to a cat, hahaha, but, we never know... they may understand. Cos whenever I talk to ET sternly, show him my wound, he will look at my wound, then looked away, while I kept on talking, telling him "no bite bite", "no scratch scratch", "mama hates it". He didn't run away, he just sat right in front of me... listening.

In fact, if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them. I'm tired of young miss mistreating the old man!

Maybe you can try a squint bottle. I used that to break up stray cat fight many times.