Kittens

[eleni3]

I would like to know how to disipline kittens from doing something you don't want them to do like going in the lounge room where all the good things are or scratching at a dried arrangement and making an almighty mess

[Drusilla]

I hope you get lots of answers eleni3, because I'm in the same boat myself.
My daughters got a kitten just over a week ago and it's irritating me no end. I caught her scrathcing at the underside of my settee last night and pulling herself along on her back as she tore at the material.
I've declared war!!! :-)

[Kelley24]

its been 9 years since my cars were kittens. the only things i can think of is keep them occupied. we used to get them crisp boxes and cut holes in them etc for them to play in. and plenty of toys etc

to stop my cats (they have started doing it again) dragging themselves along the bottom of the sofa etc, we spray them with water. just one of those sprayers for plants. that teaches the that if they do something bad then they get wet!!

Kittens are very playful, like having a toddler, so keeping them occupied is the main key. and remember that kittens and cats sleep approx 18 hrs a day so play with them so they are tired more and you'll have to spend less time watching what they are destroying next. lol

hope that helps.

[nickmo]

eleni3 - as above easiest way is to condition them using a water spray. A 50p water pistol is handy as they will see it and associate it with 'wet and bad'. A plant spray might get them paranoid? when you just want to give the plants a freshen up.

Also good advice to occupy the little darlings. They will get into a routine that may not alway suit you - the 11.00 pm run around for example that all cats seem to think is their duty - but play and rewards are the best for them.

Sometimes the best games are free as well - paper bags are the worlds best toy (according to my 2 little pals) and a simple bit of string run around the floor with a bit of paper tied to 1 end works as well as any expensive plastic stick and tinsle from the pet store.

Another good toy I found is a shoebox and lid, with a couple of holes cut into it, and a treat or pingpong ball inside for them to chase. Cost �0 at home, or �10 in the pet shop. Cats need stimulation that builds on their natural instincts, and they can get bored of 1 toy after a while, so save money and make your own when you can. A good scratching post is really the only thing you may need to buy if you can't make up a wood post for them to use for 'clawing'.

Praise when they stop misbehaving is important too as they will associate good behaviour with a nice scratching or rub. Persevere and you will get them out of the habits, but remember they control you now!!!!!

[Tammera]

although i think water spraying is a good idea to a point, i also can help thinking, of animals being like children. due to my child having a mental disability i had to go to a number or parenting classes and such before she was diagnosed, one thing that stuck in my mind was that alot of people send thier children to a their bedroom as a punishment, which can then cause them to see thier room as a punishment and then inturn can be difficult to get them to go to bed or play in their room as they will think the have been naughty and become distressed when they havent been naughty, thefore its advised to sit them on the stairs or on a certain chair etc.

with spraying they will see water as a punishment, what if the cat needs bathing because they have got really dirty somehow, my old cat used to sit my car and ontime came in with car oil over her back. my current cat has also done that, but due to my car being newer it was very little and didnt require a bath. then theres washing up, my cat has a few times followed me into the kitchen when ive been washing up and ive accidently splashed her. surely they would see this is a punishment?

[nickmo]

Tammera - its about the conditioning in response to an action. Bathing is not a sharp spray etc. in our response to an action we consider undesirable, and washing-up drops, although will shock the animal, no more than it would be otherwise in being wetted by accident.

The point of using a spray - or accompanying a spray with a word of command (or use clickers as an effective alternative, as in training for dogs) that can then replace the spray by word only - is that the animal will associate an action that it does with one that gets a negative feeling.

A friend of mine need now only show the water pistol if one of her cats starts to try un-desirable furniture scratching and they desist at once. This certainly has not stopped them from being in the kitchen, - they are quite happy to look out of the window over the sink (yes, I know, hygiene issues here, but its not in my house) and they have quickly learnt what they can 'get away with'. In fact I'm not sure they see the threat of the spray as some sort of challenge!, but they certainly stop the scratching anyway.

Water is a better option than a 'slap' which could make them view physical contact as unpleasant in their eyes and so avoid the owner all together.

In respect to fair point about children and parenting, we are looking at an animal here, and although I'm sure many owners see their pets as their children (few issues to sort out there!) a child of any capacity is not treated in the same way as a pet. If one is - lock up the parents!

Hope these help drusilla as well!

[Tammera]

sorry i didnt explain myself well, i didnt mean animals being one of my children but i meant being like young children seeing black and white and having little grey area (metaphoricly sp?) like people in another thread said about pottie training a puppy, having them toilet in a cage or on newspaper can confuse them becauseits still in the house, i remember with my old cat, she always had a littler tray aswell as being an outdoor cat, so also toileted in mud. i remember one year i got a real christmas tree and put it in a bucket of mud for weight, and my cat used it as a toilet.

maybe i underestimate them, though ive had to do that for so many years having a almost 8 year old that still has alot of a 2 or 3 year olds traits its been installed into me to always underestimate her mental abilities (overestimating them can be very distressing for them) but never underestimate her physical capabilities. i remember i was warned at about 5 years old she will start absconding from the house, so i always hid the doorkeys on the top of a 6 foot+ bookshelf one night she got up and must have searched and found them, she was brought back at 3 am by the police now i have to sleep with the keys under my pillow.

i wouldnt even consider slapping my animals as i dont my child (although im not against slapping in certain cases, slapping my child would be like slapping a blind person for walking into a wall) i forgot to mention, things that i have been told that work well with cats are saying no in a stern slightly raised voice and clapping your hands together. both this method and the water method i have not tried as like my daughter my cat doesnt shred the couch or trash the house with me in the same room. when i first got my cat she was an adult, a while after i got her i got two new couches within days it was shredded at the bottom, but was never done in front of me so could never try anything to stop her.

[nickmo]

Hi tammera - off on a tangent to the thread, but I know what you mean re children - disabled or otherwise, its perserverance and tolerance - as it is with an animal.

If you don't see the scratching by the way, pepper around the area you want preserved is a good move and may work in the future, even with an older cat. And a child.............?

Tone of voice is important as well as you say.

A good friend of mine has a quite severely mentally handicapped daughter who is now 13 and as tall and strong as her Mum who now has the extra problems of controlling the behaviour of a teenager with all the hormones as well as the disability. She copes, but has fears for the future in much the same manner as you describe of wandering, behaviour and so on. I can only offer best wishes to you and hope all goes well for you and the family for 2006.

[Tammera]

thank you for the kind words and best wishes, and yes ive been told the teenage years will be the worst time ill ever encounter with my daughter illness. i just hope my philosophy of when you think things cant get any worst, they normally do but at least youll be better prepared to deal with it :)

[nickmo]

And there is always another slice of chocolate cake..................not for the cats though.

[eleni3]

thankyou so much to everyone who replied to me about how to disipline kittens when naughty everyone has been so very helpful seeing i am new at this kitten thing.

[drgnrdr]

Please check out this website.

http://www.ddfl.org/

Scroll down on the left hand side to "Pet Behavior Advice" it will have another thing pop up, it'll say "pet behavior advice" click on that and look up "cat behavior" and it will give you different things to use as aversives for cats and it can also give you advice on your cat. This is expert advice from those who see millions of cats, check it out and another excellent website is

http://www.catsinternational.org/ . Check it out

[aquilotta]

Just a quick note in response to Tammera's concerns: I have an 8-month-old kitten whom I have frequently had to punish with the water-spray (favourite destructive behaviours: carpet crumbling, sealant slicing, sofa/bed scratching...)

However, this same kitten demands that the last few biscuits in his bowl be sprayed with water before he will deign to finish them. He will stalk into whichever room I am in and loudly inform me that he has only a few biscuits left and that they need to be watered. (He would prefer to starve for 36 hours than finish them without that watering. Don't ask me why. I haven't the foggiest!). He will then bound ahead of me purring, and twining himself between my legs en route to my obedience...

The point is that it's the same water-spraying bottle that I use for deterring him from bad behaviour. He has not the slightest difficulty in discerning when it's being used as punishment, and when to obey his commands.

Oh, and when I had to give him a bath the other day, he made only a single escape attempt, and the rest of the time stood (unhappily, but nevertheless staying put!) in the bathwater and allowed me to shampoo him and rinse him. Hence also the fact that he can differentiate between uses-of-water...

Hope this helps?

[eleni3]

thanks everyone all of your advice is great I am trying out some of them and so far it's working.