Need some training advice

My Midnight is overall a really well behaved cat. There is only two things I'd like to change. Even though she has a cat tree with the Siscal (sp?) rope she still wants to use the back of my chair . I got some of the pet repellant but I think that actually attracts her. I found an old container of catnip and tried that but she didn't respond to it. Not sure if it has lost potentcy over time or not.

The second thing is she will drink out of Tal's water bowl. I have hers, with the food dish, on the counter and she will eat then jump down to Tal's bowl! I pick her up and put her back. The only time she seems to drink out of her own is when Tal's is empty. Water comes from the same tap, both Tal's and Midnight's bowls are ceramic, I wash all bowls once each day.

Any advice on these would be great!

Hi - I would change the chair to something obviously less attractive to cats - easier than trying to change the cat any day! And as for the bowls, you may not be able to fix it (and is Tai suffering?) because it's a possession statement - i.e. "I can use whoever's bowl I want to" so unless you can find one that Tai likes and she doesn't, you may not have a lot of luck. Have you tried just one of those fountain type ones for both cats?

Is there some reason your cats need separate water bowls? Mine have always shared. I keep bowls of water all over the house and they drink wherever they feel like it.

Have you tried the scratching boxes with the catnip inside of them. My cats love those. They also have two other sisal scratching posts in the house and they are very good about using them. Try putting the scratching post in front of the chair and if you do catch her scratching the chair say "No" and pick her up and move her to the post. Take her paws and gently squeeze the claws out and then rub them up and down on the post. She'll get the idea.


Why do you care what bowl she drinks out of?

Our cats have their own water bowls downstairs, but many times Charlie is drinking out of the dog's water bowl in the kitchen. Doesn't matter to me which bowl they drink from.

Ok...Tal is my Labrador and Midnight is my cat. Sorry I didn't make that clear..oops . I'll try putting the tree closer to the chair and get some fresh catnip. When she has started to claw the back of the chair I take her to the rope and try and put her paws up on the rope...hand't thought of extending her claws...I'll give that a try too!

As for the bowls, I have them in separate places so that is their space to eat and drink. Tal would try and eat Midnight's catfood and that is why I moved her bowls up on the counter. I just thought each would want their own space for feeding and drinking.

If at all possible, add another water bowl for Tal. That way, he can access the water should Midnight get possesive. I have 6 cats & 2 doggie h2o bowls on each floor because it's a cat's nature to be mean to dogs.

You can buy a nice tall sturdy scratching post to put right by the chair. Or else, buy one of those sisal mats & attach it to the chair where Midnight scratches.