Repeat Problem

abstract

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My kitten Parrot is a very high-spirited, tough-guy cat. That's just fine with me, but his "I'm not scared of anything" personality is really beginning to cause problems in discipline and behavior. For a reason unknown, he's very food-aggressive (only about human food, though), and though we've tried every method we can think of to discourage him, he doesn't get the idea. And unfortunately, he's getting worse. It started off with him trying to jump in our laps to get our food, then he started jumping directly onto our plates, then he began stealing food if he thought we weren't watching... now he's begun tipping over the trash can and shredding the bags to find a snack. We've already got a covered trash can, so I don't think he can actually smell the food in there, but he's not stupid by any means. He watches us and finds out where the food goes - into the trash.

This is where his macho attitude becomes a problem. He simply doesn't respond to any disciplinary action. We've shot him with water guns (filled with various substances), tried loud noises, swatted him with books or CD cases... absolutely nothing phases this cat. He knows he's misbehaving, I can see that much. If we walk into a room and find him in some food or trash, his whole body tenses and he just stares at us. But no matter what our reaction, he won't leave, won't even move. We literally have to pick him up and put him in another room.

I know I've posted about this before, but I'm getting desperate. I've run out of solutions.
 

coaster

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Originally Posted by Abstract

, so I don't think he can actually smell the food in there,
I can assure you he definitely can.
If we walk into a room and find him in some food or trash, his whole body tenses and he just stares at us.
and no wonder since in his experience he gets zapped when you find him doing that.

The best way to deal with a cat like this is super-cat proofing. Make it impossible for him to get into those things he's not supposed to be getting into. I used to have a cat who was determined to get into the kitchen trash can. I went through half a dozen different cans before I finally came up with this:



The wide base is screwed onto the bottom and I put a brick inside so he couldn't tip it over. The bungee cords hold the lid on so he couldn't knock it off. There's an additional thumb-operated latch (I added it after the picture was taken) so he couldn't flip the lid open (he learned how to flip the lid by jumping up and standing on the regular latch.)

You're not going to be able to teach your cat not to do something he's motivated and determined to do regardless of the consequences. Punishment just makes him fear the punishment. Basically, you're just going to have to get creative and figure out some way to physically prevent him from doing what you don't want him to do. Let us know what you come up with.
 

seaturtle

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Try a firm "no" and picking him up and putting him down if he's on counter or table. Double-sided sticky tape - he won't walk on it, and once he assiciates it with a surface, he won't try that again.

I agree about putting everything under cover. I have learned that: don't ever leave anything around.

Maybe put the garbage under the sink or outside?

Please don't swat him. Maybe his response when you come into the room is partly because now he is afraid of you. Cats won't associate punishment with their behavior, they'll associate it with you.

Has he been neutered?


Good luck!
 

cheylink

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Cat proofing is always necessary, if it is for safety or deterring bad behavior. Disciplining a cat is truly impossible, atleast what we are use to. Spray bottles or loud noises, is merely a shock factor that cats often develop other behavioral issues from and don't relate to the mis behavior. The trick with cats is to deter the action before it starts, often by distracting and fixing attention on something that is positive. It sounds to me that your guy needs a lot of play time, he is getting attention by doing negative things, he doesn't realize it is bad, he does realize he gets attention.
 
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abstract

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Originally Posted by cheylink

Cat proofing is always necessary, if it is for safety or deterring bad behavior. Disciplining a cat is truly impossible, atleast what we are use to. Spray bottles or loud noises, is merely a shock factor that cats often develop other behavioral issues from and don't relate to the mis behavior. The trick with cats is to deter the action before it starts, often by distracting and fixing attention on something that is positive. It sounds to me that your guy needs a lot of play time, he is getting attention by doing negative things, he doesn't realize it is bad, he does realize he gets attention.
We actually play with him quite a bit, he's always up for it, and he's got another kitten around to play with as well. He seems to do it at the most random of times... he'll be running around with Shinobi (our other kitten) and suddenly jump up on the table and go after the food. We've tried the distraction method, but usually he doesn't care (very determined little thing) and a problem with that is that we're not always home, we both work.
 
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abstract

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Originally Posted by seaturtle

Try a firm "no" and picking him up and putting him down if he's on counter or table. Double-sided sticky tape - he won't walk on it, and once he assiciates it with a surface, he won't try that again.

I agree about putting everything under cover. I have learned that: don't ever leave anything around.

Maybe put the garbage under the sink or outside?

Please don't swat him. Maybe his response when you come into the room is partly because now he is afraid of you. Cats won't associate punishment with their behavior, they'll associate it with you.

Has he been neutered?


Good luck!
I don't like the swatting thing, but we do make sure not to do it hard enough to hurt, only to nudge him away from whatever he's in. Usually it has no effect and we have to pick him up and move him anyway. We do say "no" every time, but once again, he doesn't seem to understand the meaning of that.

Unfortunately, we can't put the garbage outside. We live in an apartment, they don't allow it. Under the sink is too small for the garbage can, too. :/

And honestly, I don't think he's at all afraid of us, he has absolutely no problem just sitting there watching us while we tell him no. He'll start grooming, or playing, just doesn't care. XD

Oh, and no, he hasn't been neutered. Can't afford that yet.

The sticky-tape idea isn't bad, but I can't see a way to make it work for all areas... the table yes, but how would I do that with the garbage can?
 
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abstract

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Originally Posted by coaster

I can assure you he definitely can.
and no wonder since in his experience he gets zapped when you find him doing that.
I think it's more of a "oops, I got caught" thing, because he doesn't act scared of us. It's an initial reaction and then he'll turn back to the food.
 

taterbug

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May I ask what type of food you are feeding him? I mean...is it dry or wet? I've had a few cats act food crazed like that,but after they started eating "wet" food,they calmed down. kinda like the wet food was more satisfying...and they felt....fuller? And if he was once upon a time a stray....they will also act that way until they learn they don't have to harvest like they used to.Just a thought....
 
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abstract

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Originally Posted by taterbug

May I ask what type of food you are feeding him? I mean...is it dry or wet? I've had a few cats act food crazed like that,but after they started eating "wet" food,they calmed down. kinda like the wet food was more satisfying...and they felt....fuller? And if he was once upon a time a stray....they will also act that way until they learn they don't have to harvest like they used to.Just a thought....
He eats dry food. I tried him on wet for a while when he was a little younger, and it didn't seem to settle well with his stomach, so I switched him to dry. And yeah, he was a stray, but he had literally never been away from his mother when I got him, he was still very young.
 
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