A new kitty-girl

Hey all-
I havent poted in a long time. I don't know if you remember me, but we had our cat Max put to sleep last Jan 14(oral cancer) and I was having a very hard time. I posted to Crossing the Bridge then and all the folks there were so kind! I still cry when I think of his end.

We have a new little girl!! I got her in November and she was about 2-3 months old. She's a real sweetheart and very active and playful. Also VERY sassy with a real attitude! Her name is Iota and she's a calico tabby, mostly gingery colored but her paw pads are calico. She does have a very slight heart murmer but the vet said it probably would not be a problem.
Also she gets up on places(tables etc), which Max never did. We're having a hard time with this. We use ultrasonic devices, a scat mat (shock therapy) and spray bottles. Any advice on this?
Max was unique and can never be replaced. But Iota is her own charming self and a great comfort to us. It's so wonderful to have a cat again!
I'm glad to be back with good news instead of sad.
I'll post a picture when I get a good one.
Ann D.

Welcome back Ann. I am glad you were able to open your heart to another kitty. I can't wait to see a picture

I've kept my cats off the table by squirting them with water and also clapping my hands really hard and yelling NO! at the same time. I've only recently started allowing Tigger on the table to let her have a separate eating space from Roo. Roo will eat all the food whether he's full or not and Tigger will be left with little to nothing, she's not the fighting sort, so will patiently wait for Roo to finish.

Hi and welcome back! I wasn't around then, but I am so sorry to hear of your loss. However, I also think it's wonderful you've decided you're ready for a new furbaby. Lota obviously has lots of spunk! She sounds beautiful - we're looking forward to pics!

Because this thread serves a dual purpose - both an "I'm back" and a behavior question, I'll move it over to the Behavior Forum where you'll be able to get more help with the problem. I'll leave a redirect so people can see you're back and pop over to say "hi" too!

I wasn't here last Jan. either, so I'm sorry you lost your buddy and glad to hear you adopted a new one. We have a spunky one who insists on doing what she wants, no matter what we do. It took several months for her to obey when I told her 'no' when she was about to jump up on something. She is always finding a way to open the sliding doors to a couple of rooms. She's just determined to do her own thing.
Tamme, your crew looks like ours. Our orange one also hogs the food.

We were having a problem with one of our cats getting on the table so I sat back and watched what was going on. It turned out that whenever my husband saw her on the table he would say in a sweet voice "oooh you naughty girl" and then he would pick her up and hug her and in that sweet, cooing voice he would tell her that she knows not to do this. Then he would put her on the floor and scratch her head. It was very clear that when she wanted his attention, she simply jumped on the table and got just what she was looking for! :laughing:

Anyway...that was a long-winded way of saying you need to look for what is reinforcing her jumping on the table (and doing the other naughty things). She may be on the table because it is the only high place she can get to or it may be the only way she can look out the window or sit in a sunbeam. I'll bet if you get her a nice tall place to sit so she can look out a sunny window, the table problem will go away.

So...for all of the undesired behaviors, look for what is reinforcing the behavior and what she is getting out of the behavior. Put on your cat hat and think like a kitty and you will find that all of her bad behavior is beneficial to her in some way. Take away the benefit or give her an appropriate way to get the same benefit and the bad behavior will go away!

Good luck!!!