Punishment (Sorry Long)

Okay, so now I am completely fuming!

I belong to another forum, not about cats, but Im known as the Cat Lady on there, and a lot of the members come to me for advice on the cats.

Anyway, someone posted that they had a new kitty, and it was going mad around the house.

My advice, plain and simple was: Pick up cat, pick up, food, pick up water, pick up litter tray, pick up bed (lets hope they have 4 arms, but you know what I mean!) Enter bathroom, or other designated room.
Place items with cat in said room, shut door, and ignore.

Im now being told, by this person, that if it were them 'Id pick it up, and stick it in the vet box' because its being naughty.

Does anyone else do this? Im sure not? Why put the cat in the vet box for punishment? The vet box is there for the vets only? and should never be a 'bad place'

Anyway, now im being called all sorts of names, and apparently this method is 'in every cat book ive ever read'. Well I dont know whats shes been reading!

Am I wrong?

Purdita has been in the vets today, she cut her leg open on something yesterday, came home in one of them silly collars, and keeps falling over. Anyway, Id had enough, took the collar off, about 10 mins later, shes pinching at the stitches, a firm NO and a pointed finger did the trick, shes now sleeping it off. Did I put her In the cat box? I think not.

Sorry guys, this has wound me up beyond belief

Uhh, I'm a little confused by what you said.

It depends on what you mean by mad, I mean what was this cat doing that diserved any kind of punishment?
And what's a vet box? Do you mean a cat carrier?

If you are talking about a cat carrier, how long were these people planning on keeping the poor cat in something like that?
I just send Asim to his "room" when he does something really bad. But he also gets good things in his room.

It's hard enough to get a cat into a carrier, don't want to make constant bad associations with it.

Sorry, but I don't think cats understand "Punishment". How can you punish a cat for being cat-like? I think the only thing you can do is to try to modify their behavior (i.e., make them want to stop doing whatever it is you don't want them to do).

Yeah, there really is no way to "punish" a cat. By putting it in a carrier, they aren't learning anything. If I knew what they mean by "mad" I could suggest other things. However, it sounds as if this person already thinks they are right, and won't take any advice.

This person is off their rocker. Oh, but they'll learn the next time they want to take kitty to the vet, and lose a few fingers... just ignore them.

Neesey, when you said this person's new kitty "was going mad around the house" did you mean the cat has sudden bursts of energy and races around the house as fast as it can? If this is the case, it is perfectly normal cat behavior, and I think it is part of their hunting instincts.

Or there are also diseases or maladys that can affect cats in this way, depending on what they do when they act "mad" Some people only want to hear what they desire to hear, sometimes telling them the right things to do, falls on deaf ears. Try not and let it bother you, just feel sorry for the cat.

When I said 'Mad' I meant, being kitten-like! There is nothing wrong with this cat. Its just normal mad-like behaviour. Sorry if I confused you

By cat box, I mean vet box or whatever, I live in England, so we call things different names to you guys in the US.

I think the kitty had climbed up their curtains or something, and it gets stuffed in a 'vet box'.

Awww, that's not right
But yeah, some people are just very stubborn and wont listen.

My cats never get "punished" or diciplined so much, specially not for something like that.

But if Asim gets in a tiff with Isha or profusely wont leave her alone cause he's just having one of those days, I have him go to his room for a little calming down session, just to get his mind off of Isha for a while, and gives Isha a chance to calm down and roam the house again. Asim's got toys, a bed, a litter box and all that good stuff in his "room".

I would not send a cat to cat carrier for any behavoir such as what has been mentioned in this thread.

If this lady was looking for advice on her cat, then why did she ignore the advice given? At any rate try not to get too worked up about it. :/

A citrus scented air freshner sprayed on the curtains a couple of times a day would help to discourage the kitten from climbing them, since cats hate the smell of citrus. It would also help if the kitten had a cat tree it could climb on.

Neesey, I agree with the others, try not to get too upset over this.

Lorie: ha! unless your name is Tage, whom likes to drink OJ. LOL

Im not upset at this. Im not sure why you would think I am. I just get annoyed with people who treat cats this way.

Sorry.

I think that's what they meant... don't let yourself be irritated by this person mistreating their cat. Sad as it is, there's nothing you can do about it.

I understood that "mad" was "going crazy" or "freaking out", but find it hard to believe that the lady in the forum found that to be objectionable behavior that had to be punished. It's perfectly normal for kittens/cats to have the "five-minute crazies" (sometimes stretching to an hour or so...). Putting the cat in a carrier is just going to frustrate it. Where did she get that idea? I've found that when my cat gets to me, the best thing is for ME to to take "time-out" behind a closed door. Ten to one he's sitting outside the door yowling to come in within five minutes. That woman could try taking down the curtains and putting her "valuables" away until the kitten is older. Otherwise she could get a china cat figurine - it wouldn't "bother" her.

jcat: I actually enjoy watching my cats going crazing, it's fun amusment for us and anyone else who happens to be here, lol.
In the morning before I get up and feed them, it can last for HOURS, they will be running through the house, tackling eachother, making giant leaps over my bed and on my tables etc. They even like to wrestle ON ME while I'm under the covers tryign to sleep. I love my crazy kitties
Tage will come and give me head rubbies, more so he slams his hard little head into my face repeatedly while I'm trying to sleep, I often feel like my face has been tenderized.

Asim used to make a game of jumping on and trying to topple over ALL of my furniture as a nightly activity before bed.

I would rather not have furniture, then put asim in a cage (stressing him out) for scartching a couch and such.

I think it's fun, too. I should have explained that our cat is hyperactive (he's been tested - apparently it's not a metabolic disorder) and can have the "crazies" for ten or twelve hours at a stretch, particularly when the moon is full. Then I need a time-out! Our house is also furnished to withstand the "wear and tear" of pets. I figure either your house can look like a showcase, or you can have pets that are allowed to act like normal animals. Both are a bit difficult.

i have to agree with everyone here. what you are describibg as "crazies" i call exercise.

while i don't think the kitten should be encouraged to climb the curtains, a strong "no" should be discipline in that situation. give the kitten something else to climb if it continues.

oh well, i'm preaching to the chior now...

Thats awful!No cat should be punished! I have 14 Cats(all rescues)and I love all of them! I posted on another board about my cat samson who likes to chew,well hes ruined some very good purses that way but I would NEVER EVER DREAM of punishing him!Cats are Free independent Creatures who sometimes act up, so what, so do humans!Dogs can be trained not to do something with punishment But dogs are stupid(no insult meant to any dog lovers)!Cats are intelligent and will only have MORE behavior problems if you punish them!
Ok im done Ranting