Flicking her nose

I find that most of the recommended ways to reprimand a kitten don't work with mine. For some reason, she thinks "no" means she's about to be fed. Snapping my fingers, which works on my older cat, makes the kitten think I'm playing; as does tapping her nose.

Flicking her nose with my finger works flawlessly, but she seems almost stunned when I do it. I don't want to do it if it's causing her any damage or such. Is it a safe thing to do?

Im no expert but i wouldnt think it was safe

I don't think flicking her nose would do anything but cause her lot's of pain and to fear you! Haveyou ever been hit in the nose?? It's a very painful sensation...and a cat's nose is much, much more sensitive than ours.

i heard from a lot of people over the years that flicking or hitting an animals nose itsnt something that should be done. it can cause damage. i dont know if thats true its just something i heard.

That's what I was afraid of.

Thanks all.

One of my kitties was a biter when she was little. I gave her nose a little tap, but not hard at all. It actually helped her to stop biting. I only did it a few times and the tap was very light, not enough to hurt. It just made her stop and think.

I would think that giving a quick blow (puff of air) to the face would give you the same result without causing the kitten pain and/or fear.

Originally Posted by laureen227

i read in one of my cat books that a tap on the nose is how momcat discourages unwanted behavior. it certainly helped teach mine [when they were kittens] not to bite me.
i don't tap hard, just an attention-getting tap - plus a very firm 'NO!'

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I read the same thing and it helped me turn my kitty from a biter into a swatter. However, I'd much rather have those little paws swat me than her bite me, even if she can pack a mean punch! I think it's fine as long as you don't do it hard. It just catches them by surprise.

I have read that positive reinforcement typically works better in kittens than negative. And how frustrating that your kitty associates the word "no" with food. But, just pick a different word or sound if "no" isn't working. I think the most important part of disciplining a kitten is the alternative and positive part.

For example: if your kitten is doing something wrong (biting finger, scratching sofa, etc.) you make a stern noise (no, snap finger, ch ch) then pick him/her up immediately and move your kitten an alternative and give a lot of praise, "good girl, good boy."

for biting fingers or wires - we use straws.

for scratching - we obviously use their scratching post

for playing with wires (batting) - we use a piece of string or similar toy.

Also, something my husband and I do, I'm not sure if it works, is we when we say no, we will gently grab the back of their neck while moving them (also supporting bottom, not so that it hurts. My husband will hiss (I don't know if this is effective - but, he does it! lol)

Another thing to do is use things which make them not want to do the action. For example: for counters or tables they aren't allowed to walk on, put double sided sticky tape on them and they will probably avoid it because they don't like how it feels.

And I think the only reason they would associate "no" with being bad is tone of voice and repetition. I keep reading that you need patience to train kitties, so I'm trying really hard to be patient.

Sorry, this is so long. Jus wanted to be helpful. I know some people told you tapping is ok, but you did say tapping wasn't working that well, so here are some other suggestoins.

Just to add, I have seen one adult cat tap another on the nose with a paw, as a way to say "don't come any closer" or "leave me alone". I don't think it would do any harm to *gently* mimic that behavior.

Just because it's air, doesn't mean it wouldn't cause discomfort. A puff of air, might not cause any more pain, then a light tap on the nose. Also please explain how air magically being shot into a cats face, isn't frightening. I'm not saying either way is wrong when done carefully, and at the proper time, but I don't honestly know why air would be better.

I think hissing at your kitten when she's misbehaving would work better. All cats know that hissing means they did something wrong.

taterbug said:

I don't think flicking her nose would do anything but cause her lot's of pain and to fear you! Haveyou ever been hit in the nose?? It's a very painful sensation...and a cat's nose is much, much more sensitive than ours.

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This is a very old thread, but, boy, do I agree with post #3!

PushPurrCatPaws said:

This is a very old thread, but, boy, do I agree with post #3!

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Oops, didn't even notice how old it was...

No worries, old threads are still valuable threads!