How do I discipline a kitten whose so adorable?

chadsgirl374

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
217
Purraise
2
Location
Plant City, FL
I'm at a loss.
I have taken little Sunny and put him in the bathroom no less than 6 times today.
He is insisting on climbing the birds cage and I told him that if he did it again, I would put him up, as he hates being locked away from everyone. This is something that he doesn't normally do, however, today it's ALL he wants to do.
I have tried spraying him in the past, however, he doesn't really mind that - he thinks it's kinda fun.


He's out of control today. How am I supposed to discipline my kitten?
 

zane's pal

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
1,059
Purraise
1
Location
Charleston, WV
He's doing it to get your attention. Get out some of his toys and play with him until he's too exhausted to think of doing anything else but finding somewhere for a nap.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

chadsgirl374

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
217
Purraise
2
Location
Plant City, FL
At our house, it's all about Sunny all the time
He's napping right now. We play for a couple of hours in the morning after he eats and then again in the afternoon, we also have several bouts where I have to hold him and carry him around with me. His dad gets home at 4:30 and he's showered with attention all over again. He's a very needy cat. There isn't enough attention for him in the world as he even bites our toes at night in an attempt to have us wake up and play with him in the middle of the night.

I don't think his problem is that he wants attention. He's certainly not lacking in that department.
 

cococat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
4,953
Purraise
12
Location
USA
Does he have a feline friend? If not, get another kitten. I can't imagine raising a single kitten. Wait, I can imagine it, that is why I wouldn't do it.

You might try this product at petsmart called ssscat.
 

wyatturpsmom

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 4, 2006
Messages
246
Purraise
1
Location
California
I know what you mean. For some reason Toby was into everything today. I had a wooden spoon in the sink and I've lost track of how many times he pulled it out to play with. Everyone else was napping, but he wasn't in the mood today. He usually has Tweety to play with, but Tweety must have needed his space, he was hiding somewhere. I got a lt of exercise getting up and down to shoo him out of the kitchen. I think some days they are more stubborn than others. Hope tomorrow is better.
 

howtoholdacat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
1,248
Purraise
22
Location
Georgia, USA
I know it isn't funny but this made me laugh all the same. My youngest is a year and a half and kittenhood is fresh in my mind! The trouble with Seti isn't disciplining him. It's getting him to slow down enough to realize he's been disciplined!
 

fastnoc

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Messages
1,955
Purraise
30
Originally Posted by chadsgirl374

At our house, it's all about Sunny all the time
He's napping right now. We play for a couple of hours in the morning after he eats and then again in the afternoon, we also have several bouts where I have to hold him and carry him around with me. His dad gets home at 4:30 and he's showered with attention all over again. He's a very needy cat. There isn't enough attention for him in the world as he even bites our toes at night in an attempt to have us wake up and play with him in the middle of the night.

I don't think his problem is that he wants attention. He's certainly not lacking in that department.
Man you have no idea how jealous I am. My cats somehow got totally independant. Neither comes up for petting anymore, and they isntantly want to get away when i go to pet them. Sometimes it bums me out.

Tinker will get up one the blanket I leave next to the computer for them to rest on, and when she does she'll reach out and touch my left hand with her paw and go to sleep. Sometimes she'll rest her head on my arm instead.

But that's ALL the affection I get and the whole point of getting these two monsters was for companionship. i've been GIPPED!
 

coaster

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 28, 2005
Messages
5,174
Purraise
7
Location
Wisconsin
It's natural for a cat to want to get at birds. Put the bird cage somewhere that he can't get at it. You shouldn't discipline a cat for what's natural and normal behavior.
 

fastnoc

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Messages
1,955
Purraise
30
Hmm. not sure I agree with that. just because it's natural doesn't mean it should be allowed and ignored. by nature cats scratch pretty much everything to sharpen their claws, but we can't allow them to do it to our furniture?

Training is the process of teaching someone or something to do things differently than they do to get better results.
 

coaster

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 28, 2005
Messages
5,174
Purraise
7
Location
Wisconsin
Perhaps I'm making a distinction between "discipline" and "training."

BTW, you don't really train a cat to not scratch furniture anyway, you provide something else that they can scratch in its place. That's called "redirection." Natural behaviors can be channelled into more acceptable means of expression without resorting to discipline, or even without resorting to spray bottles, if you consider that training.

I stopped using spray bottles very early on because I discovered they knew where the water was coming from and were deterred only when I was standing right there with the bottle. I can't do that 24/7/365. A determined cat will do whatever you're trying to prevent as soon as your back is turned. A minority of agreeable cats will humor us and allow us to think we trained them.

In response to the OP's problem, the only practical solution is "cat-proofing" -- prevent the cat from having access to the bird cage.
 

theimp98

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,427
Purraise
2
Location
elyria, ohio
get a can, put some coins in the can, tape the top shut.

when kitty gets into something say, no and make sounds with the can,, Also for the times they really do something i dont want them to do, i will hiss at them.

sounds silly but it works.
 

emmylou

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
960
Purraise
10
I agree that the bird situation is something separate from other discipline problems. You can train a cat in ways that will make it mesh better with a human household (although with a kitten expect to repeat everything a thousand times, and for his energy to last longer than yours).

But a bird is prey and food, and will never stop being that to a cat. It's primal. The bird should be put somewhere where the cat can never get to it.
 

going nova

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Originally Posted by theimp98

get a can, put some coins in the can, tape the top shut.

when kitty gets into something say, no and make sounds with the can,, Also for the times they really do something i dont want them to do, i will hiss at them.

sounds silly but it works.
I thought you were going to say to put some coins in the can, tape the top, and give it to him as a toy. We have an empty turtle food canister with coins in it... Nova likes to knock it down and roll it all over the place.

To the OP, I agree that the easiest (and most effective?) solution may be to just move the cages so kitty doesn't have access.
 

trillcat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
Messages
1,738
Purraise
2
Location
Wisconsin
I have to agree with those that are saying you probably wont get the cat to stop trying to get to the bird. It may be able to be done, but I have never known anyone who has sucessfully "trained" their cat to stop wanting to hunt the small critters that also share the house once they have decided that is what they want to do. To me its kind of like putting a big bowl of snausages in a room with a dog and expecting them not to attempt to snarf them down. Oh sure, the dog may resist while you are in the room, but turn your back and there go the snausages!
Perhaps since your cat is young you can deter this behavior, but I would err on saftys side for the birds sake and move it to somewhere the kitty cant get at it.
 

barbb

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2001
Messages
1,300
Purraise
40
Location
Chicago burbs
As someone who fosters kittens all the time (I have 2 now
) I know how crazy it can be to have them into everything and climbing you, the walls, the bird and whatever they can get into
.

Since he just wants attention though, he may actually want to be put in and out of the bathroom because it involves you interacting with him. Cats that are bored will go with any attention, even negative attention.

Someone on this site said that if you want a kitty to stop doing something, the best way to do it is to give them something more enticing, interesting, or tempting. I think that is the way to go with your little baby.

I agree with the people who are saying get another kitten if you can. And indeed move the bird if possible. And if he doesn't already have a cat tree where he can look outside at birds, that might be a good investment.

Also kittens love those round pads that have the ball in them that they can bat around in a circle, especially the flashing ball. I just got one for my fosters, along with those little aluminum foil crackle balls. They love to play with them!
 

mai_kitties

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Messages
255
Purraise
17
Location
Ohio
I always carry small toy mice that have little sound makers in my pockets when I'm at home. Whenever I catch my 4 month old kitten doing something he is not supposed to be doing, I get a mouse out of my pocket, rattle it, and throw it in the opposite direction of where he is doing the thing he is not supposed to be doing. The chase instinct in him kicks in and he stops what he is doing and chase the mouse.

It's worked pretty good so far. At first I was afraid that he would associate doing something bad in order to get the mouse, but really he seems to understand that I would rather him not climb the curtains and instead chase the mouse.
 

howtoholdacat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
1,248
Purraise
22
Location
Georgia, USA
What kind of birds are they? I've actually seen large birds and cats do just fine together since large birds can pack a punch all of their own. If they're tiny birds I'm in agreement with the others who say either move the birds or restrict your cat's access to their room.
 

arlyn

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
9,306
Purraise
50
Location
Needles, CA
I have kept birds and cats harmoniously for many, many years.
To those saying to put the bird where the cat can't get at it, next to impossible.
I know lots of people do it, but cages should never be hung, they move when hung and it upsets most birds and it is visually confusing to them.
Now, as long as the bird is not of the psittacine variety and has company of it's own kind, you can put it in a cat free room.

If the bird in question is a parrot of any kind, and is solitary, you cannot do that, it is emotional neglect as far as a parrot is concerned.
When you are their only flock member, they expect to be where you are when you are around.

Most cats lose interest in pet birds as they get older, so don't be discouraged.

I simply would take mine off the cage and tell them no firmly and give an appropriate toy.
Even my two month old foster ignores the bird now.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19

chadsgirl374

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
217
Purraise
2
Location
Plant City, FL
Sunny has only just begun this behavior this week. Our bird is a quaker parrot named Tiki. Tiki has been our bird since he was 2 mos old - he's now 3 years old. Tiki is in a very solid cage and there is no where to move this gigantic cage in the house. Since Sunny can get on top of the refrigerator, there's no place that we could move the cage if it were small enough to move that he couldn't get at it if he wanted. Shutting our bird in another room is not an option either as he is a flock bird and calls for us constantly. He already has been restricted to his cage (except for a few hours a day) whereas he was NEVER confined to a cage. Since we love our bird as much as we love our kitten - THEY ARE NEVER LEFT UNSUPERVISED!

Sunny has been our cat for close to 4 mos. now. When we found him he came in off and on for the first week. He is afraid of Tiki since he is VERY loud and screamed at him. Sunny is not trying to eat the bird - he's afraid of him.


I told DBF that Sunny would like a kitten of his own to play with as we have 3 adorable feral kittens we care for that Sunny plays with through the screen door. I even went as far as to tape a note to Sunny's collar (from Sunny of course) that read: Dear Daddy, Can I please have a kitty of my own? I'd especially like one named Zowie. DBF didn't fall for it and has said no for 4 days now. I'm hoping to get him to cave.....soon.

My original question is (and still remains to be answered) how do I discipline him? Spraying him with water and coke cans with pennies in them have NOT worked. It seems that the older he gets, the sassier he is also. I need to nip the behavior in the bud before it gets out of control.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

chadsgirl374

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
217
Purraise
2
Location
Plant City, FL
Originally Posted by Arlyn

I have kept birds and cats harmoniously for many, many years.
To those saying to put the bird where the cat can't get at it, next to impossible.
I know lots of people do it, but cages should never be hung, they move when hung and it upsets most birds and it is visually confusing to them.
Now, as long as the bird is not of the psittacine variety and has company of it's own kind, you can put it in a cat free room.

If the bird in question is a parrot of any kind, and is solitary, you cannot do that, it is emotional neglect as far as a parrot is concerned.
When you are their only flock member, they expect to be where you are when you are around.

Most cats lose interest in pet birds as they get older, so don't be discouraged.

I simply would take mine off the cage and tell them no firmly and give an appropriate toy.
Even my two month old foster ignores the bird now.
I totally agree with you
Tiki is a flock bird and has been our sole pet for the past 3 years. He's been through enough of an adjustment already. He's had to go from only being in his cage when we left the house (or to sleep) to only having a few hours a day that he can be out of the cage.

This is only recent behavior. We had Sunny fixed last Tuesday and it seems that he's been doing this approx a week or so. He previously ignored the bird as he is afraid of him (Tiki is too loud).

I am hopeful that the two can go back to living in harmony.
 
Top