disciplining a cat???

i cant really spent $15 on a bag of cat liter right now. What if i put cat nip in the cat box? Wouldnt that attract them to the cat box?

Originally Posted by silly_ goose

i cant really spent $15 on a bag of cat liter right now. What if i put cat nip in the cat box? Wouldnt that attract them to the cat box?

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no catnip in the box.... on the contrary - Catnip will attract him to the box... to roll on it, and to hang out - but not to pee .
You said you can't spend the $$ on the litter, but you are taking her to the vet, right?

yes. my grama will take care of the vet bill but she wont buy them a bag of catlitter. doesnt make much sense huh?

Originally Posted by silly_ goose

yes. my grama will take care of the vet bill but she wont buy them a bag of catlitter. doesnt make much sense huh?

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Well, IMO the vet is more important.... If she has UTI, she has been in pain for a long time, poor baby...

About training cats in general, I've found that you can't effectively "train" a cat in the sense of conditioned responses, like Pavlov's drooling dogs (classical conditioning for the psych students out there), but you can arrange their environment so that the undesired behavior is difficult/impossible/unpleasant for them and let them learn what works (operant conditioning). Removing inappropriate surfaces that the cat likes to pee on is a GREAT example of this--it helps with making the litter box the best place to pee.

Is there reasonable privacy around the box? Is the other cat pestering her there? Is the box easy to get to when she's gotta go? Is anything wrong with her paws that could make digging in kitty litter painful or unpleasant? (For example, I've heard of cats developing box problems after being declawed, though I've never seen this because I refuse to declaw.)

Definitely check on the UTI thing too, of course, but also make the litter box as pleasant to the cat for its intended purpose as possible, and the cat will catch on. If the vet recommends special litter, would your grandma buy some?

Originally Posted by ebrillblaiddes

About training cats in general, I've found that you can't effectively "train" a cat in the sense of conditioned responses, like Pavlov's drooling dogs (classical conditioning for the psych students out there), but you can arrange their environment so that the undesired behavior is difficult/impossible/unpleasant for them and let them learn what works (operant conditioning). Removing inappropriate surfaces that the cat likes to pee on is a GREAT example of this--it helps with making the litter box the best place to pee.

Is there reasonable privacy around the box? Is the other cat pestering her there? Is the box easy to get to when she's gotta go? Is anything wrong with her paws that could make digging in kitty litter painful or unpleasant? (For example, I've heard of cats developing box problems after being declawed, though I've never seen this because I refuse to declaw.)

Definitely check on the UTI thing too, of course, but also make the litter box as pleasant to the cat for its intended purpose as possible, and the cat will catch on. If the vet recommends special litter, would your grandma buy some?

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the cat boxes (now 2) are really easy to get to. one is in the closet, the other is under a vanity. the one in my closet obviously has more privacy but i am limited to where i can put them. my cats are not declawed. maybe she just doesnt like the litter? i havent stayed consistant with which litter i use. right now i use the clay litter so maybe its heavy or something. the litter boxes are cleaned. my grama just called and she says that maybe peaches just has a behavior problem.. and i guess she can say that because she has cat sitted for me many times. so she says to just watch peaches and if i see blood in her urine or if she still doesnt stop after making the 1 cat box into 2 & suggesting arm & hammer to put in there.. then she will take her to the vet. so : : we will see how this goes.

Originally Posted by silly_ goose

the cat boxes (now 2) are really easy to get to. one is in the closet, the other is under a vanity. the one in my closet obviously has more privacy but i am limited to where i can put them. my cats are not declawed. maybe she just doesnt like the litter? i havent stayed consistant with which litter i use. right now i use the clay litter so maybe its heavy or something. the litter boxes are cleaned. my grama just called and she says that maybe peaches just has a behavior problem.. and i guess she can say that because she has cat sitted for me many times. so she says to just watch peaches and if i see blood in her urine or if she still doesnt stop after making the 1 cat box into 2 & suggesting arm & hammer to put in there.. then she will take her to the vet. so :

: we will see how this goes.

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Please, please take her to the vet.... Only the vet can say if she has an infection or not... It could be behavioral, but it VERY WELL could be an infection... Have you had an UTI? If you had, you wouldn't be waiting this long, as you would know that it hurts like hell...
Unless your grandma is a vet, she can not diagnose your kitty - neither can we, or you, but a vet can. Please take her.

i understand that she needs to go but i cant afford it for another 2 weeks. is there something i can give her to ease the pain if she has a UTI? like we drink cranberry juice. there has to be something that can relieve the symptoms (sp?) for cats.

I took 2 of mine in for UTI checks today, peeing outside the box, but no blood/nothing abnormal looking about the urine. They both had nasty UTIs.....and the longer they go on the more painful it is & the more likely the litterbox avoidance is permanent. Is there someone you can borrow the $$ for the vet from, and pay them back in 2 weeks? Please read this link When you can't afford a vet.

If she does indeed have a UTI, 2 weeks will make it worse - and it will also be more costly to treat (often takes a longer time on anti-biotics to clear it up).

well i did some research and ACV and wet cat food is supposed to help with UTIs. im going to try that and see what happens. i already went to the store and bought it.

Sorry for jumping in but, there may be a possibility that your kitty has a stone in her bladder.

Ku Ku recently had this problem & got a surgery to remove it.
She has a history of UTI(about a year ago but hasn't had it since we moved), so I assumed it was the same. WRONG! I took her to a vet, got antibiotic & pain-med to treat her. After 2 days, still the same, she didn't have blood in her urine or anything but her condition was not improved, still frequenting litter box. I contacted a vet again & brought Ku Ku back to be seen. She got x-rayed & diagnosed with bladder stone, not just one but several!
The choice was either - surgically remove it(seemed there were not only 1 but several stones!) OR, put her on medication which would supposed to help dissolving the stone...may take a month or two till the med to work but with no proven result(in another words, she'd be in pain until then).
My choice for her was the surgery.
It was really OUCH for me but to save my baby from pain.

Unlike human being, UTI for cats is longer it takes, harder & more painful.
I don't mean to scare you off but I was also told from my vet that in the worst case, UTI may be fatal to cats if not treated in timely manner.

As a cat owner I can say discipline doesn't do much good with a cat.
What DOES work is setting the cat up to succeed. For instance, if that cat chews houseplants, move the plants to where the cat can't get them. If cat destroys blinds in a certain room, leave the blinds up in there. Work with the cat rather than against when you can. Cat pees on clothes, keep clothes put up. If your cat stays up at night, have a play session for an hour before you go to bed, wear kitty out! Or if you have kittens, get two to keep each other exercised, and still have play sessions. If the cat is using the bathroom inappropriately, first think, are there enough boxes? Are the boxes clean enough? Then think go to the vet to rule out a UTI or some other more serious problem(s). From there think of Cat Attract to put in the litter, use Feliway, etc.
Coming to this site will help a ton. Keep asking questions

Here is a coupon for a FREE vet exam at VCA - please, please take your kitty there ASAP.

http://www.vcapets.com/free_promo_go...FRAqbAodnGVZuA

Also, are you over 18? If so, you can apply to care credit, a type of credit "card" spacific to take care of medical and vet services - here is the link: http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/whycc.html

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Also, are you over 18? If so, you can apply to care credit, a type of credit "card" spacific to take care of medical and vet services - here is the link: http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/whycc.html

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I didn't know about that...I should get one of those for "crap happens"...

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Also, are you over 18? If so, you can apply to care credit, a type of credit "card" spacific to take care of medical and vet services - here is the link: http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/whycc.html

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I highly recommend CareCredit. This saved Ku Ku so many times!

Any news on this kitty?

Originally Posted by carolinalima

What you do when you see her peeing, is to get a folded paper towel and place it underneath her, as she is peeing, so she pees on it. Then you place that towel inside of the litter box... you can also take her gently, and place her on the box as well...

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You are suggesting that she watch the cat 24/7?

Some of us have to work, you know, to buy the kibble and litter.

Originally Posted by silly_ goose

i cant really spent $15 on a bag of cat liter right now. What if i put cat nip in the cat box? Wouldnt that attract them to the cat box?

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If you can't afford $15.00 for a bag of cat littler, I would suggest that you can't afford to have a pet. It is a form of cruelty, to take on responsibility for the well being of a living, breathing, sentient creature when you can't afford it. It sounds like this cat has a UTI, I agree; have you every had one? Imagine that you had one for a long time, and the only person who was capable of getting you any treatment not only refused to do anything about it, but refused to acknowledge that it was a medical problem and treated you as though you were some sort of criminal for asking for help?

You said that you don't want a child. Well, that is what a cat is; a child. A child that never grows up. The responsibility and commitment is at least as much.

It sounds as though you did not educate yourself as to what cat ownership entails before you took on this animal.

Do so now. Better late than never.

Is this harsh? Yes. I'm thinking of the cat.

Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

If you can't afford $15.00 for a bag of cat littler, I would suggest that you can't afford to have a pet. It is a form of cruelty, to take on responsibility for the well being of a living, breathing, sentient creature when you can't afford it. It sounds like this cat has a UTI, I agree; have you every had one? Imagine that you had one for a long time, and the only person who was capable of getting you any treatment not only refused to do anything about it, but refused to acknowledge that it was a medical problem and treated you as though you were some sort of criminal for asking for help?

You said that you don't want a child. Well, that is what a cat is; a child. A child that never grows up. The responsibility and commitment is at least as much.

It sounds as though you did not educate yourself as to what cat ownership entails before you took on this animal.

Do so now. Better late than never.

Is this harsh? Yes. I'm thinking of the cat.

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well excuse me for not spending that much money on a bag of cat litter. i feed my cats, i play with them, they have toys, etc. MY CATS HAVE A GOOD HOME WITH SOMEONE WHO LOVES THEM. so how dare you, tell me that im not qualified to own a cat. im not REFUSING to take my cat to the vet, i simply can not take her this second. when i have a UTI, i dont rush to the dr. i take something to ease the pain until i am able to go. im not treating my cat, any differently than i treat myself. some of us, have a full time job, full time school, and cant drop everything just to make a dr apt. whats cruel, is people like you telling others they cant have a pet! the comments you made were just rude.
i am doing what i can in the meantime & have made her an appointment to see the vet.
please keep your RUDE remarks to yourself. thanks.

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Any news on this kitty?

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yes yes. my grama is being stubborn & doesnt think peaches needs to go, so shes like acting put out. SO im taking peaches to the vet, but i have to wait until next week. aug 14th @ 2:30. right now im giving her the ACV which seems to be helping her in the mean time. shes not whining near as much and i havent caught her peeing outside the litter box. thank you carolina for your responses. i appreciate your insight! oh and thank you for the coupon! thats the vet im taking peaches to.