Stray/Feral Problems

How old is this cat? If he was a young kitten, when you found him in November, he is still very much a teenager in terms of cat behaviour

Welcome to TCS!

First of all - shock collars are not, IMO, a very nice way to train kitties. Honestly, I don't think they "get it". I would instead look into ways of re-directing his energy into positive things.

How old is this kitty? A year? Several years? Under a year?
Do you have any interactive toys that you play with him?
How about "mind games" where he has to work to get something out of the deal (like treat balls, etc)?

First of all, thank you for rescuing this kitty! He sure does sound like a... character. I know you're not laughing right now, and I am sorry. Hopefully we'll be able to help.

All of our cats are feral rescues. Interestingly, the oldest at the time of rescue was the least problem, and the youngest is our counter-surfer, paper tearer... she doesn't steal stuff, but she loves to push things off of desks, tables, &etc.

After she became part of the family, we found we had to adjust our "off limit" spaces. The one thing DH was set on though was the kitchen counter. What we did was remove everything from all surfaces and put all paper and plastic bags away and out of reach. We took valuables off of shelves. We bought a curio with a glass door in which to put breakables. Of course she found a way to get on TOP of it - but that was fine. The kitchen counter we went the opposite way - we took everything out of the cupboards and completely filled the counters. Of course all of this was a total PIA for the month we did it - but it made the empty places boring, and I guess it was long enough of a time that there was just nowhere to go on the kitchen counter, that she just stopped trying.

We still make sure not to leave papers, mags, bags (unless intentional), or mail out.

But she gets alone play time above and beyond all of the other kitties - at least several times a day. We work to absorb that energy. She's going to be 7 years old this year so doesn't require AS much play time as she did when she was younger, but she's still got plenty.

She has recently begun jumping up on the kitchen counters again, funny enough. This time we've pulled strips of aluminum foil and set them along the edges of the counters - when she jumps up, she goes sliding - it's freaking her out and she isn't enjoying it. So far it's working.

Laundry? We had to get a hamper that lived in a closet, and we had to put the clothes away as soon as laundry was done.

I'd say the biggest thing we did was do everything we could to use up as much of her energy as possible with the interactive play though. That helped her adjust to our hours, and she sleeps on the bed with us now.

I don't know the extent to which he's bothering the other cats. We live in a small space, and basically devoted as much space as possible to vertical space for the cats. We also have some spaces that get congested - so what we did was head to Home Depot, buy cement forming tubes - they're VERY thick cardboard-like hollow tubes - we bought them 8" diameter. We put these down in hallways so no one can block them and there's a way for the cats to pass without having to interact.

Don't know your situation, but here's an example of vertical space: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=201467

Oh! We also put bird feeders up on as many windows as possible, and made sure there was a cat perch of some type right up against the windows. We live in a rural area, so in the summer it attracts squirrels - which is great, because for the cats they're just as entertaining as birds, but we get a lot of birds in fall, winter and early spring. It's like Cat TV for them.

I didn't see how old he was before I posted. Unfortunately (from that perspective), he's young, and he's a kitten, and I doubt very much it has to do with him having lived outside. He's just got too much energy.

Do you live in a place where it's possible to build an outdoor enclosure of some type for him? Or fence in your back yard? There are cat-proof fences that can be put up. If so, I'm happy to send links for different types, and members here can help with building things on your own if you want to go the enclosure route so it's not as expensive - I'd be posting links for ideas for you more than anything else. Until he's a little older, absorbing some of his time chasing bugs may help.

Red highlighted behaviors are ones that you need to deal with just by avoidance. He can't steal what he can't get a hold of, put things away or out of his reach. Keep counter tops cleaned off to make them more boring. None of us can honestly say our cat do not do this - the minute we're gone they're up there even if they don't do it when we're watching. Paper items that are needed should be put away. Garbage should be put in a utility room behind a closed door, have a locking lid, or in a cabinet with a baby lock.

Blue highlighted behaviors are just typical of kittens and many cats. Separating him into a bathroom or another room during feeding times can help. Blinds can be sprayed with bitter apple spray. I don't believe cats have "inappropriate" times for anything, most are largely active at night. Some people do put their cats up into their own room at night to keep them out of trouble - but for needy cats this just upsets them and makes them cry more.

Claws, you can trim or use soft paws on if it's bad enough. Always offer plenty of proper scratching surfaces (that falls under cat furniture) and in several rooms if you want a cat not to use your furniture or carpet.

In all... it sounds like you have a pretty normal kitten. I have three of them, the same age, right now - though one never does anything so I don't think she counts as a kitten. The other two are troublemakers, plus they have a couple 3 year olds leading them.

We use the SimpleHuman step-on (to open lid) stainless steel trash can in the kitchen. I think we got it at Best Buy. I also think they're available in plastic now.

I answered your email to me, but if you want to PM me and tell me where you are located, I will be happy to try and find a home for your kitten. Not an easy task because we are right in the beginning of Kitten Season.

As I mentioned in the email, shock collars are not suitable for kittens (or puppies or dogs either!) In kittens they can cause irreperable damage to the brain, plus make the kitten either so frightened, scared or aggressive to you the other cats, an inanimate object-I asked you to please ditch the doping you are doing as well as the shock collar.

Suggest if you want to bring another cat into the home in the future you not even consider a kitten. Everything you list is normal kitten behavior. The kitten is not acting out to punish you, he is probably a strong alpha highly hyper young kitten frustrated that he can't prey and play as his instincts are guiding him to. Stop expecting him to respond as if he has been to obedience class. Either accept him for the wonderful spirited creature God made him to be, or find a suitable home for him. If you are in Oregon or Washington, I will come right to your door and bring him here to live with us.

This is a kitten in training to be a cat. This is what cats do. He is young, if he was sedate, something would be wrong with him.

I use a spray aerosol can called Ssssscat. It is available at all pet stores. It emits a sharp spray when the cat crosses its electronic beam. Harmless, but works wonders to keep kitty off things. Please do some investigating as to what deterrants there available. Many things.

I am sorry your husband has such a low tolerance. Given time, your little one will grow up and calm down. Put things away. When my cats were young, I heard things falling 24 hours a day!

Probably a kitten is not for you. A shock collar on a cat is inhumane. Sorry to be so blunt, but IMO it is. He is virtually a baby. Please do not use this on him. It is so very unnecessary. I wouldn't use one on a Rottweiller.

I have to say, from how you describe him, that he sounds like a highly intelligent, interesting, curious KITTEN! I understand that, from what you're going through, you and your husband just can't appreciate this right now. And perhaps you're sleep-deprived like I am (I have two ferals just the same age as yours....) but, honestly, he sounds marvelous! Is he a Maine Coon type, by any chance?

Everything you've described is simply how really smart, energetic kittens act. Not all kittens are as rambunctious. Mine are more sedate and less creative than your guy. But they also keep each other entertained. A second kitten would probably help your guy because he's bored and restless. In fact, I HAD to adopt two because it was the rule at the shelter that all adopted kittens need a companion close in age. But I do realize that you probably have zero interest in hearing that right now...

I was expecting similar fireworks and sleeplessness when I got my kittens and was a little disappointed to have less mayhem. They're only babies once, and it's an exciting time. Your guy will eventually become an exceptional adult, full of beans and with a strong, bright personality.

But not if you keep zapping him. I wouldn't be surprised if punishing him for just being normal turns him neurotic and causes REAL problems, like inappropriate elimination and/or aggression. Please stop using the collar.

You've certainly tried the whole encyclopedia of things to change his behavior. They haven't worked because he's just being a teenager. The only cure for that is time. And it will also help if you put stuff away that you don't want him to get into.

Teaching him "down" and a few other simple commands, and then giving him rewards for good behavior will help, too. If he's that smart, he's probably very trainable. He could be a stunt cat in the movies!

If he's too much for you, I'll bet there are others out there who'd be dying to have a cat like him. If I didn't have four cats in a tiny apartment already, I'd be on my way.

All of those things sound like normal kitten behavior . You haven't listed anything that sounds out of the ordinary. Everything steal-able, munch-able, tear-able, etc. in my house is locked up somewhere cats can't get to it.

Truth is, for a young cat, living with 2 older cats is just plain boring. If he had a friend his own age he would probably be calmer. But then you'd have 2 kittens, displaying normal kitten behavior x 2, so if you can't handle kitten behavior that probably isn't a good idea.

I won't say that it would be easy to find a home for him....placing a cat over 3-4 months old is nearly impossible. But those are normal behaviors so I think he would do well in another home, if you could find someone who wasn't hung up on having a baby kitten.

An 8 month old fixed cat is not all that difficult to place, there are some people happy to take even older cats, especially in areas where vets do not speuter until 5 months