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Using Spray Bottle for Discipline?...HELP!

post #1 of 11
1/12/11 at 6:13am
Thread Starter 
I posted here about a month ago about my new kitten, who was chasing my male cat around.

Well, it's gotten worse. She's 3 1/2 months old now and multiple, multiple times a day, she chases after my adult male cat...digging her claws into his back and raking them down his side, biting his heels, etc. He NEVER fights back. He's a really gentle cat. He just cries and cries. She chases him all over. I hate it! I feel like I'm forever shouting at her once she jumps on him ("NO!! NO!!") but it doesn't faze her. I've gotten a squirt bottle and now squirt her with water once she jumps on him, which makes her run and hide. It hasn't stopped her from bothering him, and now she's a bit more skittish. I don't want to make her mean/afraid of me, but I don't know how to get her to stop jumping on him. Technically she's old enough to be spayed...would that make a difference? I plan on buying Feliway, but I've been using catnip and cat treats to 'subdue' her and it doesn't have much effect.

I really need advice! I want to protect my older cat and nurture/teach my younger cat and I just don't know what to do.
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post #2 of 11
1/12/11 at 6:46am
Your plan of using Feliway sounds like a wonderful idea. I have heard that Feliway really helps calm down kitties. The spaying may calm her down a little bit. Another thing you could try when your cat is attacking your male cat is scruffing, which kittens understand because it was the way their mother disciplined them. Here's website which says how to properly scruff a cat: http://cats.about.com/od/behaviortra...ruffingCat.htm

Hope this helps,

Eileen
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post #3 of 11
1/12/11 at 6:57am
Catnip to subdue her?

In my household, catnip only provokes them to start rough housing and my one cat, Fetch, I cannot give it to. He really goes after his mother and sister.

That could be a big part of the problem. The only time catnip works to calm is after it makes them crazy and then they might sleep it off. But while they are "high" it can be bedlam. Especially with a kitten as young as yours....she has so much energy!

I hope this helps. She is still very young and full of craziness. Luckily, this phase does not usually last very long. They grow up so fast and at a year old, usually are a lot more sedate.
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post #4 of 11
1/12/11 at 7:14am
when one of my cats gets too aggressive i try to redirect it towards a toy (something big and squishy to take the place of the cat/human hand he was previous going after), you might try that. I never can tell if them spray bottle really works, but maybe there's a technique to it i have never mastered.

the good news is she is mostly doing this because she is still a kitten. a year from now she'll be much calmer.
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post #5 of 11
1/12/11 at 7:14am
I keep a water bottle around, but all I have to do is shake it at them and point it. If they are really being bad, which is not often any more, I will spray their toes or bottom. It is important not to get them in the face or ears. I know a lot of people here will disagree, but that it what works for me. If all else fails, I will scruff them and gently press their chin to the floor like a mama cat. NEVER NEVER lift them by the scruff, it is very painful to a cat except when mama does it.
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post #6 of 11
1/12/11 at 11:06am
Thread Starter 
Some really great ideas! I'll try them all!
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post #7 of 11
1/12/11 at 11:51am
Catnip and cat treats cause my cats to go into an absolute frenzie. It'd be like giving some young teenagers a line of coke and sugar candy... boing, boing, boing!!!

You can get him some small stuffed animals or toys that he can use his energy on.

Are you sure its hurting the other cat, and that he's not just making the "I'm annoyed by you" sound?

Mine chase and wrestle each other all the time, and they seem to love it as they alternate on who is wrestling on top and who is chasing whom. They do their mock biting and kicks and the like, but it never draws blood and very very rarely gets a real "MEOW!" complaint where someone went too far.
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post #8 of 11
1/12/11 at 3:03pm
I've found that spray bottles don't really work. The lesson they tend to teach is only to be afraid of you. Think back when you were a young child in school. If a teacher squirted you when you couldn't answer a question correctly, without bothering to teach you the answer in the first place, would you learn anything? The suggestions from others about redirection are spot on. Teach the kitten what you want her to do rather than punishing her when she doesn't do what you want. A loud NO, a hiss from you, and a redirection to something appropriate will teach her to leave your other baby alone.
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post #9 of 11
1/12/11 at 8:16pm
I think she's probably just trying to get him to play with her, and he doesn't want any of it. Personally, I'd make sure to play with her a lot so she gets a lot of that energy out of her system. When I got my Oscar as a kitten, I had Scarlett, who was an older, completely non-playful girl. He tried to play with her constantly, and it totally pissed her off. She'd smack the crap out of him to try to get him to go away, but he just thought she was playing and was thrilled, lol (had she had claws, he may have gotten the message, but as it was, it was probably just like getting hit with oven mitts).

So I'd get out the laser pointer and feather teaser and play with him for awhile, and that seemed to really help. When all else failed, I did get out the squirt bottle and squirt his butt occasionally.
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post #10 of 11
1/12/11 at 8:48pm
I totally believe in the Feliway plugin things. No more catnip though.

http://www.amazon.com/Feliway-Plug--...4892696&sr=8-1
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post #11 of 11
1/13/11 at 5:52am
Thread Starter 
* no more catnip!

* feliway

* time outs

* more play time with kitten

Getting started right away!
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