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Curtailing the Curtain-Clawing

post #1 of 9
5/18/11 at 9:58pm
Thread Starter 
My kitten brothers are 8.5 weeks old now and are very rambunctious!

The problem that I'm having is that they really enjoy swinging from the long, sheer curtains I have on my windows. I guess they sort of "flow" with the air circulation in the room and become very tantalizing. They jump up and hold on with their claws and go up and down, hanging onto the material with their nails.

Obviously, this is causing some damage to the curtains. They're $5 sheers from Wal-mart - I don't really care about the curtains. And frankly I don't really care about the behavior that much, either, except that there may come a time in my life when I have nicer or more expensive curtains, or the cats may begin to shred instead of swing, etc. Basically, what they're doing now doesn't bother me, but the fact that it might lead to future undesirable behavior does.

Saying a firm "NO," clapping loudly, and other forms of verbal distraction DO NOT STOP my confident brothers from any activity whatsoever. The only thing that has worked for this (or for anything) is me physically removing them, which distracts them for awhile. But they go back later - and I'm sure they're also doing it when I'm not at home to "rezone" them!

I asked this question on facebook and several friends mentioned using a squirt bottle, but I was looking through the behavior "sticky" in this forum I read the article that said using a squirt bottle causes your cat to see you as a predator/enemy (here) and should not be used because cats shouldn't be punished. Is this really a bad solution for behavior modification?

Sometimes it seems like all the cat behavior experts allow humans to do is to endure what kitty does... anything else would be inhumane or selfish... but that doesn't seem like good, practical advice for most cat-owners.

Anybody have any insight or advice into the curtain-swinging and/or squirt bottle issue? Thanks!
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post #2 of 9
5/18/11 at 10:28pm
I personally think there is a place for squirt bottle training if it is done properly, but maybe not at that young of an age. The kittens will not associate you with the spray bottle, if they don't see you doing the squirting. They will associate the activity with the squirt, but the problem there is, they will be doing this same activity when you are not there to squirt them, so there is no consistency. So you have to pick and choose what to use that type of training for.

However, they may not pay any attention, or their claws may be too hooked into the sheers to get free.

Take the curtains down until they are older. And...the best solution to the kitten crazies is to play with them, interactive games, relentlessly. The more attention they get from you, the less likely they will be to get into other mischief.
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post #3 of 9
5/19/11 at 10:09pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Otto - I tied the curtains up for now.

I'm really interested in this whole squirt bottle ordeal, and why it's considered inappropriate. I don't plan on using it on my sweets any time soon, but have more of a generally piqued interest.
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post #4 of 9
5/20/11 at 3:13am
They sound just like my naughty kitten used to be! It wont be long until they are climbing up to the top...
We are in accomodation provided by my husbands job, and it has very expensive curtains. I was horrifed when he started, as i do not want a bill to replace them when we leave. I had never seen a cat do this before. The water bottle did not work - but then he has no fear of water Like you, i had to remove him from the room - easier said than done with him swinging from the top.Also he was so fast getting up there!
He only stopped when he was harness trained and has turned his attention to tree climbing instead He is a real natural and really enjoys it. I think that having the urge to climb like this is one of his personality traits and it sounds like your kittens have it too.
As harness training may not be possible for you, i would suggest one of those big cat trees that you can buy to divert their attention as soon as possible. That urge to climb is very strong - last week we had come back from our walk and we were in our shared hallway. I was taking off my shoes and when i turned around i could not see him until i looked up...HE HAD CLIMBED UP THE WALLPAPER!!!!!
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post #5 of 9
5/20/11 at 4:02am
Do you have a cat tree for them to climb on? If not, I'd invest in one as soon as possible. Whenever they start playing with the curtains, relocate them to the tree so they'll learn that the tree is for climbing and the window is for basking in the sun.

I've used a water bottle (unsuccessfully) in the past. The biggest "con" against it I've seen mentioned is that there is a possibility that you'll squirt water in the cat's ear and then this could lead to an ear infection. Personally, I've found rattling a can filled with some beans, hissing at the cat, and doing a stern "NO!" and removing them to a more appropriate play space is much more effective.
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post #6 of 9
5/20/11 at 6:20am
Cat tree, Of course! By all means get the kittens a cat tree to climb, that will help a lot. It won't keep them from climbing the curtains, so you'll have to keep those out of the way until they are older, but they DO need to climb something.

I like the spray bottle for certain things. I used it heavily in socializing Mazy, as she was relentless in her attacks of me. Since she only attacked me when I was there, see, it was successful because consistent. It won't work on counter surfing or curtain climbing, because when they try it when you are not there, and no squirt happens, they simply learn to do it when you aren't there (it doesn't matter that they might not associate the water squirt with you, what they learn is it doens't happen when they are alone).

It shouldn't be used for things like training kitten not to bite during play, or for scratching the furniture. Those behaviors are natural behaviors for cats. You can't train the behavior away completely, you just redirect it to something more appropriate. So the spray bottle really isn't the right tool.

You could use it for a cat who thinks its fun to attack your ankles as you walk down the hall. Or, as in Mazy's case, and unsocialized cat who stalks you to attack and bite and draw blood.

Anyway, after all that rambling the reason I came back to this thread was because I was thinking about it last night, and it occurred to me that sscat might work to keep them away from the curtains, but you definitely have to have something they are allowed to climb.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...sprefix=ssscat
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post #7 of 9
5/20/11 at 11:34am
Thread Starter 
Thanks all for the advice! Much appreciated.

The curtains are still tied up & will probably stay that way until I can get a cat tree, which I'm definitely going to buy as soon as possible. They love climbing ANYTHING now that I think about it - my legs (ouch, I have pictures!), some cardboard boxes I have broken down and sitting against the wall, the back of the couch, etc. So I'm definitely agreeing that it may be simply part of their personality/preferences. If that's the case, it won't stop & I'll need to redirect it to something appropriate, like a cat tree!

Otto - that's a really interesting product! It wouldn't work in this case (the curtains are right next to my dining room table and that's where I sit on my computer - I don't want to get sprayed, too! !!!) but I can definitely see it being useful for another area!! Thanks for suggesting it!
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post #8 of 9
5/20/11 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
It's so funny - Garfunkel, my type-A instigator, is sitting by my legs where the curtains used to hang down and looking up at the window sill (about 5x taller than he is right now, lol!) like he's waiting for the curtains to come down again to play. He's so funny
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post #9 of 9
5/20/11 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by parsleysage View Post
It's so funny - Garfunkel, my type-A instigator, is sitting by my legs where the curtains used to hang down and looking up at the window sill (about 5x taller than he is right now, lol!) like he's waiting for the curtains to come down again to play. He's so funny
You should put something there at least, so they can get to the windows. Cats love to look out windows.
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