I am getting to the end of the rope with my Cat - Page 2

Please refer to our article on why punishing cats is wrong -

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

Punishing a cat, let alone harassing them first, is a great recipe for creating more cat aggression and/or a neurotic cat. It is abuse, in the same way that doing that to a child is abuse. Raising a cat, or a child for that matter, isn't a power struggle. It's about understanding the cat's needs and working on behavior modification in constructive ways.

For aggression towards human, please read -

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people

Anyone facing more severe aggression issues, should contact a cat behaviorist for further instructions (I can put you in touch with one). Just please note this from the article -

This really isn't a subject for debate - punishing cats is wrong on many levels and it's something I wanted to clarify as the site owner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangoking 

 The only reason that I was able to train this cat so well is because I was a teacher in a tough public school for a few years, and my discipline had to be spot-on.

 

 

With all due respect, cats are not children, therefore the discipline your giving out is more likely to make a cat scared without you noticing

To the OP:  if you think she is partially blind, try annoucing your presence by gently ringing a bell.

My best friend (human) is blind, and her cat wears a bell on her collar so my friend knows where she is.

And yeah, if your cat has recently experienced a decrease in vision or hearing, she may be acting aggressive because she doesn't know, understand what is happening to her.  It's not unlike a cat who is developing a UTI or URI.  A visit to the vet is in order, and, IMHO, I'd try a new vet for a new set of eyes/opinion/mind set.

Good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by P3 and The King 

Do you know you "sound" in these post?  It makes me wonder if you really are an animal lover or not?  This isn't love, this is control.  It borders on abuse.  You have to see it from the animals eyes.  Not yours. 

 

A cat is a lower life form than you?  Why do you have them?  If you feel this way about animals... Why have them.  Someone should turn you in.  I am appalled at this message.  You should be ashamed.

 

I wasn't going to jump into this one, but I can't help it... to me, just knowing that this person lets his(?) un-neutered male out and about on a daily basis is enough for me to know what kind of animal person he(?) is.

OP - I think it's great that your mom noticed that the cat may be having trouble seeing. I would definitely get that checked out. Good luck, and I hope you have gotten some helpful advice in the midst of some of the terrible advice that has been offered in this thread. Let us know how things are going with your little one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by P3 and The King 

Responsible if you own a dog.  Cats are different.  I think people are appalled that you seem to be tormenting the cat.  True, children pull tails.  That's a given.  But you should be instructing the CHILD on how to respect and treat an animal and not subjecting the CAT/KITTEN to mind games.    Zero tolerance?  Dude, calm down.  This is a defenseless animal... Not a unruly child.  Do you know you "sound" in these post?  It makes me wonder if you really are an animal lover or not?  This isn't love, this is control.  It borders on abuse.  You have to see it from the animals eyes.  Not yours. 

 

A cat is a lower life form than you?  Why do you have them?  If you feel this way about animals... Why have them.  Someone should turn you in.  I am appalled at this message.  You should be ashamed.

 

What I am talking about here--what you incorrectly interpret and label as "abuse"--is setting boundaries. Truffle needs to set boundaries with her pet: no biting, no scratching, and no hissing.

"Setting limits is one of the most powerful tools that professionals have to promote positive behavior change for their clients, students, residents, patients [pets], etc. Knowing there are limits on their behavior helps the individuals in your charge to feel safe. It also helps them to learn to make appropriate choices." [brackets mine]

http://educate.crisisprevention.com/The-Art-of-Setting-Limits.html?code=ITG041SCWE&src=Pay-Per-Click&gclid=CInGvu2W6a0CFULd4AodrHbz6g

All cats need boundaries.  Just like children.  No, you cannot chew on that Iris.  No, you cannot lick toilet bowl cleaner.  It is impolite to bite the hand that feeds you.

It is how those boundaries are applied, enforced; that is the issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangoking 

If someone harasses, teases, or does something that my cat doesn't like, he doesn't slash, bite, or hiss--he just walks away (which, by the way, is a great way to avoid a lot of trouble in human-to-human relationships).

 

 As a "responsible" cat owner, it is your "objective" to protect your cat from anyone who would harass or tease it. The vast majority of cats don't randomly bite or scratch with no provocation. Therefore your grandmother certainly wouldn't be in harms way for just petting the cat. If the cat has a known  bite history then as the owner, you need to warn people your cat in unpredictable.

I think you need to realize that there are cats out there that will attack if threatened. So, encouraging someone to physically reprimand a kitten/cat is poor advice. Cats are small but can and will do alot of damage, I've seen it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Levi68 

 As a "responsible" cat owner, it is your "objective" to protect your cat from anyone who would harass or tease it. The vast majority of cats don't randomly bite or scratch with no provocation. Therefore your grandmother certainly wouldn't be in harms way for just petting the cat. If the cat has a known  bite history then as the owner, you need to warn people your cat in unpredictable.

I think you need to realize that there are cats out there that will attack if threatened. So, encouraging someone to physically reprimand a kitten/cat is poor advice. Cats are small but can and will do alot of damage, I've seen it.

No. This behavior will not be tolerated. The rules are:

1. No biting

2. No scratching.

3. No hissing.

By the way, by putting these limits in place, I have been rewarded with the best cat in the world. He knows exactly where his boundaries are, and knows how to behave with people. He's a wonderful pet, and a pleasure to have in my home. I let him out every day, and he comes running back to see me at night. All I have to do is call his name and he comes running. Of course, there's more to it than just the boundaries; I show him a great deal of love (and probably feed him too much), but they are a key building block.

And this was an unprovoked attack on the owner. This cat had never shown aggression prior. She had raised her from a kitten that was born at my house and I fostered.

Truffleshuffle0:

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangoking 

No. This behavior will not be tolerated. The rules are:

 

1. No biting

2. No scratching.

3. No hissing.

 

By the way, by putting these limits in place, I have been rewarded with the best cat in the world. He knows exactly where his boundaries are, and knows how to behave with people. He's a wonderful pet, and a pleasure to have in my home. I let him out every day, and he comes running back to see me at night. All I have to do is call his name and he comes running. Of course, there's more to it than just the boundaries; I show him a great deal of love (and probably feed him too much), but they are a key building block.

Firstly, after you "let him out every day," your unaltered tomcat fathers hundreds of kittens and (by your own admission) fights with other loose cats.  That is sufficient on its own for all of us at TCS to consider that what you have to say about your "rules" and "philosophies" is at best misguided and at worst cruel.  Secondly, the site owner herself visited this thread to let you know that whatever you think about boundaries and rules and discipline, we disagree.  You might take note.  Thirdly, your behavior is sadistic and the fact that your cat hasn't attacked you is a tribute to his forgiving spirit and NOT to your idea of discipline.

Fourthly, you seem not to understand that cat owners at TCS also consider biting, scratching, and hissing intolerable behavior - we are not suggesting that these issues should not be addressed.  HOWEVER, what we are saying is that your method of "teaching" this preemptively - by INVITING your cat to attack you by violating his trust & natural boundaries, and then PUNISHING him for doing so after you provoked him - is cruel and abusive.  I'm getting too angry to continue writing, so I'll just say that I consider you a bully and I hope a moderator is along soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangoking 

 

"Setting limits is one of the most powerful tools that professionals have to promote positive behavior change for their clients, students, residents, patients [pets], etc. Knowing there are limits on their behavior helps the individuals in your charge to feel safe. It also helps them to learn to make appropriate choices." [brackets mine]

http://educate.crisisprevention.com/The-Art-of-Setting-Limits.html?code=ITG041SCWE&src=Pay-Per-Click&gclid=CInGvu2W6a0CFULd4AodrHbz6g

 

 

 

 

 

You realize this quote is 100% useless to you, right? You added the brackets AND the word contained within them, which means you altered what the original quote was talking about. You seem to not realize that everyone here is telling you that you can't dicipline a cat the same way you would dicipline a child (which I hope you're not doing, as your method to provoke until you get a response then punish any bad behavior is sadistic). You sound like you're training marines with the attitude of, "provoke provoke provoke, punish any retaliation." Do you really not see how messed up and just plain wrong that is? If not, go back to teaching your tough public school and leave cat owning to people who are responsible enough to get their intact tom cat neutered and have compassion for animals rather than disdain at how they act.

Everything in that quote that wasn't added by you is focusing on human beings, which means it has absolutely nothing to do with pets.

"Hitler's supremacist and racially motivated policies [along with advice from tangoking] resulted in the systematic murder of eleven million people, including nearly six million Jews." [brackets mine]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler

See, you didn't have anything to do with Hitler, just like cats have nothing to do with the quote you provided.

Quote:

Originally Posted by parsleysage 

Firstly, after you "let him out every day," your unaltered tomcat fathers hundreds of kittens and (by your own admission) fights with other loose cats.  That is sufficient on its own for all of us at TCS to consider that what you have to say about your "rules" and "philosophies" is at best misguided and at worst cruel.  Secondly, the site owner herself visited this thread to let you know that whatever you think about boundaries and rules and discipline, we disagree.  You might take note.  Thirdly, your behavior is sadistic and the fact that your cat hasn't attacked you is a tribute to his forgiving spirit and NOT to your idea of discipline.

 

Fourthly, you seem not to understand that cat owners at TCS also consider biting, scratching, and hissing intolerable behavior - we are not suggesting that these issues should not be addressed.  HOWEVER, what we are saying is that your method of "teaching" this preemptively - by INVITING your cat to attack you by violating his trust & natural boundaries, and then PUNISHING him for doing so after you provoked him - is cruel and abusive.  I'm getting too angry to continue writing, so I'll just say that I consider you a bully and I hope a moderator is along soon.

It seems that you do not understand the difference between abuse and discipline.

This is a lesson in behavior, and the objective is to teach the animal to WALK AWAY. It is unacceptable to bite, scratch, or hiss--even when provoked.

That is not "abuse," "cruelty," or "sadistic."--terms which you throw around with carefree ease. This is loving training from a responsible pet owner that has taken the time to educate the cat in how to behave around humans.

Adoption should be for LIFE.  NEVER punish a cat!!!  You might think about getting in touch with "The Cat Daddy", Jackson Galaxy, who is a well-known cat behaviorist with a show, "MY CAT FROM HELL", on Animal Planet.  You can input his name in your search engine and get information on how to contact him.  He is known to be excellent at resolving issues like yours, precisely because he truly CARES about cats and has done the necessary work to get to know cats from cats' point of view, not humans'.  Please do not consider "getting rid of" Mousy.  Mousy is not an inanimate object or a throwaway.  You wouldn't "get rid of" a child with behavioral issues, or an elder.  Please give Mousy the same consideration and caring.  Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangoking 

This is a lesson in behavior, and the objective is to teach the animal to WALK AWAY. It is unacceptable to bite, scratch, or hiss--even when provoked.

A cat is, essentially, a wild animal, and is governed by instinct - not reason.  You cannot teach a cat not to react when provoked, PERIOD.  Deliberately, knowingly provoking an unwanted behavior, then punishing the cat when it reacts appropriately to being attacked (because let's call it what it is) is cruel.

Edited to add - would you do this to a lion?  If you wouldn't, you shouldn't do it to a house cat.

Truffleshuffle0, love the name by the way... Goonies is one of my favorite movies!!  I know you didn't intend for it to be taken this far... It is not your fault.  Some people just don't see that the way they handle and treat their animals is WRONG.  No amount of trying to show them the light is going to work.  It is best to just ignore it, move on and stick to the problem at hand and the poster. 

Have you had a chance to make an appointment with your vet yet to check her sight and hearing and to get her anxiety meds?  

One of the problems with giving an animal a drug prescribed by a vet is the drug might make the animal feel awful and how would you know how it's feeling.Some people have committed suicide because of drugs they were prescribed that made them feel suicidal. If you don't want the cat howling when you try to go into the bathroom, just keep the door closed so the cat doesn't go into the bathroom. The cats I live with occasionally hiss or swat at me which indicates they don't want to be bothered at the moment. I just wait till later when they feel better. One of the cats used to run from me as a kitten for no reason, but I wouldn't chase him. I figured if he wants to be near me he will approach me. Eventually he started coming near me, and now he usually sits right by my side when I sit on the couch. I think if I had chased after him it would have just made him scared.

The cats that I live with are a great pleasure to me and I feel blessed that they are with me. They often playfully bite me, but sometimes they start to bite too hard so you have to be careful. After a while you get a feel for when they are going to start biting too hard so then you pull your hand away.

Strongly suggest that, if possible, you use an under-the-sink trash receptacle, or a step-on one that your cat cannot access the contents of, for her own safety even more than any other reason.