Kitty rules.....

I was wondering what kind of 'kitty rules' you all have for your fur children.
Mine are short and simple.......
1) No fighting! - (we now have 6 indoor children)
2) Stay off the kitchen counters and table!

:tounge2:

Our rules are no scratching chairs, no getting on Daddy's desk, no getting on counters, no rough playing and no opening cabinet doors.
There are probably more but these are the big ones.

For my 2 they are:
-no getting on the counters or tables,
-no hurting each other,
-no hurting me,
-no clawing the rugs,
-catterwalling at night.

I also hate when they beg. I struggle to keep myself from overfeeding them. They have plenty of food, so I really hate it when they meow at me when I am preparing my meals.

Rules?!? There are rules?

Yeah, here are the ones in my house, and I didn't author these:

I am allowed to nest in your hair until it's a tangled mess for a minimum of 10 minutes at bedtime, and subsequently whenever I please in the middle of the night.

If I am out on the porch and the sliding door is open for me, I will demand to be let in the other door, and you will get up and open it.

I will nap in your favorite chair whenever it suits me.

I will sit on any piece of reading material you pick up.

I insist on helping when you are paying bills.

Ditto for making the bed.

I demand that the bathroom sink be turned on a trickle whenever I am feeling in the mood for some fresh "mountain stream" water.

I will amuse myself by hopping in the fridge whenever the door opens.

If I am on the porch, and you need to exit the house, I will not come when called or be ready to come in until I am certain that you are late.

Those are a few of the major rules around here.

Muffy has no rules! I'm so tired of enforcing rules with the kids, that I let the cat slack off. Of course it helps that she's a wonderful cat and doesn't get into trouble. She doesn't scratch the furniture or get on the counters. So what if she naps on the kitchen table. That's what they invented 409 for, right?

Dawn:

That's what Proctor and Gamble would have you believe, at any rate.

Mine pretty much stay off the counters, although Joey has to have his nose in everything, so he's been known to venture onto the stove, even when there is cooking going on. I have been since forced into eating out 3x per day for the remainder of my life.

When I moved into this house a couple of months ago, Squirt made camp on the kitchen counter for 15 straight hours while he was stressing and angry that his routine had been disrupted.

Deb25, you had me rolling on the floor.

How true is that?!?! Lily and Molly set their own rules for me,
and I follow them as best I can.

I too don't set any rules for my girls. They know between right and wrong, (for the most part). Life is too short for rules :LOL:

Here's a typical attempt at cat discipline in my house:

Me: You know you're not supposed to be doing that!

Them: (look halfway between disgusted and amused) Certainly you're not referring to me!

Then they lay around reading their subscriptions to "Ancient Egypt: How to achieve god/goddess status in the modern age".

No biting daddy's feet at night when he's trying to sleep.

No chewing on the electrical cords under daddy's desk.

No climbing on the bathroom counter.

No playing with anything small and plastic.. or plastic bags.

Other than that.. I think thats it... they pretty much stay off counters and such.. except for in the bathroom.



-Cassie

Originally posted by Deb25
Here's a typical attempt at cat discipline in my house:

Me: You know you're not supposed to be doing that!

Them: (look halfway between disgusted and amused) Certainly you're not referring to me!

Then they lay around reading their subscriptions to "Ancient Egypt: How to achieve god/goddess status in the modern age".

Click to expand...

OK - Now I know that this is the way it REALLY is! I should have known better. hehehehehe:tounge2:

Cat Rules: (St. Louis Style)

Never forget that there are 6 of us and 4 of you

If you forget; we have the right to remind you. (these reminders may be in the form of fallen ceiling tiles in the kitchen, No leaves left on seedlings just starting to gain strength on the back porch, which you "securely locked" last time you checked; that you were hoping to plant in garden later. Overturned litter box. Cats in pet food cabinet(even though cabinet was securely taped shut. . . . ) and large hole chewed in dry cat food which has been strewn throughout kitchen.)

We will decide to let you know one of us is shut in bedroom with you in the middle of the nite by jumping squarely on your chest and scaring the Holy S--t out of you. All attempts to find and eject the interloper will fail.

Since we are not allowed outdoors; all fake plants(including "fiber optic lighted" ones) will be chewed to the nubs.

Foil Ball is played on our terms: cats do NOT fetch!!! (you throw it, you go get it. . .you throw it, you go get it. . .you throw it, you go get it. . . etc. infinitum. . :laughing2)


This list is subject to amendments when and where needed.

Muddy Rivers
Handsome Boyo
Squeaker
Smokey Josephina (thinks she is a Ballerina inky: )
Bookey
MoMo (that Monster Boy)

3LK:

Love the whole thing, baby! The catch routine in my house goes the same route. Log me as out of breath from laughing, and know that you earned your wings today. Between this, the smoke and mirrors, and the BBQ, I have worked through a box of Kleenex.

The girls and I played the Cat Food Bag Game just yesterday!

I came home from the store with 4 bags of groceries and a bag of kitty chow. Not an easy feat on foot (no pun intended).

Before I could put the perishables away, I heard a tearing noise, looked down and the 2 of them were double teaming the bag...and had ripped 2 holes in it, one at each end, spewing kitten chow all over the kitchen floor!

I could understand this if there bowls were empty (nope, full) or if it was a new kind of food (nope, same old stuff), maybe they were just trying to save me the work of opening the bag? :laughing2:

Cleo

TLK - You win the prize! :egypt:
I have to go and change my pants now!

Been trying to stop laughing long enough to type..

My kitties have all those rules for me plus a few more:

Eat new kitty food with gusto till mom buys a case or large bag, then dump bowls and cover them with throw rug thats nearby.

Wake mom in morning nose to nose to see her jump a foot upward.

We get to go in and outside all day but mom makes us come in at dark (which is about l0:00 p.m. here in the north) so we stare at her when she calls us in then wait till she gets right to us to pick us up, then run across the yard and repeat this till she calls dad and he chases one of us down and she the other. Our neigbors are starting to sell tickets and popcorn.

We totally ignore the food mom sets out for the strays until one of them comes over to eat. Then we do our halloween dance (stance of back up, hopping sideways) till stray kitty leaves. Then we take a bite of food to show mom we really were hungry and not just selfish....right!! (stray kitties eat all of food during the night after we go in)

We have lots more rules for mom but enough for now...

gap - i can totally picture that scene of covering up the bowls after the arrival of the new food. Mine have done that to me -

The neighbors could probably make a fortune selling the tickets to the kitty chase!

Out of curiosity, Has anyone read or do you have a copy of The Rules For Cats Who Have a Household to Run?

Hope we can find the book.

The thing about kitty rules is that everyone who loves cats has experienced these common behaviors. It's so great to talk to people who understand how wonderful these little creatures are.

That's why I like this site so much.

My 2 have different rules regarding eating.

Joey's is: Never let me pass the food dish without having at least a nibble.

Squirt's is: Don't come near me, call me, or even think about me if I'm at the food dish. I must have complete isolation. Just pretend I don't exist at these times.