Correcting Cats - Riley's a bad kitty.

On my table is a nice Christmas arrangement with potpourri and glass bulbs. Riley delights in swiping the bulbs off the table and watching them shatter on the tile floor. Usually he does it when he is wound up in the early hours, so I can't catch him.
But today, he did it right in front of me. He eyed the bright sphere and with one motion, it was a shattered pile of glass. I grabbed Riley and said, "Baaad Riley." And I picked him up and set him on my bed and closed the door. Then after ten minutes I went to get him and he seemed unruffled. My question is, did he even recognize that as a reprimand? How does one communicate to cats that one is displeased? I've noticed they don't respond to voice well at all, so I can't just say "NO!" as I do to my dog. How should I tell Riley not to smash bulbs?

They really have short attention spans and those balls look like his play toys so how is he to know? Try spraying the centerpiece with a lemon scented air freshener, or take some orange rinds and boil them up, add a bit of rubbing alcohol to the water not much, and then spray the centerpiece with that. It should keep him off it. Or go to the computer store and buy a small computer mat, bring it home and cut it into a nice circle and put that under the centerpiece prongs up.

I really don't have anything expensive up on display for this reason.

I've lost count on how many times my two have knocked over a vase or a plant pot, even when they just walk past it casually, so now i just get cheap ones to be replaced.

I read this & chuckled. You see those little sparkly balls are hard for a kitty to resist. This is why I have no Christmas decorations. I don't have anyone over for Christmas so there's really no need for me to decorate. Try Hissy's ideas & try to remember he's not trying to be bad he's just being a kitty. Cat's are harder to train because unlike dogs they don't have the desire to please.

To a cat, there is no difference between the balls on the table and the balls that are his toys. Hissy's suggestions are good ones, but bear in mind that Riley is not a bad cat! He is just doing what cats do. Cats and breakable ornaments don't always get along.

I tried the prongs up thing and my kitty learned to walk in between the prongs. crumpled aluminum foil works better for my kitten.

Originally Posted by Rang_27

I read this & chuckled. You see those little sparkly balls are hard for a kitty to resist. This is why I have no Christmas decorations. I don't have anyone over for Christmas so there's really no need for me to decorate. Try Hissy's ideas & try to remember he's not trying to be bad he's just being a kitty. Cat's are harder to train because unlike dogs they don't have the desire to please.

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my secret santa at work gave me a little ornament that's a red jingly bell, about 1 inch in diameter, with a frosted crystal looking kitty on top...fortunately the kitty was plastic, not crystal. i put it on a little table...that night, i could hear the jingle bell!

sssscat works well. keeps Abi out of the dining room.

If they don't respond to "no", try a sharp hiss at them - I do it with a sharp intake of breath and that usually gets their attention pretty fast.

And no, I don't decorate also - too many cats and too much temptation!