Help! I have a rebel kitty!

Behavior problems with George are getting increasingly worse. My boyfriend has had it with him (acutally threw him out the other day b/c he wouldn't stop mewing and scratching at the front door), and I'm trying to tolerate it but it's hard. He is constantly getting on the counters and going places he's not supposed to go. We run an eBay business and have other people's items around the apartment he really shouldn't get into. I understand that he is only 4 1/2 months old, but we have been disciplining him regarding these places for 3 of those months to no avail. The squirt bottle doesn't work too well since he is getting used to it and he doesn't really mind water - he likes to jump in the bathtub after I'm done taking a shower. He has also began whining a lot in the past two weeks. I'm thinking this may stop when he gets neutered (2 more weeks to go!) as I've seen him licking himself at times when he has never done that before either. We've bought him tons of toys to keep him busy, have a cat condo, use catnip, and feed him very well. Our other cat came from a shelter when she was 6 months and is nothing like George behaviorally. He has also been attacking and annoying the crap out of her. She has taken to hiding underneath one of our chairs to get away from him! Are there any suggestions on how to handle his behavior problems? Thanks!

I'm not going to be much help sorry

But he sounds like a normal enough kitty to me he is a baby babys like to get into everything and run a muck he may grow out of it he may not but getting mad and throughing him out side were he can get hurt is not going to help the mater

I agree. He sounds like he is acting like a kitten. Some kittens are crazier then others. Can you get him in to be neutered sooner? That might help his desire to go outside. It can be done a lot sooner then 5 or 6 months as some vets say. I have mine done at 8-12 weeks. Try and get him in sooner.

BTW you cannot throw a 4 month old baby outdoors on his own because he is being a kitten. That is not a good thing at all.

He's a kitten, he is acting in a typical fashion and should not be punished because he is just acting by instinct. And at 4.5 months old outside, he is vulnerable to all sorts of dangers and should be kept inside at all times.

Hi.

I have the same problem with my kitty Monty. He will knock over, break, and tear into anything in a package just to see/play with what is inside. You just need to cat-proof your house. You need to find cat proof boxes, cabinets, a closet or close off a room with all of your stuff that you don't want him to get into. This will work until he learns how to turn the door knob, at which point you will need to tape the door as well

As for getting on the counter, I am also working on this one. You need to teach him a word to get off. I taught Monty "down". Usually he responds to this and gets down, when he doesn't I have to show him what I want him to do. Lightly turn his head towards the floor and say "down". Eventually he will get it and jump himself. If you just pick him up and remove him yourself he will not get it.

With Monty, discipline (squirting water, shouting, etc.) never worked, just made him feistier and want to destroy more, but rewards do.

Hope this helps.

I hope he wasn't thrown too hard?!, he's only a baby after all

George is acting like a normal kitten who is thoroughly bored. His whining and attempts to annoy Raven are all symptons of this. You need to spend at least half an hour every evening just playing with him and giving him lots of love and attention - buying him lots of toys is no good because he still hasn't got anyone to play them with him

You also need to kitten proof your house as Furbum suggested. Keeping all your eBay stuff in a room that he can't get into is also a very good idea. If he does manage to sneak past you, rather than shout at him, try coaxing him out by calling him to you. If all else fails, you can tempt him out with treats

If you want to stop him jumping onto work surfaces, you need to be sneaky. Shouting and squirting won't work - he will eventually just associate you to all things bad and then you won't be able to control him at all. If you catch him on a work surface, blow gently on his face - he won't like that and will get off immediately. To stop him from doing it permanently, try putting double sided sticky tape around the areas you don't want him on. He won't like the feel of it on his paws and after a couple of times, he will stop

Kitten training takes time and patience. Try 3 or 4 training sessions each evening. Each session should last no longer than 10 minutes maximum and at the end of each session, make a fuss of him and reward him with a treat

Hope this helps

There is some sticky stuff you can buy to put on your counter. Cats generally don't like to step in it. Otherwise, he is being a kitten and doing exactly what kittens do. There is a huge difference, I think, between kittens who are only 4 months old and kittens who are a few months older. They mellow out as they age. He's really just a baby and will act like one for some time.

First of all, I was wrong in using the word thrown outside. Joe just opened the door and let him go out. I immediately went out to get him, of course.

I willl have to look into that double-sided sticky tape. We live in only a 1 bedroom apartment which is crowded with stuff (we sell over 100 items a month). We're looking for a house, but it's hard to find something we can afford right now. Sometimes he listens when I yell at him or just say his name loudly and give him "the look". I'll try the word "down" instead of "no". He knows his name good enough by now - lol.

Anyway...I do try to spend time at night playing with him and understand he is just a kitten. I guess it's just hard because he is actually bigger than Raven was at 6 mos. (4.8 lbs.) and he is only 4 1/2 mos (over 6.3 lbs.)! He seems to be older. Hopefully he will calm down with age and after the neutering - although I feel bad about that I know it has to be done.


Thank you for your suggestions! Let's hope Joe can be as patient as I.

Cats don't really react very well to punitive training methods because they don't have the innate desire to please their "pack" like dogs do. It would be good to look into the sticky surfaces suggestion.

I also wouldn't use his name each time I'm addressing a misdeed, he might associate his name with punishment. I usually use "No" and wag my finger like you would warn a child, and my cats understand. This worked with Wukong even when he was a little baby, say 2-3 months old. Although I don't know enough about a cat's psyche to tell you why he actually obeys, I can tell you it works

Other than that, he's just being a kitten, try to tolerate him a little more and he'll grow out of it with age.

Ah forgot to mention, don't feel bad about neutering. It's better for them to be neutered as it will minimise certain health problems in the cat.