Disciplining a Cat: To Spray or Not to Spray?

[goldenkitty45]

I feel as long as its working for you, I don't see the harm. If you are not aiming for the head/face and only at the back, then use the method. We use the spray bottle to discourage our cats around the Christmas tree and it works for us.

Some people tell you not to do it for fear of getting water in their ears - that's true, but I don't think it happens that often that its something to ban entirely. We aim for the back end of the cat and are pretty accurate.

Charlie STILL loves his baths and playing in water, but the spray will also work on him. Ling doesn't like baths and it works really good with her.

 

[ckblv]

Originally Posted by kunskitten

Alright, much debate has occured about this amoung my family, and we all really want to do what's best. We have a 13 week-old, maine coon kitten. He's recently come home to us and is very sweet and loving.

Now, there are some places I don't want him to go, and some things I don't want him to deal with, mostly for his safety. I don't want him to be on the kitchen counters or kitchen table, where we eat/prepare food. Nor do I want him on the piano keys or my drafting table, because it's a nice piano or he'll risk getting paint on him.

We began by discouraging him to go to these places, preventing him from going there or picking him up and moving him away. Eventually we'll spray him once with a light mist from a spray bottle from far away. One spray and he never goes back.

One side of the arguement is this will make him fearful and hurt his personality.

What do all recommend? What's been your experience and your takes on these things?

You do realize that while you may teach your kitty not to do these things while you are there, he will do these things while you are gone or while you aren't looking, in another room or whatever.

If it was me, I would live with the kitty on the piano keys, my cat is more important to me then walking on a piano, but that is me, not everyone thinks like me.

My 15 year old cat still gets on the kitchen counter, when no one is looking, although not as much as she is getting old. It really doesn't bother me much. Good luck

 

[sweetkara]

Originally Posted by ckblv

You do realize that while you may teach your kitty not to do these things while you are there, he will do these things while you are gone or while you aren't looking, in another room or whatever.

If it was me, I would live with the kitty on the piano keys, my cat is more important to me then walking on a piano, but that is me, not everyone thinks like me.

My 15 year old cat still gets on the kitchen counter, when no one is looking, although not as much as she is getting old. It really doesn't bother me much. Good luck

I feel the same way-- my cats go everywhere in my apartment. I could spray them but that will just teach them to avoid me and/or the spray bottle. As soon as I leave, they will jump on what they want anyways.

I wipe off my countertops before cooking whether a cat has walked on it or not.

 

[coaster]

Originally Posted by SweetKara

I wipe off my countertops before cooking whether a cat has walked on it or not.

When I read this I thought, "how can you tell?" Then I remembered reading about someone who put flour on the countertops to see if her cats had walked on them.

 

[jaws808]

There are pros and cons to using a spray bottle as I see it. On one hand it doesn't hurt your cat and can be used to quickly stop them from doing something bad. One of my two cats needs the occasional squirt but unfortunately he's the bigger faster stronger and younger of the two, and it seems to just get him excited and he starts going nuts... He thinks we're playing.. :-/

My girlfriends cat likes to get on the counter to try to eat our food at her place. If you grab the spray bottle she shrinks away and meows in the most sad, pitiful way, but all the while she's still going for that plate. She'll literally take a bite while being sprayed at close range.

There's also the risk of missing your target and hitting something else.