I feel like I'm constantly yelling at my kitties. :-(

[gayef]

I realize there are a lot of people on these Forums who don't mind using a spray bottle, but as does Hissy, I find it to be mean-spirited. Using redirection takes less time for your cat to get used to than does the sprayer and is less likely to cause fear, intimidation and possibly health issues in your cat. When your cat is behaving inappropriately, use a toy (I like those little fur mousies a lot. I can hurl one across the room and my cats stop whatever they are doing and chase it down to fetch it back to me so I can throw it again ... and again ... and again LOL) to divert kitty's attention away from the inappropriate behavior. This has worked very, very well for me and believe me, when there is a litter of 5 or more running up and down my legs all day, I had to find something that worked well and quickly!

Best of luck,

~gf~

 

[anne g]

Diverting attentions is my advice too, or blow them softly in the face. Spraying with water may be effective, but not recommendable. Just think - if you will have to bathe or shower the kitten, you do not want it to run away from water, do you?

Anyway, kittens do what kittens always do, that is part of their charm. Diverting them when they do something "wrong" will work in the long run. Hold their front paws gently and say "No, we do not want to do that, do we?" and carry them over to the proper scratching post. But never pet them on the way! They might think they are rewarded for scratching on your carpet or furniture.

Other things like climbing the curtains etc will stop when they get heavier and older. In the meantime, just enjoy you kittens!

 

[millyanddaisy]

Some people think that cats cannot be trained - I think they can! After all, most soon learn the word 'teatime' don't they? So they can also learn words like 'get down' or 'stop that' - it just takes time, lots of time! For instance, if you don't want them on the table while you're eating: every time they get on the table, you pick them up gently, say 'get down' clearly but calmly, put the cat on the floor, then carry on eating. Do this as many times as necessary until you have finished. Don't forget the incentive rewards either - if they keep off the table, save them a tiny scrap of something good from your plate. The same method works for horses, dogs and children (in my opinion) - it's just requests, repetition & rewards. But it does take longer with cats...


Sue