Problem-child cat.... help? :D

[jalindal]

Here's a really good section of texts on our very own Cat Site:

Snips

Here's a site I go to sometimes- there's lots of really good articles linked here.

About Cats

Amazon and sites like The Book Depository all have sections on pet literature.. and if you look at reviews generally you can get an idea of what the book is about.

I have a copy of "The Complete Encyclopaedia of Pet Health" at home that I reference pretty regularly. Sorry, I can't find it just now. XD My house is in a state of chaos, but it's a pretty good one. Very thorough.

In terms of sleeping in- Mackerel used to leave me alone in the mornings, pretty regularly. I never fed her right when I got up, so she didn't associate that with food.

There are actually food bowls which let you specify a time for the food to be turned out - they work around a rotating bowl that turns on a timer. If she's very insistent on getting that early morning feed maybe you could time the bowl to expose some food automatically... maybe that will help by both feeding her and by you not having anything to do with her early morning feed... as far as she knows.

Please don't let Kittica roam freely outside.

Otto already mentioned this, but you really don't know anything about what happens out there to her. I lost my cat Mackerel early this month to FIP, and it's very likely that if I hadn't been forced to let her outside (my ex-housemate, basically, was determined to let her cat out and too stupid to keep my cat inside.) then she'd still be here with me today.

She was only two and a half.

Cats can be perfectly happy and extremely healthy when they're inside only. It means a little bit more attention from you, and maybe the investment in some toys and things to occupy and entertain her while you're not there... but when it means knowing that she's safe and healthy I'm sure you're happy to do that for her.

One cute little trick I did with Mackerel when my ex-housemate moved out and I could keep her inside again (not soon enough.

unfortunately.) was to hide little treats around the house before I left for uni or work. She loved Greenies, so what I'd do was to get a small handful (five or six) and secret them around the house in places she'd have to hunt for them - between the couch cushions, on the third level of her cat tree, under my bed, inside one of the shelves in the wine rack... No idea how long it took her to find them, but they were always gone when I got home

. I also did things like hang mice from the backs of chairs and give her LOADS of little mice to play with- she adored the tiny mice with rattly things inside, and she'd spend hours batting them around the floor and (deliberately, I swear!) hitting them under things (bed, chest of drawers, fridge) and then fishing them out by lying on her side and sticking her paw underneath. The last time I cleaned underneath the fridge out I found 17 of her little plastic mice under there.

I hope that helps you a bit.

Rest assured, though, you've found the best resource for helping your cat that you could ever need. The Cat Site is full of members who love cats, educate themselves about cats, and really want to educate YOU about cats as well!

Please feel free to ask questions- everyone's lovely here and more than happy to help.

And rest assured, every question you ask, there's probably two or three people who appreciate the answers you get as well and can either use the information or file it away for future use!

 

[kittica]

That's horrible what happened to Mackerel; I'm so sorry!

Thank you for all the advice, it's greatly appreciated.

I'll be looking into getting some good literature as soon as I figure it out - I've been reading reviews, as well as browsing stuff at Barnes and Noble and the like, but so far I've not found anything. This site and forum have given me the best info so far.

 

[jalindal]

This site is pretty awesome. XD

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by Kittica

She wants, actually demands company and attention. She sleeps with us. She waits at the door when we're coming home. She comes, for the most part, when you call her name. I am at a loss when it comes to tending to her needs.

she'll do anything she can to steal that food, no matter how hard you try to prevent her from getting even close. She doesn't like it, but she'll grin and bear when you point a spray bottle towards her. She'll sneak to your plate, pretend she's not interested and then, all of a sudden, she'll grab something and run away with her prey.
she wakes up at least an hour before my alarm clock is set to go off. Then I have to follow her to the kitchen and - feed her. This happens at 4 or 5 in the morning and she only gets a snack (which I deduct from her daily amount of food.

What I keep wondering about is - what can one do about these night/early morning activities? I have been insanely tired for four months now and I am dying to figure out how to get her to leave me alone

Are all cats like this?.

I am sorry to tell you this but she sounds normal, especially for her age. I have one like her, an adult, not a young cat though. We call her a gremlin. We love her very much but she is a huge handful and has been for years. We feed her before we go to sleep at night. Buy lots of toys and cat trees. Use a laser pointer. Wear her out. Some of this might be age with yours. There is a machine at most pet places that will dispense food for you. I know someone who has this and their cat bugs the heck out of the machine instead of them. Worth a try

 

[kittica]

Since I've been listing things she does and does not like...

She doesn't care for laser pointers at all. The first time we brought it, she got interested for a few seconds. Chased it. Caught it. Nothing happened, so she gave up.

Second time she followed it with her eyes.

Third time, she came to me and tried to take the actual laser pen from my hands. And then, this is what's been happening since, if we even remember to try to get her to chase those dots. So much for that. I guess she's too smart.

 

[white cat lover]

Another thing, if nothing else will work, is an automated feeder. I know someone who has a 5am breakfast cat. She gets home from work at midnight, this is very not-convenient to her sleep schedule.

She sets a pre-measured portion into the automatic feeder & sets it to drop the dry food 5am. She sleeps, kitty eats - then kitty comes back to cuddle.

 

[kittica]

Slept through another night.

I can't believe that 1/8 or less of a cup of kibble could do this to a cat!

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Kittica

Slept through another night.

I can't believe that 1/8 or less of a cup of kibble could do this to a cat!

YAY!

So she really was genuinely hungry. 1/8 cup may not sound like a lot to a human, but for a cat who only eats 1/2 cup of food a day it is a lot!

 

[kittica]

So am I now feeding her too much? Or have I been since the beginning? Since she's new and young, I'd really hate to make her overweight or anything.

Now it all sums up to one 3oz can and a little bit under 1/2 cup of dry a day. It's all now split into four servings.

 

[cococat]

My cat needed more food when young like yours than now to maintain the same weight.
That doesn't count stolen and/or opportunistic foods that don't belong to her

 

[kittica]

She gets a cat treat here and there, but otherwise we give her nothing.

Sometimes she'll come out of nowhere and steal a piece of bread, but we usually fight over it and I win.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Kittica

So am I now feeding her too much? Or have I been since the beginning? Since she's new and young, I'd really hate to make her overweight or anything.

Now it all sums up to one 3oz can and a little bit under 1/2 cup of dry a day. It's all now split into four servings.

Oh no, that's not what I meant. I was just commenting on you marveling that 1/8 cup could make such a difference.

At one year old she is most likely still growing, not to mention her energy/activity level is high and she needs more than she will need as an adult.

3 oz of wet and a little less than 1/2 cup a day does not sound like too much for a one year old kitty.

 

[kittica]

Thanks again!

 

[jalindal]

Lots of cats have different requirements for food - I would keep an eye on your kitten's weight and judge accordingly. If she seems to be putting on weight then cut down the food you give her.

It sounds to me like you're feeding her about the right amount- but like you saw before, some cats need more food, less food... etc.

 

[kittica]

Last night, I seem to have been out of luck. Was supposed to sleep in until 8, but she started her show around 6. I didn't get up or give her anything, so if she persists, I hope it will eventually teach her something. She did get her small midnight snack, though.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Kittica

Last night, I seem to have been out of luck. Was supposed to sleep in until 8, but she started her show around 6. I didn't get up or give her anything, so if she persists, I hope it will eventually teach her something. She did get her small midnight snack, though.

One thing to remember....don't feed her, ever, as soon as you get out of bed. Don't give her any attention at all for the first half hour or so after you get up in the morning.

This will teach her to NOT associate you getting out of bed with good times for Kittica.

 

[auntie crazy]

Hiya, Kittica! Congrats on your new family member and welcome to TCS!

I have six cats, not one of which will wake me for petting or for food.

The food part was easy (for me). I am a late riser and not in the greatest of moods first thing in the morning, so I determined before I ever got a cat that there would be no association between my crawling out of bed and the cat(s) getting fed. So, I do not and have never fed the cats within a half-hour of waking and, almost 100% of the time, not until after I've had my shower. Today, the cats associate my showering with eating and I often have several of them decorating the bathroom counters, towel shelves, etc. when I pull back the shower curtain. That's a whole lot easier - and more humorous - than being woken early. *grin*

This will probably be a bit difficult for you, since your kitty is already accustomed to eating immediately after you wake, but in that case, you might find my "don't wake me for attention" training of interest.

Training them not to rouse me for a petting session was a little more difficult, but boiled down to treating them like I was an angry momma kitty every time they woke me, including hissing and growling at them. Spencer was my most persistent cat, but finally stopped after I hissed and literally snapped at him one very late night/early morning.

I kept telling myself "think like a cat / talk like a cat" don't yell, don't swat, just hiss, etc. I only vaguely remember the final incident, but he'd roused me yet again with a single claw to my lower lip (gah!, that hurt!) and I actually awoke with an angry hiss and a lunge / snap in his general direction. I think my snap snicked the air about an inch from his face.

He no longer wakes me up in the middle of the night.

So it is possible to retrain cats, it just takes a whole bunch of persistence and, sometimes, some odd behavior.

Good luck!

AC

 

[kittica]

Unfortunately, with how my work schedule, as well as other things are set up, I really have to feed her when I get up, or else she might end up staying hungry until the evening. I mostly do get home for my lunch breaks, but I can't really count on it.

Same with my husband, he just may or may not be there. So I guess I'll have to deal with the morning meal somehow.

It was okay for two mornings so we'll see if we'll go back there. I sure hope we will!

 

[kittica]

Update: still sleeping at night and not waking up before my alarm clock goes off!

 

[sweetz]

Hi Kittica!! My cat Sadie used to do something like that. I got her when she was around 9 or 10 weeks old and I was able to get her into a good routine somehow (altho now that routine is long gone lol). She would come into bed at 9 at night, run around my bed, claw my toes and play until I shut the TV off at 11, then she'd curl up and go to sleep on my pillow. The second she heard my alarm, she would wake up. She would get up and go to the door of my room to be let out. Now I set my alarm to go off 15 minutes before I actually have to get outta bed because I like to hit the snooze button, she would not let that happen lol. She would come up to me and nibble on my forehead until I got outta bed. She would do this whether or not my alarm was set correctly or not, at the time I get up she would be nibbling my head, which actually helped if I forgot to set the alarm, now it's ALL night she meows in my ear to get back under the covers to cuddle.