Posted on 12/01/2015 8:04:21 AM PST by Vigilanteman
Freepers are such good sources of information (with an ocassional goofball mixed in) that I thought I'd reach out to get a little additional advice.
Recently, my daughter got a major job promotion which includes a transfer to Japan. One problem with the transfer is that they couldn't take their cat whom my son-in-law, she and our two young grandsons adore.
So we offered to take her for the duration of the assignment, probably about one year. She is a wonderful cat, sweet with the boys (doesn't bite or scratch when they get rough with her, just walks away and hides for awhile) and getting accustomed to us. After pouting and hiding for most of the first day with us, she has picked my Mrs. as her favorite person and sleeps at her feet.
We believe she is a Chartreaux cross as the description at the link fits her nearly perfectly, but she is not a purebred as our daughter adopted her from one of those pet store rescue programs, which is not a logical place for a purebred Chartreaux. She is spayed but not declawed; they advise against it for an adult cat as it cause arthritis later in life.
She is clean, litter box trained and very low maintaninence except for wanting to play laser tag and get petted which we all enjoy even if her timing isn't always best.
Only complaint is that we can't seem to get her interested in her scratching pad. She prefers the carpet or, worse yet, one of our reclining chairs. She does stop when we yell at her but, of course, often goes off to pout for awhile. Other than two active little boys who play rough with her at times, we have tried to duplicate her environment at home as nearly as possible, right down to the cat tower, scratching pad and design of the litter box.
There is a spray product called Boundary that makes the area smell bad to cats so they don’t want to be there. We put it on a towel and put the towel on the chair that one of our cats liked to tear up. Try some of that and see how it works.
Also, try a little incentive on the scratcher — some catnip that she has to dig for or something of that ilk.
On the other hand, I have had declawed cats and none has shown any indications of arthritis even at the advanced age of 15.
[Keep her claws trimmed,]
When I had a cat, I attached fine sandpaper to a thin board that fit the bottom of her litter box, added the litter on top of it and she trimmed her own nails.
Worked great.
Or just sense.
peppermint
Tastes like chicken!
When a friend of mine transferred to Japan, they thought their cat ran away when the packers were there.
Instead, they found out when they returned to the US a few years later that the cat had crawled into a box that was in long term storage.
Oops.
PS to my post.
[she trimmed her own nails]... when she scratched the bottom of her litter box to cover her ‘business’ with litter.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3297923/Cats-neurotic-probably-trying-work-kill-say-researchers.html
“...prefers the door jambs.”
LOL. I had a cat that clawed the door jamb.
Hubby repaired it for me.
He cut out the clawed portion of the old one and affixed it to an upright 2X4 and nailed it to a stand—voila! Kitty had her very own scratching post, which she’d already broken in. And I had a brand new door jamb.
Where do you think kitty scratched after that?
The newly repaired door jamb, of course. She wanted nothing to do with the old one.
That’s just meaness. :0)
Peppermint is in the same family as catnip. Are you sure?
Making the scratching post more attractive by putting some catnip on it can also work but not all cats are attracted to it and in some cats, it makes them go a bit crazy for a time or even in some, they become can become very aggressive while "high" on the catnip.
Positive reinforcement like giving her a treat as soon as she's scratched on the scratching pad is also good.
Also the squirt bottle, but keep in mind that this only works if you catch them in the act. I've also used a coffee can with some pennies inside - when they are scratching on something they shouldn't be, rattle the can - they hate the loud noise, but again that only works if you catch her in the act and balanced by positive reinforcement for scratching on what she should.
Keep in mind that scratching on furniture and also rubbing their heads against you and against other objects in your house is their way of marking their territory (they have sent glands in the paws and on their face) and her territory is new to her so she might feel like she has to mark it as her own. And also understand that scratching is a way of dealing with overgrown claws, so keep them trimmed and also understand that scratching sometimes can be their way of dealing with, relieving stress.
You made mention of your boys playing "rough" with her at times.
A word of caution here - cats are predators by nature and playing rough with them, although some seem to enjoy it, rough play can also over stimulate them and cause them to become overly aggressive and even more territorial. In my experience, cats like catch and release games but not getting teased. They have to eventually win. As someone else mentioned, if you play games with your cat, be it with a laser or any other type of toy, the cat must come out as the winner and get to catch their prey and with a reward at the end.
You also have to find the type of scratching post or pad she likes. I've had many cats over the years and some don't like the sissel type or the cardboard type but IMO, the carpeted type unless it is of an outdoor type carpet and not at all like what you have on your floors, it only encourages them to scratch on the carpets - sort of like giving a dog an old shoe to chew on and then being surprised when the dog chews up your brand new pair of shoes - like the dog really knows the difference between the 20 year old shoes you're just about to put in the dumpster or in the Goodwill box and the $300 pair of Nikes you just bought.
Boiling oil. I’ll let you work out the procedure. ;-)
Adopt a shelter cat!
I've had good luck with *Cosmic Catnip*
go get all your fingers cut off to the first joint and see how you like it. it’s selfish and self serving to cut a cats claws off.
It’s actually nothing like that, but don’t let a little thing like the truth get in the way of your hyperbole.
Don't have the cat de-clawed. I've read of cats bleeding excessively from that. Trim the claws regularly. Mine, at least, submit to the trimming procedure without any protest. Just gently take their legs, one at a time, press on the paws to extend the claws, and use a trimmer made for the purpose.
I also recommend brushing them daily. Every hair you brush off is one that won't have to be swept up later.
Hope you enjoy your cat. I'm really fond of mine.
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