Posted on 03/15/2005 9:25:15 PM PST by AQGeiger
I am wondering if some of the more animal-knowledgeable folks on FR know of ways to discipline cats. My normally very loving kitty has murdered my fish. And I think she ate him as well...I haven't found a body.
My cat is my first real pet, so I don't know if there's a way to train cats so they know not to do something. I already threw a handful of water in her face as soon as I found the crime scene. Any helpful information would be very appreciated.
Now that I've got that little bit of moral-ism out of my system, here's what I've found to be effective. First, you have to catch them while they are performing the proscribed behavior. No punishment after the fact will be associated with the bad behavior. This is one area where cats are not as intelligent as dogs. :-) Corrective measures carried out after the fact will only be perceived by the cat as an assault. They don't make associations that way. The squirt gun technique works well, IF you catch the cat by the fish bowl. A jar of pennies shaken loudly works, too. If you find yourself unprepared with a squirt gun or other implement, hiss loudly and aggressively and stamp your foot at the cat. That communicates to the cat your displeasure in a language all cat's understand.
Thanks, that was very helpful. I was just trying to be humorous with the whole "murder" thing.
That is so-o-o-o-o not funny.
"It was just a little strange, since she hadn't seemed to mind the fish before."
George W. can fool you once But can he fool you twice? He was just being a cat. Which is exactly why we love our cats.:) My advice is move the fish bowl. By the way is George W. a male or female cat?
Oops. The fish was George W.
I guess that depends on the cat, mine would kill Me in My sleep for the squirt bottle trick. Better to put a lid on the fish tank.
Never walk past My refrigerator without looking, if Dinky is up there, he is playing his puma pouncing on the deer game, and guess who gets to play the deer. Damned cat has watched too many PBS nature programs. I should have let him watch Sesame Street.
Yeah, George W. was the fish. The cat's name is Granny. It's an odd name for a cat who's only about 2 years old, but I ran across her as a stray once when I was visiting my mother, and I named her after my grandmother so that my mom would feel bad about not taking her in. She moved in with me after she got fixed.
Cover the aquarium (with light hood). Put it in a room with a door. Keep door closed to keep out cat.
Some cats, especially females, just like to kill, even when they're well fed.
I've got two pet birds, and a stray female cat. She was killing wild birds for food before I took her in. So far (2 years) I've had good luck by keeping the birds in a room with a closed door. She doesn't seem to know/care they're there. She still has the killing instinct though - she's a great mouser.
Cat whisperer.
Did I mention earlier that if squirt guns, rattle cans and hissing don't work, you can make a dandy pair mittens out of a good sized cat?
Having had a cat for a little more than a year now, I can confidently say that there is nothing you can do.
Wasn't murder, it was a fish! You cat was doing what God taught it to do.
When you call a cat..well, actually you don't call a cat. You leave it a message and it get's back to you..
Seriously though..I have had multiple cats with multiple sized fish tanks (from 10 gallon all the way up to 150 gallon). You have a CAT AND A FISH! What do you think the cat is going to do? If you want to keep a fish (not sure of your setup)with cats around, buy custom glass lids. I purchased mine relatively cheap. My glass covers covered the entire lid and had holes in them so I could run my air lines in (That was on my 75 and 150 gallon). If you have a lil old fish globe, I would suggest a new "globe" with a prominent lip so you can put a discreet screen on top and twisty tie it securely under the lip (oh, and don't leave the globe on a shelf or anything..suspend it in one of those "nets"..Or else your next fish is gonna suffocate. ..
Good luck...
*** Damned cat has watched too many PBS nature programs. I should have let him watch Sesame Street.***
My cat, Blueberry, has suddenly started to watch re-runs of Gunsmoke. She gets very upset if you change the channel. Does that mean I'm in danger?
"My cat, Blueberry, has suddenly started to watch re-runs of Gunsmoke. She gets very upset if you change the channel."
She must think that "Miss Kitty" refers to her!
IMO there are two things irresistable to a cat. Live fish and chicken in any state. I have always trained my kitties NEVER to jump on tables, counters stoves, refrigerators etc....But alas they were willing to risk dying a horrible death for a crummy piece of chicken left out on the counter. We learned to respect each others boundaries.
The former cat-of-the-house, Bob-noxious, would do a stretch-yawn thing against the kitchen cabinets while I would be making dinner. And by a putting a paw over the edge (innocently, of course), he just might snag a bit of whatever I was getting ready.
It was onion on the second to last time, and then jalapenos for the final time he tried this.
In addition to being quick on the draw with a squirting implement, two-sized sticky tape is a MUST for teaching your cat where you don't want it to go. You and your squirt bottle aren't always around - the tape is.
Ah, that's "two-SIDED sticky tape", sorry.
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