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Need Some Help with Kitty Discipline
March 16, 2005 | AQG

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.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: catdiscipline; murderingkitty
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To: AQGeiger
First of all, a fish may never be "murdered."

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.

21 posted on 03/15/2005 9:59:22 PM PST by Sparticus
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To: Sparticus

Thanks, that was very helpful. I was just trying to be humorous with the whole "murder" thing.


22 posted on 03/15/2005 10:01:08 PM PST by AQGeiger (Have you hugged your soldier today?)
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To: stylin19a

That is so-o-o-o-o not funny.


23 posted on 03/15/2005 10:01:08 PM PST by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute.)
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To: AQGeiger


"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?


24 posted on 03/15/2005 10:03:27 PM PST by Bellflower (A new day is Coming!)
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To: Bellflower


Oops. The fish was George W.


25 posted on 03/15/2005 10:05:00 PM PST by Bellflower (A new day is Coming!)
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To: VisualizeSmallerGovernment

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.


26 posted on 03/15/2005 10:05:37 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER ( suspect)
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To: Bellflower

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.


27 posted on 03/15/2005 10:08:15 PM PST by AQGeiger (Have you hugged your soldier today?)
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To: AQGeiger

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.


28 posted on 03/15/2005 10:10:02 PM PST by LibFreeOrDie (How do you spell dynasty? P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S!)
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To: Sparticus
That communicates to the cat your displeasure in a language all cat's understand.

Cat whisperer.

29 posted on 03/15/2005 10:10:23 PM PST by Drango (All my ideas, good or bad, are stolen from other FReepers)
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To: Drango
Oh, man that hurts!!

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?

30 posted on 03/15/2005 10:15:50 PM PST by Sparticus
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To: AQGeiger

Having had a cat for a little more than a year now, I can confidently say that there is nothing you can do.


31 posted on 03/15/2005 10:23:58 PM PST by SoDak (hoist that rag!)
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To: AQGeiger
My normally very loving kitty has murdered my fish.

Wasn't murder, it was a fish! You cat was doing what God taught it to do.

32 posted on 03/15/2005 10:33:57 PM PST by Mike Darancette (MESOCONS FOR RICE '08)
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To: AQGeiger
When you call a dog, it will come runnin' and droolin' ans sloberin' for yet another chance to do anything with you.

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...

33 posted on 03/15/2005 10:34:48 PM PST by Michael Barnes
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

*** 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?


34 posted on 03/15/2005 11:41:00 PM PST by kitkat
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To: kitkat

"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!


35 posted on 03/15/2005 11:45:09 PM PST by LibFreeOrDie (How do you spell dynasty? P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S!)
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To: AQGeiger; VisualizeSmallerGovernment; Sparticus
First of all, condolences on your fish. I bought a beautiful red fish (don't know what kind it was, but it was pretty) once, and before I could get it into the aquarium, my baby daughter started to cry.

I went to check on the baby and left the plastic bag on the kitchen counter. Never thought about the cat. When I went back into the kitchen, my cat looked up at me with a look of great pride and she had that fish dangling out of her mouth, still wiggling.

It freaked me out, but my (ex)husband made me let her eat it. He said she worked for it, so she should have it. I couldn't watch.

Anyway, visualize and sparticus gave you good advice.

I used a super squirter water gun along with a loud deep "no", to train the cat I have now. (BTW, the cat's name is George W.) He was thinking he should eat the birds. The water gun worked great and it only took a day or so and it was fun for me. (Is that bad?) Now, I only have say no, when he does ANYTHING wrong.

Now he just looks at the birds and they sing pretty songs for him as he watches sweetly.
36 posted on 03/15/2005 11:47:47 PM PST by texasflower ("America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one." President George W. Bush 01/20/05)
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To: AQGeiger

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.


37 posted on 03/16/2005 12:03:29 AM PST by lainde
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To: lainde
... 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.

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.

38 posted on 03/16/2005 12:25:20 AM PST by dread78645 (Sarcasm tags are for wusses.)
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To: AQGeiger

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.


39 posted on 03/16/2005 2:28:11 AM PST by JTRipper
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To: JTRipper

Ah, that's "two-SIDED sticky tape", sorry.


40 posted on 03/16/2005 2:29:22 AM PST by JTRipper
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