Need Some Help with Kitty Discipline

March 16, 2005 | AQG

[Bellflower]

Teach your dog if you have one to train your cat/cats. My dog Silas takes keeping his kitties in line very seriously. Also if you say ehh (short vowel e) with umph this seems to universally mean no to a cat. Also as soon as I say ehh to one of my cats because it is doing a no Silas the dog instantly appears to see what he can do. It is funny how much respect the cats have for a fellow 4 legger when they would like to get away with ignoring us two leggers. Silas loves feeling like he has responsibility and is contributing to the household by having a job.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Kitty discipline...that's an oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence", right?

[Loud Mime]

[mlmr]

Haven't you heard? Cats like seafood.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

My niece was about 3 and had been to a small carnival with her 18 year old sister.
She came back with a goldfish in a plastic bag. My sister did not have a fish bowl so she put it in a large bowl.

I came over to visit them and my niece wanted to show me her fish.
The bowl was empty. I stepped on the poor fish (it might have been dead before but it was gone after I stepped on it.
Their cat came running to get the fish and my niece said "Look Uncle Frank, the kitty cat is kissing the fish to make it well".

I just picked her up and carried her into another room and started telling her about something else.

[bd476]

ROFLOL in the middle of the night... very very funny!

[Fire_on_High]

I have pet rats as well as a cat also, and my one little female was deterrant enough. The cat sniffed at her a few times and she promptly chomped him. Never had another problem with him and the rats after that, even when another of my females was out for a min and he got into the room. He ambled over a sec, sniffed curiously then backed away...quickly. Feisty put the fear of God into that cat before old age caught up to her, and my current remaining male plus all future rats should be very grateful for her fearless nature.

Btw, it was only the cat who ever got that reaction out of her. She was always good natured with other rats, both related and unrelated, and never found a person she didn't adore.

[cajungirl]

I can't believe he squirted a God Fearing Kitty in the face with WATER. The outrage! {that is what my kittty told me to type as he is too busy taking his morning bath to post now}

[LibKill]

Cats generally cannot be trusted with fish, birds or rodents. They are hard-wired to hunt.

You must keep the cat away from such things by physical barriers.

[MotleyGirl70]

Definitely don't let him watch Big Cats week on Animal Planet channel. If he does you may want to start brandishing a weapon :)

[rintense]

It's done, and over. Unless you catch her in the act, punishing her now is meaningless. And if she snatched the fish, it seems water isn't an issue to her, so splashing her wouldn't accomplish much. You just have a very cunning kitty.

[airborne]

Cats are crazy!

[cwiz24]

You cannot punish a cat after the fact because they will not know what the punishment (in this case, a face full of water) is for. If you witness your cat doing something bad, then a strong loud "NO" with a finger pointed firmly in their direction and then a loud clap of the hands and maybe even a little mini-chase (to get the cat to run away) can work after several times, particularly if there is one behavior you want to stop (like jumping on the counters). Never, under any circumstances, physically punish your cat. They do not understand that and that will only make them fear you (plus it's not nice). But, as I said before, you cannot punish a cat for something he may have done two hours ago. They simply won't make the connection between the scolding and the action. The scolding must be meted out immediately.

The cat didn't know the fish was a pet. As far as the cat is concerned, it was a hunting game for him to play. Perhaps you do not have enough stimulating toys or activities for the cat while you are away from home. Providing your cat with a second cat or with a rotating group of toys will help him be less bored while you are away and less likely to get into mischief to curre the boredom. Another suggestion: get a fish bowl/tank with a cover that the cat cannot get into. That way, the cat is still entertained by watching the fish swim around, but it cannot harm them.

[cwiz24]

Get a squirt bottle. Every time your kitty murders something you didn't want it to, say "NO!!!" in a loud, firm voice and squirt the kitty in the face (on the mist setting is fine).

As far as punishing your cat for hunting (which I assume is what you were referring to?), this should not be done. Your cat has an instinct to hunt and no amount of scolding or punishing will stop him from doing so. Plus, hunting for a housecat is often a way for the cat to provide food to someone (you) he sees as lacking in hunting skills. It is a gesture of friendship and kindness on the part of your cat and should not be scolded.

[AQGeiger]

Thank you, that was very helpful. I didn't know that trying to punish a cat for something it did previously wouldn't work. Ever since I learned that last night from the responses on this thread, I've been showing her lots of love so she knows I don't hate her. I think all is forgiven.

[RolandBurnam]

my cat returned home after a 3 day absence, previous to which, had never left the yard. i actually missed the little guy staring in the window all the time. poor kitty. thought he was roadkill

[GovernmentShrinker]

Don't throw water in her face. She has no idea why you did that. Unless she is actually in the process of committing a crime when you punish her, she won't make the connection.

As for any future fish, you need to get a secure lid on your aquarium -- preferably a sturdy glass one with some some way of securing it to the tank. Then kitty will learn to sit on top of the tank, and watch, and fantasize, and nothing else.

[tuliptree76]

I'm just curious, what kind of fish did you have? Some fish, like bettas, are known to be jumpers. If your bowl didn't have a lid on it, your fish could have died from jumping out of the bowl.

[Finger Monkey]

Cat whisperer

Cat hissperer.

[PilloryHillary]

Sorry to hear about George W.. It's always a sad day when a Republican is murdered in cold blood. The only way you will keep a cat away from a fish bowl is to not have one! Get an aquarium and put a screen or top over it....one that is latched or tied down. Our kitty once murdered four of our fish that we had in a fish bowl on a shelf. Came out of the shower and she had knocked it off the shelf and was chowing down. Needless to say, we now have an aquarium with a top. Good luck!