Posted on 08/11/2008 4:41:14 PM PDT by yankeedame
In a nut shell: I have a ten year old, neutered, never been outside, male cat in perfect health who just took "a dump", worthy of any cocker spaniel, on the bedroom floor.
He did something like that about a year ago in the living room by the patio door. At first I scolded him but thought no more about it. Then this....the begining of a trend? He had a fresh litter box laid out last night. I am a "stay at home mom" so it couldn't be loneliness. All I can think of is that more and more he wants to be escorted to his food bowl whenever he feels the need for a nosh, no matter what time of day or night. But, for Pete sake, this is an empty nester apt. not Buckingham palace!
Anyway, sorry for ranting and raving but does any one have any thoughts, suggestions, whatever, to nip this thing in the bud?
(It's almost 90 deg. out there and I had to open the bedroom windows to try and get the smell out...grrrrrr)
LOL
OMG.. .LOLOLOLOL
Reminds me of something my dad taught me about when I was young.
The ‘sail cat’...
I won’t repeate it here.
Cat's are not stupid.
> Okay, off subject but does anyone know anything about house training Yorkies? My son has a 3 year old and he always has BM’s inside. Their vet just says yorkies are harder to train.
> Surely there is something that can be done. My husband says they just do not give him enough outside exercise. Thanks for any advice, I hate going over there because of this.
Definitely dogs need exercise. Yorkies as much as any of them.
Try this: turn toilet training into a game. Yorkies like to play, true? Well, the most powerful way to train any dog is to turn it into a game.
What is your Yorkie’s favorite thing to do? Chase a ball? — ok, let’s pretend it is. Get a pocket full of yummy food treats, and wait until you’re pretty sure he must be ready to go toilet. Take the ball with you, and let him into your back yard.
Keep it up-beat, and play ball with him, watching carefully for any signs that he is about to go toilet: either one is just fine. What you want is a bowel movement during the Happy Time.
When you see him lifting his leg, or circling like he’s going to go for a dump, IMMEDIATELY say the “Magic Word” and repeat it until the bowel movement is underway.
Then IMMEDIATE hand-and-food praise, along with the magic word. When he’s done, more playing with the ball.
Repeat for a few days, phasing out the ball until it’s just outside for the toilet, plus the magic word, plus hand-and-food praise. Lots of it. Keep it really happy and up-beat, never ever punish always praise.
After a few times, make the food praise random: do it sometimes, skip it others. This is an even stronger motivator for a dog: he will always be wondering whether “this time” will be the food reward, so he will try harder and harder each time. But always the voice praise — he needs that.
Now, the “Magic Word” — this is going to be your “Command” for “immediately empty your bowels”. So pick a word or phrase that can NEVER EVER come up in daily conversation. (think about it, and this makes sense...)
You are trying to build a really happy association between the Magic Word, immediate bowel evacuation, and lots of praise and reward. A Yorkie can easily understand that.
Try that, see if it works.
*DieHard*
I grew up with that song. Thanks for the memories!
Obama says this is all Bush’s fault. DUmmies blame the neocons.
LOL - I’m with you.
For the life of me, I will never see the “up” side of having a pet. I hear so many negative stories about them and what a nuisance they are, I just shake my head and smile. However, to each his own.....
Crate training works like magic.
ACK
You can train dogs to use a litter box as a backup in case the dog can’t get outside fast enough. One of my Shelties learned to use a litter box the second day I had her. She loved to dig in the litter!
Uh...dump the cat!
I don’t own anything that can’t go 2 weeks without water.
Thanks so much, it makes sense and we will definitely try it.
Is there a Chinese restaurant near you?
Generally a cat will eliminate in an inappropriate way as a response to something in the environment, some sort of insecurity. One thing you can consider doing is spraying ‘feliway’ on that area. It mimics pheronomes that translate as ‘comfort’ to the cat. The other option is a friend to keep him company.
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