Although Mrs. Photog is a confirmed “dog person”, the kids were begging for a cat so she gave in. The only other pet we have in the house is “Swimmy” the goldfish. We all (excluding “Swimmy”) went down to the Humane Society shelter and came home with “BJ”, a 12 week old male kitten.
In my opinion, BJ is a normal kitten. He will occassionally claw at things he shouldn’t, climb up onto surfaces he shouldn’t, poop where he shouldn’t, and decide that 2:00 a.m. is the ideal time to slip into “playful little kitty” mode. He’s a kitten. He will learn/be trained.
But, after just under a week, Mrs. Photog has had it. She wants the cat out.
Of course, the kids would be crushed, so that’s not an option.
She wants to lock the cat in the bathroom at night or while we’re out.
I think the cat deserves a chance to change his evil ways before being sentenced to solitary confinement.
We’re following much of the advice we’ve received, including:
-when he claws the furniture or carpet, show him his scratching post.
-when he climbs onto some surface he shouldn’t, give him a sharp “NO” and clap your hands.
-as cats are nocturnal creatures, try to play with him as much as possible during the day in order to “wear him out” so he’ll sleep at night.
-etc.
Is there any advice you cat owners can offer to keep this little guy from being sold the the chinese takeout place? (actually suggested this a.m. by Mrs. Photog)
If the cat will never be allowed outside, have the front paws declawed. This advice, of course, will probably elicit several howls of protest from those who think it cruel, but our cat is just as playful and loving without the furniture shredders.
My wife (and I guess I do too) has three cats and it is easier for us because we let the older cats teach the new kittens the ways of the house, climbing, scratching, in and outing, sleeping at night, etc.
That being said, however, age with the rules and methods you have established will eventually take effect (with the possible exception of scratching - I’m afraid that may well be unbreakable - short of having claws removed - which is really not that fair to the cat).
Yeah, I had considred the de-clawing solution myself.
But, as you mentioned, a coworker screamed “cruelty” and said “declawing is the equivalent of cutting off the cat’s fingers!!” When he put it that way, it did sound kind of cruel.
But, it’s stil not out of the realm of possibility.
That’s what kittens do! Please don’t give/take the cat away, I think that teaches children that animals are disposable, not a good life lesson. I think you maybe should have gotten an older cat if normal kitten things are causing a problem, but it’s too late for that.
It sounds like you know what to do, just try and have a little patience with the little dear.
Get another kitten. It may not help the scratching so much, but it will definitely help the middle-of-the-night playtime issue – he’ll play with the other cat instead of waking you up.
We have two 5-month-old female kittens, and we shut them up into “their” room (our would-be computer room) at night. Their litterbox, bed, and food and water dishes are in there, and we make sure they have some quiet toys as well. They can play and rampage about as much as they like, but they know they’re not getting out until morning. They usually start going to bed right after we turn the light out, because they’re now used to the routine.
A squirt gun is also very helpful, we’ve found. Squirt them when they get into something they shouldn’t. Instead of learning to only get into that when mom & dad aren’t around, they’ll think, “Hey, the curtains squirted me! I won’t climb up them again.”
Another option for scratching, I’ve heard, is to shut them into a room that doesn’t have any inappropriate scratching surfaces, so they learn to scratch only on what you provide. When we adopted our kitties, that was the environment they had been raised in, and we’ve had hardly any problem.
I’ve found that some of the problems solve themselves as the kitties get bigger – they can jump up onto the sofa now, so they don’t have to claw their way up there.
I got the “Cats for Dummies” book, and it has some other good ideas. Also, talk to your vet – I’m sure they know how to solve all sorts of behavioral problems. Good luck! And post pics!
Re: scratching, I have heard about some kind of thing that you apply to the cat’s claws – your vet should know what they are. They’re considered “humane” and will protect your furniture.
Do everything you can to not declaw the cat. (declawing removes the digit at the first knuckle. It is crippling)
There are other options, please explore those first.
As for the other behavioral problems, my kitten (now 9 months) was older when we got him, but had some bad habits. Make sure his box is cleaned EVERY DAY or he will have accidents. Jake lets us know when the box is too dirty (our other cat doesn’t care and just poops on top of it all).
Squirt guns/bottles are the best deterrent. Also, when he’s doing something you like (playing with his mouse toy or scratching the post and not the furniture) give him a treat or play with his string or something pleasant. Cats DO NOT like to be corrected (kind of like teenagers) and will do things just to spite you, unlike dogs, who just want to please.
Jake’s problems (waking us up every hour to play) and the like have been solved mostly with age. I would second the suggestion for another kitten, but your wife may hate me for it.
I agree with everything stargazer said. The common wisdom is: puppies one at a time, kittens in pairs. They’ll feel much more secure together, and keep each other occupied. My cat would’ve driven me crazy if I hadn’t gotten another kitten a few weeks later to keep her company. Now they’re quite bonded to each other, and for the most part stay out of trouble.
Though I agree that two kittens are better than one (I have littermate cats), I don’t agree that having two will necessarily make it quieter at night. My two boys used to wreak havoc at night - running through the apartment, beating the crap out of each other (just play-fighting), chasing each other up on the bed, running around more, jumping on the bed again, pouncing on my feet under the covers, and on and on. They’re really wind each other up. They’d settle down eventually for the night, but if I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, they’d start all over again. If I closed the bedroom door, they’d yowl and paw underneath it. Besides, I wanted them to sleep on the bed. This went on for a year at least. Every so often I’d get really pissed off and lock them in the furnace room for the night, and they would be a little quieter for a few nights.
They’re 13 now. I think having two has been much more fun, and I’ll probably always have two. I grew up in a 1-cat-at-a-time house, and I found that one makes for a more peaceful household.
Squirt bottles worked great for my cat. Kittens can and will chew/claw everything. They seem to grow out of the chewing stage, but the clawing will persist until you train them.
Another trick you can try:
My cat, although he leaves all the furniture alone, still loves to claw our bottom step in our house. He’ll wait until you’re at the stop of the stairs, about to come down, and zip out of nowhere, clawing the carpet like crazy, thrashing around, but never taking his eye off you. You go down a couple steps and he’ll take off. He knows he’s being bad, but since he gets away without giving you the opportunity to squirt him. So what we ended up doing was using masking tape to secure plastic grocery bags to cover the “face” and underside of the lip of the step. Poor Kitty comes along, tries to scratch and instead gets tangled up in the bag, which make a very sinister noise at the same time. We left the bags on for a couple weeks and he lost interest in scratching.
Not sure if it’ll work for your particular cat, but if you don’t mind the eyesore, try that for awhile.
It’s a kitten we’re talking about, right? I won’t bore you with the stats on outdoor cats living to see the next day, but I can assure you that unless you are in a very unique/isolated area, the chances of kittie getting run over is very high if you put him outside, especially at such a young age.
Declawing cats is, in my opinion, just not a humane thing to do. If that cat ever gets outside, he will have absolutely no ability to defend himself against a dog. I have 3 indoor cats and they do not claw at the furniture. We have scratching posts, and they are used often.
Cats all have different personalties, just like we do - you have to love them and take the bad with the good.
Don’t put him outside; if you can’t come to an agreement, find him another home. IMHO, felines aren’t disposable. Good luck!
Two cats will wrestle together and chase each other around the house. I submit that this is the type of thing one learns to sleep through. When my new BF started staying over, I asked him how he slept, and he said “Umm, there’s a lot going on in your place at night, with the cats running around, etc.” (no, he didn’t really say ‘etcetera’). Fast forward two months, and he’s sleeping right through it.
I have two two-year old cats, who provide an endless source of entertainment for each other. The furniture I had when they moved in at the age of six weeks is pretty shredded, but newer furniture is fine; it’s a habit they grow out of (the idea that cats can be trained is a delusion some cat-owners have). If the cat can go outside please do not declaw it. Please don’t declaw it anyway. I find that in general as far as stress goes (both mental and furniture-related), the teenager beats the cats paws down, and I rarely consider giving her away.
When our kittens were very small, they went into their crate at night. They soon settled down and went to sleep, and it was actually safer than allowing them to roam around unsupervised, when there were so many places for tiny furry bodies to climb into and get stuck.
As an alternative to de-clawing, try rubbing lemon-scented soap on your sofa and soft furnishings. Cats hate citrus smells, so this should discourage her from stratching them.
I grew up with cats, and never had any real luck with the whole no-scratching thing…they systematically ruined over $2000 worth of upholstered furniture. They liked the scratching posts, but they ALSO liked the furniture…particularly behind the sofa, where they couldn’t be seen doing it b/c it was against the wall.
Funny thing is, my first cat is still happily living at home with my parents in the wake of her destruction. My dad is her slave. I campaigned for that cat for two years before my dad, Mr. Cat Hater, would let me have her. I was 9 years old when I finally won.
I’m 25.
You grow to love 'em regardless.
The litter-box thing is a little easier to solve…keep it very, very, very clean. Make your kids do it; they wanted the cat, they should clean up after it. Most cats “misbehave” because they’re either unspayed/un-neutered or b/c their litterbox isn’t as clean as they like. Each cat has a different tolerance for how dirty the litterbox can get, but trust me…you’ll better your chances by assuming your cat is totally anal about it.
Also, make sure the litterbox is in an accessible, but private, space. If it’s too hard to get to, or too easy for everyone to get to, they’ll tend not to use it and go somewhere either easier or more private.