# Pussy problem **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 27, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774 "2014-11-27T18:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/21 "2014-11-29T04:53:59Z")
Start by watching My Cat From Hell on the Animal planet. You will learn you need to play with Tonka, wear him out then feed him, he will more than likely go to sleep and leave Creamsicle alone. Don’t punish a cat for being a cat…they don’t understand. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My\_Cat\_from\_Hell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Cat_from_Hell) [http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/my-cat-from-hell](http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/my-cat-from-hell) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/22 "2014-11-29T06:11:45Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Try tossing something to distract. This. Distract, distract, distract. As others have said, a laser pointer. I also like a toy called “Da Bird” – get the mylar tassel extra clip-on toy in addition to the feather one. The cats go nuts for it. If you think it’s aggression, I’ve had good luck with Feliway plug-ins and/or spray. It’s supposed to mimic kitties’ “mellow hormone”. It has helped reduce hissy-pissy spats among mine. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/23 "2014-11-29T18:43:11Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Tonka is fixed, right? What you describe is mounting behavior. Even fixed male cats will do this sometimes, but it’s far worse with unfixed cats. > > If you want to tell a cat not to do something, hiss at it. That’s cat language for, “cut it out, I’m really ticked off!” Heck, just this morning I saw my (much smaller) female kitten jump on my male kitten in that manner. She loves to start the shit. She doesn’t always like the way it ends up… It’s a dominance thing, I think. The reason I’ve always heard that male cats scruff a female when mating is because it’s an instinctive means of making another cat submit, going back to the way they were carried around by momma cat when they were tiny. Oh, and put me down for another “find a distraction” response to stop the behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/24 "2014-11-29T19:58:27Z")
I try to distract Tonka when he’s being aggressive, but he just runs off onto my bed. He doesn’t like to play with humans for more than five minutes. We’re letting the cats do their own thing, and just keep an eye on Tonka in case he jumps on Creamsicle. I picked Tonka up and put him in my lap a little while ago. Tonka is _not_ a lap cat. He’ll let ‘mom’ put him in her lap for a few minutes if he’s sleeping and she picks him up, but I think he only has been in my lap twice since we got him. This time he stayed in my lap for over half an hour! Then Creamsicle came over and I pet her on the arm of the couch. When she slowly hopped down, Tonka waited a minute and then got up to see her. Both cats are quiet now. ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/25 "2014-11-29T20:23:03Z")
Believe me with the right toys your Tonka will love to play , there’s the feathers on a wand affair that they can stalk and jump for, and perhaps kill before they lay down exhausted from the vigorous play. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/26 "2014-11-29T20:40:01Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > I don’t think you can teach a cat not to be an asshole, it’s part of their [nature](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTbbYLvhDSM). Incredibly true. One of mine has been called bipolar because sometimes she is incredibly sweet… but other times at night she’ll go for your throat while you sleep. I named her “Goldeneye”. “No, no, no. No more Cat-play.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/27 "2014-11-29T20:47:59Z")
Tonka doesn’t particularly care for the feathers on a wand. He’ll play a little as long as he’s on his ‘perch’, but he won’t chase it. (I’ve tried.) He also won’t chase the mouse-on-a-string, though he loves snatching it when it’s above his head. The only thing he chases is the foil ball. But he won’t do that for long. Oh, and he likes chasing Creamsicle and being chased by her. She’s chasing him more, recently. ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/28 "2014-11-29T23:39:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Tonka doesn’t particularly care for the feathers on a wand. He’ll play a little as long as he’s on his ‘perch’, but he won’t chase it. (I’ve tried.) He also won’t chase the mouse-on-a-string, though he loves snatching it when it’s above his head. The only thing he chases is the foil ball. But he won’t do that for long. > > Oh, and he likes chasing Creamsicle and being chased by her. She’s chasing him more, recently. Is there a big age difference between your cats? Sounds like he is the younger of the two and wants to play a lot. Again all I can suggest is watch My Cat From Hell you will learn a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/29 "2014-11-29T23:50:37Z")
Actually, Tonka is the more playful and he’s about… eight? Creamsicle is _maybe_ two years old. I could see that Creamsicle is in a playing mood. (She’s becoming much more comfortable, after we took her in.) I got her to play with ‘The Thing’ (feather wand), and it was very cute. Now the cats are chasing each other about. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/30 "2014-11-30T00:11:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > … How do I teach him that pouncing and biting Creamsicle is bad? Teaching a cat something is like running a 4 minute mile. Theoretically possible, but damn hard to do. When I had Siamese cats and tried to make a point, they would respond by crapping in the closet or something like that. I gave up, they won. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/31 "2014-11-30T00:35:21Z")
How long have you had Creamsicle? It sounds like she and Tonka are still working things out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/32 "2014-11-30T00:48:28Z")
A couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774/33 "2014-11-30T01:19:19Z")
Yeah, they’re still figuring out how to get along with each other. A couple of months isn’t a long time. I wouldn’t interfere too much - they need to figure this out for themselves. It sounds as if they like each other, so everything will probably settle down in a few more months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pussy-problem/705774.md?page=1)