I adopted a kitten so that comes with all sorts of negative behaviour. Any advice on how to discipline is welcome. Yes I have read a lot online but I would like to hear about other peoples experiences and how they handled it. The no word is very prevalent right now.
How does one discipline a kitten?
- Thread starter RobinWren
- Start date
Devi
Well-known Member
- Location
- East WA USA
How old is this kitten, and what exactly is it doing wrong?
I've had pets all my life. Dogs, cats, birds, turtles, & even ferrets. But, the cat I have now, Misty, has been the hardest to train. Very stubborn. In all fairness to her, she is also the first pet I've had that was without another pet as a companion. I guess you could say that she is an only child 
One thing that has really helped is having a time out room. Her litter and one of her bowls of water is in the bathroom. If she misbehaves and goes right back to doing something I have told her 'no' to, I pick her up and put her in the bathroom for a half hour or so, in the hope that when I let her out whatever she was doing that got her put there will be off her mind.
Another thing that has helped is an 'air can'. The kind you get to blow dust off of your computer keys. I don't point it at her, but way off to the side. It's the hissing sound that scares her off. Maybe instinct makes her think it's a snake.
Has she been spayed yet? That will calm her down some. It calmed Misty down, but did nothing for her stubbornness. I've even wondered if it's because we are two females in the house. She wants to be the alpha. If that's the case, she can 'want' all she wants. I'm the boss.
I've also read articles where some cat owners put their cats in another room at night so that they can get uninterrupted sleep. I let Misty have the run of the house at night until she wakes me up. Then, I put her in the bathroom until morning.
Hope some of this helps.
One thing that has really helped is having a time out room. Her litter and one of her bowls of water is in the bathroom. If she misbehaves and goes right back to doing something I have told her 'no' to, I pick her up and put her in the bathroom for a half hour or so, in the hope that when I let her out whatever she was doing that got her put there will be off her mind.
Another thing that has helped is an 'air can'. The kind you get to blow dust off of your computer keys. I don't point it at her, but way off to the side. It's the hissing sound that scares her off. Maybe instinct makes her think it's a snake.
Has she been spayed yet? That will calm her down some. It calmed Misty down, but did nothing for her stubbornness. I've even wondered if it's because we are two females in the house. She wants to be the alpha. If that's the case, she can 'want' all she wants. I'm the boss.
I've also read articles where some cat owners put their cats in another room at night so that they can get uninterrupted sleep. I let Misty have the run of the house at night until she wakes me up. Then, I put her in the bathroom until morning.
Hope some of this helps.
Lee
Senior Member
- Location
- Chatham, Ontario
Robin, congrats on the adoption of your new furkid. I recently adopted the cat from you know where and honestly if I had been given a chance to have a few minutes before the adoption to interact with him I may not have taken him but due to covid I was not given that opportunity, it was pay and give the humane society my cage and they brought him out in the cage.
I have had him almost six months now and slowly he is coming around. I can't tell you how many times in the first few weeks that I questioned my sanity in keeping what I was beginning to think of him as the monster cat. And I am no inexperienced cat owner, six prior cats that all lived to a ripe old age.
First of all talk to your vet, I can remember taking him for his checkup two weeks after the adoption and telling the vet that either this cat goes on tranquilizers or I would be talking to my people doc about Prozac for me.
The cat is/was a stalker. By this I mean he would hide behind doors, see me coming and pounce with 4 claws wrapped around my legs and sometimes bite. To curb this behavior I was told to always carry something in my hand to throw and distract him with. When they do not get the reaction they expect the cat will eventually stop this behavior.
NEVER hit him, it will only make matters worse, walk away. You hit him, he goes on the defensive.
The biggest help for me was Feliway, it is a plug in diffuser that mimics a pheranome that cats trust. I will not say it worked 100% but it is a big help. Also the vet put him on a drug called gabapentin for the first few weeks, it helped to calm him down but is not a long term thing. I hated drugging a cat but believe me it was absolutely necessary. He still gets a pill if he is going to the vet to have his manicure (nails trimmed) but we don't call it that.
The vet also stressed playtime with things that you control such as wands with feathers, playtime with you builds trust.
Riley and I are not out of the woods yet, I am allowed to pat him on the floor but never pick him up. Brushing him with one of those gloves darn near sent me to the hospital, yes, the scars are still there from 5 months ago.....yet, Funny habit he has is the comb routine. He watched me combing my hair one day and jumped up on the vanity. I took my life in my hands and gave him a swipe with my comb, and yet another and another. And now whenever I comb my hair Riley gets his combed too....he even purrs. And he has his comb, I have mine.
Robin, no cat is the same, I think with Riley I have run the gauntlet with bad behavior but trust by Christmas I will have a pet that I can love, not just tolerate. You will get there too.
Is there anything specific that you are having a problem with, just ask, a lot of cat lovers here and someone will have the answer.
I have had him almost six months now and slowly he is coming around. I can't tell you how many times in the first few weeks that I questioned my sanity in keeping what I was beginning to think of him as the monster cat. And I am no inexperienced cat owner, six prior cats that all lived to a ripe old age.
First of all talk to your vet, I can remember taking him for his checkup two weeks after the adoption and telling the vet that either this cat goes on tranquilizers or I would be talking to my people doc about Prozac for me.
The cat is/was a stalker. By this I mean he would hide behind doors, see me coming and pounce with 4 claws wrapped around my legs and sometimes bite. To curb this behavior I was told to always carry something in my hand to throw and distract him with. When they do not get the reaction they expect the cat will eventually stop this behavior.
NEVER hit him, it will only make matters worse, walk away. You hit him, he goes on the defensive.
The biggest help for me was Feliway, it is a plug in diffuser that mimics a pheranome that cats trust. I will not say it worked 100% but it is a big help. Also the vet put him on a drug called gabapentin for the first few weeks, it helped to calm him down but is not a long term thing. I hated drugging a cat but believe me it was absolutely necessary. He still gets a pill if he is going to the vet to have his manicure (nails trimmed) but we don't call it that.
The vet also stressed playtime with things that you control such as wands with feathers, playtime with you builds trust.
Riley and I are not out of the woods yet, I am allowed to pat him on the floor but never pick him up. Brushing him with one of those gloves darn near sent me to the hospital, yes, the scars are still there from 5 months ago.....yet, Funny habit he has is the comb routine. He watched me combing my hair one day and jumped up on the vanity. I took my life in my hands and gave him a swipe with my comb, and yet another and another. And now whenever I comb my hair Riley gets his combed too....he even purrs. And he has his comb, I have mine.
Robin, no cat is the same, I think with Riley I have run the gauntlet with bad behavior but trust by Christmas I will have a pet that I can love, not just tolerate. You will get there too.
Is there anything specific that you are having a problem with, just ask, a lot of cat lovers here and someone will have the answer.
Murrmurr
SF VIP
- Location
- Sacramento, California
You don't discipline a kitten. Just love it and feed it and remove it from places where it wreaked some havoc....then play with it where you moved it to. It will come around.
My wife & I had many cats in years past one at a time, most were a year old or so. We also had 2 or 3 dogs in the house also. After neutering or spading they calm down some but they still rule the house. As they got older they would come & curl up on my wife or my lap to be petted, as they saw us pet our dogs.
We had the littler box, dry food & water bowl in a spare bathroom with a gate on the door where the dogs could not get in but the cat could jump the gate. One thing to remember is, KEEP the litter box clean unless you want to find puddles & poo in & underthings.
Course we scolded the dogs if they tried to jump in that room. Took about 2 months to do it. Dogs got a lot of scratches from trying to play with the cat.
What hurt me the most in the summertime I wore short pants down to my knees. Dang cat would come running & jump on one of my legs & slide down so I had blood coming out of many places on my legs. I was known as the band-aid man.
We had the littler box, dry food & water bowl in a spare bathroom with a gate on the door where the dogs could not get in but the cat could jump the gate. One thing to remember is, KEEP the litter box clean unless you want to find puddles & poo in & underthings.
Course we scolded the dogs if they tried to jump in that room. Took about 2 months to do it. Dogs got a lot of scratches from trying to play with the cat.
What hurt me the most in the summertime I wore short pants down to my knees. Dang cat would come running & jump on one of my legs & slide down so I had blood coming out of many places on my legs. I was known as the band-aid man.
carouselsilver
Member
- Location
- Eastern PA
This woman is a veritable cat guru: https://www.patreon.com/m/484344/posts.
I have learned so much from reading her blogs and articles, and she has a book out, available on Amazon:
https://tinyurl.com/787k83mr
I have learned so much from reading her blogs and articles, and she has a book out, available on Amazon:
https://tinyurl.com/787k83mr
Tish
SF VIP
- Location
- Rural N.S.W. Australia
Amen to that.
carouselsilver
Member
- Location
- Eastern PA
One really cool thing that I learned from this author, is to recognize cat "types." From this, I learned that I adopted two "Gammas." Gammas are generally very shy, slow to trust, but then highly loving and affectionate. Mine were rescues; their mother was too feral to tame, so she was spayed and released again. I had an "Alpha" before that, for fourteen years.
Thank you for all the advice, I was laughing at Ceege and Lee. I’ve had cats and dogs all my life and never had issues. My kitten is now four months, I love her to bits, she sleeps with me and the dog but wakes me very early so it might be back to the bathroom At night. When I bought her home I would keep her in the bathroom at night but now she is allowed to roam. She is not a nightmare just a normal kitten, climbing the screen door, the curtains, using the furniture as a scratching post instead of the cat tree or any of the other three posts that I have. I might consider a diffuser and time out is another option. Thinking back, I had been looking for a cat for months and I was reading on cat forums about cats and their obnoxious behaviour, I could not believe it because that had never happened to me. The aerosol can I bought for the dog all I have to do is put it in my hand, I have only used it once . The last time I had a kitten the children were small,I guess they trained her, so I just have to put in a little work as well as all the loves and hugs.
Lee
Senior Member
- Location
- Chatham, Ontario
Robin, you mentioned your kitty is not using the cat tree scratch post. I had that problem too but when I switched to the box type that lays flat on the floor my guy liked that better. I have four, one in each. room. They are cheap, reversible and they last. The two posts he never used got donated.
The price shown in the link is in Canadian Dollars, likely much cheaper in the USA
https://www.petvalu.com/ca/product/naturals-double-scratcher/SCM10810CA
The price shown in the link is in Canadian Dollars, likely much cheaper in the USA
https://www.petvalu.com/ca/product/naturals-double-scratcher/SCM10810CA
Mr. Ed
Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
- Location
- Central NY
You discipline a kitty by making them dependent or a dog.. Best of luck in your endeavor, some things never change.
Yes I have them too, also sisal mats with cat nip, not a clue, but my darling kitten refuses to use them, instead she uses the furniture, the bathroom trim. When she grows up I shall remove the curtains and put up blinds, and get new trim. I just sit back and laugh, I've never had a cat like this, she is also so loving. The cat and dog have such different personalities, I could spend hours watching them interact. So I look forward to the day when I can stop saying no , meanwhile I'll just sit back, enjoy her shenanigans and know how lucky I am.
Remy
Well-known Member
- Location
- California, USA
My previous two cats were pretty good kitties. Especially compared to these two. The day I got them at 10 weeks old, it was put everything away, take down the curtains. They got into everything.
My tabby's latest is is pawing at the books. She jumps on the book case. As a kitten she played with my feet under the covers. She has pawed me awake in the middle of the night. I can't free feed them, they'd eat constantly. They get fed 4 times a day. Calico scratches the crap out of the couch, tabby uses the cardboard scratchers. They have scratched my dressers, and table (from jumping, playing, not using them as a scratching post) and they think the kitchen counters are their walkway.
But what would I do without them.
Do you play with the kitten? I play with mine still. Especially before bed to wear their butts out. The mouse on a dowel I made is a big hit.
My tabby's latest is is pawing at the books. She jumps on the book case. As a kitten she played with my feet under the covers. She has pawed me awake in the middle of the night. I can't free feed them, they'd eat constantly. They get fed 4 times a day. Calico scratches the crap out of the couch, tabby uses the cardboard scratchers. They have scratched my dressers, and table (from jumping, playing, not using them as a scratching post) and they think the kitchen counters are their walkway.
But what would I do without them.
Do you play with the kitten? I play with mine still. Especially before bed to wear their butts out. The mouse on a dowel I made is a big hit.
carouselsilver
Member
- Location
- Eastern PA
Pick your battles, right? She sounds so adorable!
I might have been a little hasty, getting older, getting bolder. My cat also likes to chew book ends, the cover for my ipad. Yes Remy I play with her a lot . She loves the little spirals, feathers, and balls, not so much mice. I bought her this $4 cube from the dollar store she loves it. I throw her toys in there and she just somersaults around for ages. But she is too much for my poor dog, he likes the quiet life.
carouselsilver
Member
- Location
- Eastern PA
There is a book called "Way of Cats" out there that has wonderful advice for cat owners. Or, should I say the people that cats own? You can read it in Kindle, or buy the paperback.
thank you, I will look out for that. I would like to mention cat tv, she loves it although I have to limit her watching you tube.
Ruth n Jersey
Well-known Member
- Location
- Northern New Jersey
We have had dogs and cats and loved them all. We owned the dogs and the cats owned us.
When they wanted to snuggle and purr we took all they had to offer and when they wanted to be left alone we respected that and gave them their own space.
As kittens they did get into mischief but as they got older they calmed down.
One destroyed two Christmas trees until she got bored with the idea. Another loved toilet paper.
Our last cat couldn't stand to see ice cubes floating in any beverage and if left alone we would find the ice cubes melting along side the glass. She never spilled a drop and did that until the day she died.
For years we drank room temperature ice tea.
When they wanted to snuggle and purr we took all they had to offer and when they wanted to be left alone we respected that and gave them their own space.
As kittens they did get into mischief but as they got older they calmed down.
One destroyed two Christmas trees until she got bored with the idea. Another loved toilet paper.
Our last cat couldn't stand to see ice cubes floating in any beverage and if left alone we would find the ice cubes melting along side the glass. She never spilled a drop and did that until the day she died.
For years we drank room temperature ice tea.
carouselsilver
Member
- Location
- Eastern PA
I like the way the author divides cats into personality types. It really helped to know that my current two are "Gammas." Very shy, cautious, and polite.thank you, I will look out for that. I would like to mention cat tv, she loves it although I have to limit her watching you tube.