this darn cat!

[Ljt09863]

ok, i wrote a topic a couple days ago about how we found a kitten. ITS DRIVING ME NUTS!


he won't stop biting and scratching! nothing is stopping him. we lightly spankand that doesn't work, we pick him up by the back of the neck, we set him back down on the floor, and he climbs back up!

i am getting VERY annoyed. i have two scratches on my lip from him. he won't settle down. im close to just saying screw it. i can't even relax after work cause he climbs up on the couch and starts attacking.

if anybody knows how we can stop this. please tell me

[MadMike]

Have you tried a water bottle or squirt gun? It won't hurt them, but man, do they hate it!

Although one of my cats, who is apparently very intelligent, found the bottle we used and somehow punctured it with his teeth and/or claws, so we couldn't use it on him anymore. And he made sure to puncture it near the bottom so that almost all the water would leak out.

Animals are amazing sometimes.

[Myra]

The water bottle works for us. Also, do you have any toys? Like something that's on a string attached to a stick? Then you could flick it and the cat can play with that. Or even just some cheap catnip mice. We get these cheap mice with rabbit fur on the outside, and our cats LOVE them. They cost like a buck and a half for a package of five! So if they destroy/lose the mice, it's inexpensive to replace. But maybe if the kitten has something to do besides pester you, then you can have some peace!

Luckily though, all that energy is just a kitten thing, especially in the evenings. They don't call 'em the "evening frenzies" for nothing!

[Seanette]

I've found hissing at cats useful (I usually try for an imitation of Mama Cat scolding her kittens).

[Zinjadu]

Squirting with water worked on my kitty when she was young and crazy, but it did take a while for her to get the hint - and she's still a slow learner on some things!

I also hiss when she's being bad, and she runs out of the room.

Unfortunately I've gotten so into the hissing thing that sometimes I do the 'angry cat' without thinking where I am. :roll: I've done it at work, but not in front of customers... yet... :lol: I do the angry meow, then the hiss. G says I sound just like an angry cat. Well, G, that was the idea... She always wants me to do that to entertain her now. :rolleyes: Yes, G, I live only to amuse you.

[Becks]

Maybe also a scratching post?

How about edible catnip? The kittie will be so stoned it won't move for HOURS. :roll:

[Kiwi]

spanking them wont do any good, neither will picking them up by the scruff (unless you move them to another room with no "toys" for them to play with)

kittens have ALOT of energy, get her/him a scratching post and a couple of toys and maybe some kitten treats for when she is good.

[protege]

The only problem with a squirt gun or water bottle...is that it's not always handy.

I trained my cat by giving him a swat on the tail, and yelling "bad kitty" whenever he tries to bite, or scratch up the furniture. If you do this, you don't want to hurt the cat. All you want to do is startle him. With my cat now I don't even have to swat him anymore. All I have to do is look at him just right, or change my voice tone slightly. He usually stops whatever he is doing.

[Ljt09863]

thanks everybody. the water bottle seems to be working to get him to stop biting, but it doesn't stop him from trying. although, every time he sees it now, he runs. i am thinkin abouttryin the cat nip. i think it would be funny to see him stoned like that.

im trying pretty much everything that peole are suggesting. i think it will take some time, but eventually, he will be tamed....

[Mikkel]

i am thinkin abouttryin the cat nip. i think it would be funny to see him stoned like that.
I don't think catnip will work before he is sexually mature. AFAIK the smell of catnip resembles cat pheromones.
But, sure he will be tamed, just give him some time to understand your rules.

[NightWolf]

I used a squirt gun on my kitten when he was younger. The beast!! He was into everything and anything. Biting, scratching, climbing the curtains. The squirt gun worked great.

Now, 5 years later, he's still fiesty from time to time, but what a loving cat. He is all over you when you first get up or come home from work. He sits in your lap with his front paws on your chest and starts licking your chin. Then he just sits and purrs away.

It'll take some time, but the cat will learn.

[MadMike]

I've found hissing at cats useful (I usually try for an imitation of Mama Cat scolding her kittens).

I forgot all about that! I used to do it, and it seemed to work. Wonder why I ever stopped?