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i am a new owner of a kitten my husband found her at a local hwy! we have taken her in and love her! she is a good cat but is a little subburn .. we are not sure how to make her mind. she scratches alot andbites on our computer wire and we are trying to handle it with moving her away each time but she just runs to want ever it is ? should i spank her softly so she will get the point ??
Please bear in mind that this statement is not meant to condone declawing. I just wish if you're going to give reasons to be against it, that people would stop posting this false one. Declawed cats can defend themselves and they darn well can too climb trees, quite well in fact. (Well, once they re-learn how, which doesn't take long.)
Actually, I have to disagree with this being a false statement.
I do see your point, but I think you're basing your post on cats that only have their front claws removed. Yes, those cats can learn to climb again. As for defending themselves, they can do that as well, but not as easily as they could if they had their claws.
Now, newlywed - it's obvious you don't know anything about cats. You are not going to get a cat to mind you simply by moving them. You can't just take them away from wires and think they are not going to go back. They don't understand that wires are bad, or that they are hurting you with biting and scratching, or that you don't want the cloth on the furniture in shambles. Babies don't understand things either until you teach them.
This all takes training. The squirt bottle is a great idea and used by many people with cats. It doesn't hurt them, but they don't like it. A good firm "No!" along with it can help. You can also add specific commands. Kittens like to bite but I've trained nearly all kittens out of within a couples of months. (I have one current cat who thinks not biting is against his religion and he wouldn't stop if I smacked him with a 2 by 4.) You can teach "Don't bite" or whatever, saying it firmly, putting them away from you. They don't understand words they don't know, but they understand tone and attitude because cats are great at picking up on subtle things, and aren't likely to miss the obvious things.
As for scratching in particular, cats have a natural instinct to do this so you can't think of it as being "bad." i.e. the idea here isn't what you're saying, to punish - because they don't know they're doing something wrong until you teach that to them. So it's training, not punishment. Since scratching is just what cats do, you have to re-direct it. So the scratching post is a good idea - there are different kinds out there, make your own, logs do work. (They claw on trees outside.) Then when she scratches, you can squirt her if the squirt bottle is nearby, but also firmly tell her NO, and then move her to the scratching post to get the idea that it's the place to do that behavior. Putting catnip on the scratching post certainly doesn't hurt. :-)
There are other behaviors that will happen and don't be surprised by them. Like getting on the dinner table, the counters, into your food, other places you don't want them, etc. The squirt bottle can work quite well for all of these. Sometimes you have to just get lucky and catch them. A squirt bottle in every room helps.
Be consistent. If you have a stubborn cat that takes longer to learn, be diligent about also reinforce good behaviors. Like when she's just sitting on the floor, give her some attention and love. If she's allowed on the couch, do the same. That way she connects that nasty old squirt bottle with certain behaviors, and connects love and attention with good behaviors.
The computer cable thing concerns me. That isn't just a behavior you don't want - she can get hurt or killed. I have one cat who ignores all cables, plug cords and the like, as long as they reach the ground and are not dangling. That is, a cable coming from the back of the monitor going to the computer is OK as long as it hits the ground first and isn't just hanging above his head. (Cats love things dangling above their head.) Now, that's my one cat and not yours, but something to think about. You might have to shut the cat out of that room, or at least when someone isn't in there.
Don't freak if she doesn't get everything overnight. Some things they get quickly and some they're more stubborn about. It'll make you mad - try to keep in mind that most of it is probably normal behavior for a cat.
Actually, I have to disagree with this being a false statement.
I do see your point, but I think you're basing your post on cats that only have their front claws removed. Yes, those cats can learn to climb again. As for defending themselves, they can do that as well, but not as easily as they could if they had their claws.
Well, you're right if they're declawed both front and back. Is that what everyone is referring to? Because I don't think I've ever known a cat to get their back claws removed. I volunteered at a vet's for a couple of summers in high school - back before everyone started going against declawing (meaning we got a lot of them), and never did they do the back. So I didn't think about that, no.
haha yeah my kitten has already found the table top i went out side for a minute and when i went back in my kitten was drinking my milk lol and when i told her no she just looked at me and then drank faster like she know that this was wrong i had to laugh al little
and yes you are right i dont know much about cats this is my first time having one im learning as i good! and i wasnt just moving her i was saying no to ..my husband put her in a basket when she kept doing it to her and she went wild "He said i wasnt there . and the computer is in a different pat of the houyse that we close of and she ius only in there we she comes with us! thanks for your advice too morgaine300
Well, you're right if they're declawed both front and back. Is that what everyone is referring to? Because I don't think I've ever known a cat to get their back claws removed. I volunteered at a vet's for a couple of summers in high school - back before everyone started going against declawing (meaning we got a lot of them), and never did they do the back. So I didn't think about that, no.
Sadly I have seen it done. A lot of people request the back claws as well because cats will learn to use their back legs to do the things they used to do with the front. It's very sad to see a cat with all four paws declawed.
I should have been more clear when posting that statement about cats defending themselves and climbing. I did mean cats with all paws declawed.
Avoid declawing even if it is an indoor cat it might escape and not defend it self. Also my neighbors cat was declawed and he would bite people in the knee or other cats. I think he felt that he could not defend himself so his first response was to bite deep wounds. Apparently he was friendlier before the operation. I use to haft to be careful in my own yard and he bit me twice until he realized I was friendly then he was okay.
I know what you mean about the computer wires. They are one of my 2 year old cat's favorite chew toys. So far I've had to replace the mouse (twice), the keyboard, and the power cord for the modem. She's also done the power cord for the phone a couple times. I finally found Fooey at Petco, and it works better than anything. Fooey Training Aid at PETCO
Just be careful you don't handle anything after you spray it, it is BITTER!! and lasts quite a while.
! she is a good cat but is a little subburn .. we are not sure how to make her mind. she scratches alot andbites on our computer wire and we are trying to handle it with moving her away each time but she just runs to want ever it is ? should i spank her softly so she will get the point ??
and lasts quite a while.
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