Ask Me Help Desk - Cat Help

Since this is the Pets & Animals category, I'm sure most of us are familiar with the Dog Whisperer on the Discovery Channel. Ceazar Milian is amazing with rehablilitating dogs... but I don't have a dog. I have a cat, who is madly in love with me... but no on else. She is about 11 years old now - and I just got married, so I have my husband around all the time. He and her don't get along. She can be sitting under the kitchen table and all he needs to do is just walk by and she is growling and hissing. We've tried having him be the "care taker" by him changing litter and feeding her... and she loves him when he is in that action... but 15 minutes later, she wants nothing to do with him. Is there anything I can do or my husband can do to help her be a nicer kitty? Is there anything that can be done so she is at least cordial with strangers? Help... I hate that people hate my cat... and call her the "devil." :(

Please try this and let me know what comes of it. Dress him in old clothes as this gets messy. Buy dried catnip in bulk and rub it all over him outside so its just the essence on him that does this. Let your cat approach and sniff. If the cat rubs on him a few times, have him gently stroke the cat slowly. Build interactions from there. More each time, slowly over time. Cats train but in very small increments.

Animals are mostly olfactory about stuff and he might have just smelled wrong. The same thing goes on when introducing a new cat -- you sprinkle scented cat powder (not your own bath talc!) on all of them so the newbie smells like everyone else! Works to eliminate a quite a bit of the stress of meeting. After that its everyone working out the new pecking order.

If this works short term but still the hissing from under the table, have him carry a small catnip infused mouse in his pocket and at the first hiss, sit down and entice playing with the mouse. Cats are, believe it or not, distracted into better behaviors pretty easily if you capitalize on the behaviors they come with.

If the mouse trick works, offer all houseguest their own mouse and call me the Cat Whisperer! LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by aduckart

Since this is the Pets & Animals category, I'm sure most of us are familiar with the Dog Whisperer on the Discovery Channel. Ceazar Milian is amazing with rehablilitating dogs...but I don't have a dog. I have a cat, who is madly in love with me...but no on else. She is about 11 years old now - and I just got married, so I have my husband around all the time. He and her don't get along. She can be sitting under the kitchen table and all he needs to do is just walk by and she is growling and hissing. We've tried having him be the "care taker" by him changing litter and feeding her...and she loves him when he is in that action...but 15 minutes later, she wants nothing to do with him. Is there anything I can do or my husband can do to help her be a nicer kitty? Is there anything that can be done so she is at least cordial with strangers? Help....I hate that people hate my cat...and call her the "devil." :(

My cat too is cocidered a devil cat. Luckily the only people she likes are me and my husband. Perhaps she will warm up to him once she realizes he's not going anywhere. I wouldn't try to force her to like him, but there may be suttle ways to help things along. See if she will accept treats from him. Maybe if he feeds her regularly she will asociate him with good things like food and treats. I know it sounds kind of silly, but hey you have nothing to loose. Except maybe a finger. LOL. Good luck.