Cat people I need your help

My 18 year old son brought a cat & rabbit here. Well they are babies not grown animals. The rabbit I can handle, clean its cage , feed it....

This cat creature is a pain in the ass. My son is NEVER home & Merlin has adopted me as his Mama. It climbs on my kitchen table ( I am OCD with germs remember?), it attacks my legs when I clean, climbing me so I'll hold it. If I shut my sons bedroom door, it stands at the door & screams for me until I come get it. I am also asthmatic, so you can imagine. That is probably why I am staying on breathing meds.

My dog Sebastion (half chow & golden retriever) would not have a problem with Merlin except for the Mama part. My dog doesn't allow my kids to hug me, he barks. My dog is 3 years old & quite set in his ways.

Sooo I live in a home with a dog, cat, rabbit, 3 kids..yay me. lol! The dog chases the cat if the cat chases me. It is like living in a zoo.

But anyway how do I keep the cat off my table. YUCK!

In addition to physically removing the cat from the table every time you see it up there, you could try putting double sided tape on the table top for a couple days, cats tend to HATE sticky. Also, you could try picking up my favorite feline behavior modification device. Looks like this:isn't expensive, doesn't hurt anybody, and is one of the few things I've found on the planet that can make a cat briefly consider changing the way they do their cat thang. Oh, you also get to feel like you're fighting cat crime!

Lol! My sons gf uses a squirt gun on it. I cannot bring myself to do it.

I just got done cleaning the litter box ( I am NOT a cat person) a rabbit cage...isn't life supposed to get easier as we get older?

Oh well the little devil loves me, whether I wanted it to or not. I suppose that has to count for something.

Ever have one of those weeks when your only thought was, "I never signed up for this?"

When the kitten climbs your leg or uses his claws, just stop him gently and say no, that hurts. Then mimic retracting of claws. When he follows suit, pet him and tell him how good he's doing. Kittens just want to learn how to do things right and you have to demonstrate that.

When he jumps on the table, say in a normal but firm no nonsense voice, "get down." If he doesn't, put in on the floor. If he jumps back up, repeat. If a third time, clap your hands sharply and say no with a raised voice. This should work and in time, your kitten will get it. But if jumping on the table is an ingrained routine with him, you may have to resort to the double sided tape to help him change that.

This will work for anyplace you don't want him to be.

Hmmm...ya mean cats ain't supposed to be up on the table?
Damn...those smart lil felines! They made it seem so normal too!
Oh well...guess I'm too late to train em now...lol...even the neighbors cat has a sleep over....hee! Oh well...
d.

Cat's can't stand citrus, wipe down your bench with a citrus smelling cleaner and it won't be impressed.

Thanks all so much. I have always liked dogs better. I am not used to this arogance & ...just plain old shannigans(sp) lol!

I do love the goofy thing though. I'll post his picture later.

Oh his newest deed, trieds to bath with me. Lord my dog is a water phob. I am not used to this.

Hi seashell,

Hehe, watch out... you just might become a cat lover! lol It's okay if you don't, though, of course. :^D I've been a cat lover since I can remember, but not a big fan of dogs until pretty recently. Well, I've gradually become more comfortable with dogs in recent years, and then I grew to really love my dad's dog... and then my dad gave her to me and my boyfriend. :^D Her name is Freckles, and she's a Brittany (not sure if you know what they look like, but she has big spots kind of like a cow, orange and white, oh I love her pattern!). My boyfriend and I also have six cats and four chickens, so I had to laugh when I read your bit about feeling like your house is a zoo. :^D But our chickens aren't in the house. lol We're also currently watching another dog, my brother's chocolate Lab named Layla... boy is she sweet.

Anyway... as far as your new kitten... hmm, did you mention how old he is? I don't know if you plan to keep him, but does it help to remind yourself that he will settle down as he grows up? My cat Harpo is my oldest one (recently turned 14), and I've had her since she was three months old... boy, was she a crazy kitten! She liked to attack my feet as I was sleeping, so I eventually decided to keep her (and her sister Cricket) out of my bedroom at night. She wasn't very cuddly really (although many kittens are cuddly, but she wasn't). These days she's still playful, but she's settled down so much, and she's such a major cuddler (more and more all the time). :^D She sleeps curled up next to my belly or chest most nights, and she's so comforting to me. She also seems to know (and care) when I'm not feeling well, and comes over to me. Oh, and she often gives me such a loving look, I just can't believe. :^D

Looking forward to seeing your kitten's picture! How funny about trying to bathe with you! Two of my cats like water. Well, the two with the longest hair often sit by the big water dish and let their fur hang over into it a bit... one of them even splashes the water around sometimes... but I don't know if they'd want to hop into the tub with me because they are restricted to the upstairs. Hehe, and our dog is also afraid of water! I think certain breeds tend to like it, and certain breeds tend not to like it. Freckles is okay with shallow water, but not deep water... However, Layla (the one we're watching) LOVES water, deep or shallow.

I truly hope it gets easier for you! I think the advice here is very good.

Hugs,
Melanie

Merlin is approx.10 weeks old. We got him as soon as he was weaned. My son called home last night ( gone for 3 days) I told him ya know when you move out, that cat is mine, right? ROTFLMAO!

Yup I love him now. Pain in the ass or not. He has my heart.

They have a way of doing that.

Mel do all cats throw litter everywhere??? I gotta clean that mess every morning.

Yes, and they track it too.

We have several cats so we built a small box like room to keep all the litter boxes in. It helped to contain the litter.

But the best solution is a really good broom.

Yeah I have one of those straw ones made by blind people. It works well but yuck. lololol!!!

They also make mats you can buy to put in front of the opening of the litter box. I've personally never used them, so I'm not sure if they truly help or not.

Cats are entertaining creatures. I frequently catch my kiddos doing silly stuff.

Once kitten phase is nearing an end he should calm down... We were told our boy would chill out once he was neutered... That was a bunch of hooey where he was concerned.

Regarding the table... Cats are smart... Ours know they aren't allowed on the table... So they wait till we're gone or in bed to party. Can't tell you how many times I've come in at night to find my Bengal sprawled across the dining room table. And the second she sees me she bolts. The other morning there was a patch of sun on our bar in the kitchen... She was rolling all over it just having a good ole time... My parents walked in, and she just stopped for a second and acknowledged them and then rolled around a couple more times, stood up and just walked off the bar and sat in a stool....

Oh I saw that yesterday. It was on the chair in the kitchen looking at the table. I said, " Don't you dare" and it laid back down. lol

Your post about the 'cat creature' made me laugh.

Up until 18 months ago I was always dog person! Then after an innocent visit to the hairdressers, I walked out with two 11 week old kittens!

My old dog had died at 17 and for 18 months I had no pets. This suited me at this stage in my life. The timing was wrong for me to take on pets - I couldn't believe my stupidity. Not only that these two little empty sacks of fur were so intrusive. They wanted to be on me all the time. Very often I would have one hanging round my neck, and the other clamped on my leg. Not only that they could jump on anything - kitchen surfaces, the top of the shower door when I was taking a shower. I was used to dogs they didn't jump like this. 6 weeks in I thought I had made a terrible mistake. I couldn't sleep because they were outside the door mewling, and then when I let them in they both wanted to sleep on my head! They were fussy eaters and will only eat expensive organic food. They wouldn't let me read in peace, or go on the computer. I had to shut them out of the room.

Anyway long story short - I'm now their servant and I adore them. They have given me so much fun and love, it would break my heart if anything happened to them. They are so loving and cuddly and we all belong together. I've finally become a 'cat' person, and wouldn't change it for the world. Give your cat time to grow on you, you will find it immensely rewarding. I'm not sure when the turning point was, but it just seemed one day we came to an understanding. They follow me around like little dogs, always with me but not annoyingly so.

Butterfly, that's a wonderful story about relationship with your cats. I've always been a cat person. We have two (10 and 7) now and they are such an integrated if independent part of the family. No bother, but such loving and eccentric characters they are with their individual personalities (I could write a book)!

Thanks Grasshopper, I could write a book too. I can't imagine how long your book would be after all those years! Lol! I think the thing is as a dog lover I hadn't realized how different cats were as a pet. Now I understand. I could wax lyrical about them for hours but it would bore most.

Actually butterfly, it wouldn't bore most here. Most of us have cats in the family, could write books about it and wouldn't have it any other way too. I've owned as many as 9 at one time. Over time, illness overtook many and 3 are left. They are quite old now, but still play like kittens at times and still can drive us crazy, especially when my husband and I are trying to sleep.

All of our cats found us, not the other way around.

Yeah, many of us are cat people here. The little critters most definitely do grow on you. Currently we only have 1 but that is because she has made it very clear that she likes being the only cat in the family. Sigh.

Oh, almost forgot, a friend of mine sent me a link to a website called Kitty Humbug. Do a search for it and you should find it. I totally loved it!

lol Butterfly, love your story!

Have you or others here thought of writing for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series?
Check out their website, I think a while ago they were looking for pet stories too..

I love cats & wanted to get one, then dad brought home a budgie & that was it.. (We didn't dare have both in the house) & sis was identified as allergic to cats (not sure if it's true).. so that settled it for a while.. I don't think I could have a cat just by myself either..

Great info here in the thread if I ever get a cat again!
One of hours was banned from climbing tables etc at home (if we managed to see him), but then went into neighbours' house & climbed THEIR table! /sigh/
No wonder he went missing quite soon after that.. Can't prove anything, but we've had our suspicions.. He was totally adorable & very wicked too!! he he..

It's good to meet fellow cat lovers. I love Chicken Soup for the Soul books, will check out there site.

You know I was thinking after I wrote that, about the turning point in our relationship. I think it's because they loved me so much as 'mama cat', that I just couldn't resist all the attention they bestowed on me. Their little happy meows as they ran to greet me every morning and when I came home from work. They won me over!

I recommend T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. You can read 57 pages free at Google Books:

http://tinyurl.com/nxy9t9

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Your two are real cuties Grasshopper, beautiful colorings. I will check out the book too.

aww beautiful...mine is all black & as evil as his name Merlin~!

he he, ours (the jump-on-neighbours-table one) was black with a white 'speck' as his tie I adore black cats, Shell!!

Beautiful cats, Grasshopper!

I checked the Chicken Soul site, seems currently they are looking for stories about pet bereavement (dogs/cats), and how to overcome it etc. So maybe this could just fit in..?!!

Let me tell you about Merlin:
He sneaks & eats food waiting for children
He gets into bed with me at night & makes me have asthma attacks\
He jumps into the tub with me
He attacks me when I walk through the room
He poops his box full everyday...scratches all the way up my legs
OMG he sleeps on my mantel on my fathers urn
and FINALLY
He has my heart silly thing.

OMG lol Shell!! This could totally like go into a book of poetry for cat owners or such!!

PS I do hope you manage to teach him some manners too - other cat people may be more helpful here!
I know there are books and forums for dog owners, where it's discussed how to get them to behave etc (my Sis used to go there) - maybe there are some for cat people too?

StrawberryLife wrote:OMG lol Shell!! This could totally like go into a book of poetry for cat owners or such!!

PS I do hope you manage to teach him some manners too - other cat people may be more helpful here!
I know there are books and forums for dog owners, where it's discussed how to get them to behave etc (my Sis used to go there) - maybe there are some for cat people too?

Actually, I already posted in this thread how to teach a cat manners:

When the kitten climbs your leg or uses his claws, just stop him gently and say no, that hurts. Then mimic retracting of claws. When he follows suit, pet him and tell him how good he's doing. Kittens just want to learn how to do things right and you have to demonstrate that.

When he jumps on the table, say in a normal but firm no nonsense voice, "get down." If he doesn't, put in on the floor. If he jumps back up, repeat. If a third time, clap your hands sharply and say no with a raised voice. This should work and in time, your kitten will get it. But if jumping on the table is an ingrained routine with him, you may have to resort to the double sided tape to help him change that.

This will work for anyplace you don't want him to be.

Since Shell waited, it is going to be harder now. Her cat has developed some bad habits and will need time to change them. The longer you wait to train a cat, the longer a time it takes to do so. I have trained dozens of feral kittens and cats plus all of my own.