How to train 7 mnth kitty to stop some really bad habits?

michelleinstyle · May 2012

It's kind of cute, but it hurts! Plus I don't want to accidentally step on her. She is 7 months old and she has a lot of bad habits. Ive been fairly consistent with my training but when she's home alone she does the same things over and over, then I come home to see the evidence of:

- Jumping on counters & tables, fridge & stove

- Pushing things off counters, tables, fridge & stove

- Pulling shoes off of the shoe rack

Etc..... When I AM home, she chases me to no end. She wants to bite the cr@p out of me and chew on me like I'm KFC. I tell her to stop (a firm "No") and have even used a spray bottle.

I think she has separation anxiety because she follows me constantly and is never satisfied with my playing with her for a limited time.

Money is really tight right now so getting another kitten is tricky.

Any advice, especially to get her to stop doing those crazy things when I'm not home?

Thanks

Kaiene · May 2012

What kinds of toys do you have for her? Do you have a laser pointer? I would try some really interactive play and maybe some puzzle toys.

Do you feed dry? If so, you could put her food in a Kong ball or other food puzzle made for dogs and make her figure out how to eat.

As far as the biting, when L would do that, we found that ignoring her worked the best. She is an AW, and when she would bite to get our attention, we ignored her and literally walked away from her. If she followed, we turned our backs to her. It took some time, but with consistent responses from us, she is so much better now.

Our cats get up on the counters and such, and we haven't figured out a way to keep them off. So, we just don't leave anything out they can get into. There are some products on Amazon that seem to operate via sensors to keep the cats off of things when you aren't home to supervise. TBH, I haven't had much time to investigate lately with DS, but I do plan to look into these products in the future.

PolarBearFans · May 2012

The kitty will calm down a bit around year 2. Counters, fridge, table, etc are a losing battle. Play at least 10 minutes a day interactive play; pole toy, tossing toys, laser... And reward at the end with a few treats. Feliway diffusers are also a very good choice to add to your home. The feliways is about $25 a month to maintain but do worth it. Usually you can get a $10 off two coupon online and coupons come in the feliways. The diffuser needs replaced every 6 months fully and the feliway every 30 days

CLL1001 · May 2012

My cat was around the same age when he started biting me all the time...and he wouldn't bite my husband-only me- the one who fed him, cleaned his litter box, etc. We ended up getting another kitten and that solved the problem. I know that option might be out of the question for you but for us having two cats isn't that much more expensive than one and they definately keep each other entertained. We got her from our local shelter and since it was "kitten season" they had specials going on. She only cost us $20 and that included the spay surgery and the initial shots.

kellbell1919 · May 2012

Yeah my devil cat is nine million times better since we got another cat. At 7 he is much better than he was at 2, but that takes awhile.

If money is an issue I would volunteer to foster a 2 years old or under cat for a rescue. Adults are a lot cheaper b.c. they don't require the boosters and testing that kittens do. Other options we use to keep the cats busy: feeding their meals out of the treat ball, crinkle tunnels, the cat sitter video, 30 minutes per day of play time with da bird and the feline flyer, catnip toys to chase on their own, cardboard boxes to play in, a bird feeder outside the window so they can watch the birds, fling ama string toy, the peek a boo box toy.

ramcheer55 · May 2012

My cat is just 1 1/2 years old and we are just finally getting to wear we can see her calming down. We've always kept plenty of balls, catnip mice, and other toys out for her. She has a little bed which she won't use so we use it to keep all of her toys in 1 place. She knows that she can walk over whenever she wants a get a toy. And the toys we buy are cheap and from the dollar store since they'll be destroyed after awhile anyways. We tried the spray bottle but she loves water so that didn't work. We'd just keep pulling her off the countertops etc. when she did it and give a firm no...then we realized it was usually only when we were making dinner so we started giving her a tsp. of wet food and that keeps her content while we're making dinner. She bites me feet too but only when she's really playful. If it hurts and is too hard she can usually tell by the tone of my voice that it's bad and will stop...it took a lot of persistence until she recognized what no was...and sometimes she'll ignore us if she's in a really playful mood. Just keep working at it and be sure to reward your kitty with treats when it listens or does something good : )

callitcompulsive · May 2012

Kaiene:
What kinds of toys do you have for her? Do you have a laser pointer? I would try some really interactive play and maybe some puzzle toys.
Do you feed dry? If so, you could put her food in a Kong ball or other food puzzle made for dogs and make her figure out how to eat.
As far as the biting, when L would do that, we found that ignoring her worked the best. She is an AW, and when she would bite to get our attention, we ignored her and literally walked away from her. If she followed, we turned our backs to her. It took some time, but with consistent responses from us, she is so much better now.
Our cats get up on the counters and such, and we haven't figured out a way to keep them off. So, we just don't leave anything out they can get into. There are some products on Amazon that seem to operate via sensors to keep the cats off of things when you aren't home to supervise. TBH, I haven't had much time to investigate lately with DS, but I do plan to look into these products in the future.

I agree with Kaiene's toy suggestions and biting remedies.

Have you tried something like this: http://www.petco.com/product/5840/Sticky-Paws.aspx?cm_mmc=bazaarvoice-_-RLP-_-5840-_-image_link for her jumping up onto counters and such?

I looked it up and thought I could get it for Eastwood and his pooping issue, but knowing him, he'd poop right next to the stick part. T_T

ETA: made link clicky

How to train 7 mnth kitty to stop some really bad habits?

Re: How to train 7 mnth kitty to stop some really bad habits?

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