Training cats?

When you say "sticky tape", did you use bits of tape or a full sheet of contact paper? I've done the latter. When they get all tangled up in it and need help getting disconnected, it doesn't take long to just avoid the area where it happened.

Might consider some of the cat-stay-away sprays on the kitchen floor. My cat worked on the couch for a while until we started spraying that stuff around the base. He avoided it after that.

Personally, I trained the dog to chastise the cat. That's fun to watch. No blood drawn but the German Shepherd has a maternal "momma" attitude on what's right and wrong. She's pretty good at herding the cat away from places he shouldn't be going. :D
 
Good luck.

Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.

That says it all.
 
Tennis racquet ... a swat to encourage staying off the counter; explanation of the term "cat gut" used on the racquet when this doesn't work

Dog thinks "He feeds me. He must be god!"
Cat thinks "He feeds me. I must be god!"
 
Cats....hmmmm...

I asked Mr Jack if he had any ideas but I'm very sure your wife will have some major issues with his solution.
 

Attachments

  • IM003303.JPG
    IM003303.JPG
    58.7 KB · Views: 17
Last edited:
TMetzinger said:
squirt gun and spray them with water. worked for us.

-Tim

I had good luck with the water bottle. Used it early on to teach the
cat the meaning of NO. It's the one word that stops him in his
tracks. Then you just work from there.
 
I've heard of people putting baloons near thumbtacks. When they disturb the baloon and it hits the tack... Let's just say they don't like it.
 
gkainz said:
Tennis racquet ... a swat to encourage staying off the counter; explanation of the term "cat gut" used on the racquet when this doesn't work

Dog thinks "He feeds me. He must be god!"
Cat thinks "He feeds me. I must be god!"

Greg....that is so true, well with my black lab anyways. I was pretending to play in the basement (just swinging the raquet around) and my black lab came up behind me and WHACK!!!!! To the day he died...he was terrified of a tennis racquet.
 
Larry,
Your entire question demonstrates a fundamental inability to grasp the reality of the situation, and your failure to properly learn her lessons. (Note that, unlike a CFI, here the failure to learn is clearly your fault; cats are faultless.) I mean, what are you doing, trying to dictate to her what she can do with her counter? You seem to be under the misapprehension that it is your house! Your only funtions there are 1) to pay the mortgage, 2) keep her in the style to which she wishes to become accustomed, and 3) to keep the litter box clean.

When I mentioned this to Leslie, she independently came up with exactly the same quote Ghery used: "Dogs have owners. Cats have staff."

'Nuff said.
 
I agree with Grant.

that said, try tin foil. I also hear they hate the sound of it when they walk on it.

DO NOT however wad it into a ball. this is a direct invitation to play. my cats will come running from any corner of the house when I do this. and I find these wadded up balls of tin foil everywhere afterwards.
 
A couple things.

the water bottle works great but then you will have to stand watch over the counter to catch them each time. Try a little bit of hot sausce on their nose when they get up there, follow that up with a small dish with some in it on the counter. The smell will keep them away.

Tin foil sometimes works but can also back fire and become a toy. A toy that will only come out of hiding at 2am and then only just long enough to wake you up. Some people also try the negatie reinforcement of yelling. If you go that route also praise when they leave the table.

To train cats it takes a lot of patience, trial and error, and a good sense of how the cat hears commands. With a bit of time you will eventually accept that fact that it is ok for the cats to be on the counter and then all will be well.
 
that's a good point. just let em go up there - if you make sure there is NEVER food laying out, chances are they won't bother anyway.

also, if you have tall counters (most of them are) make sure there is nothing close by that they can use as a stepping stone to the counter. my cats go on everything in the house but the counters they rarely bother - too lazy to jump so high I guess. but they are all over the tables - I just let em be.
 
Any animal that walks in its own crap does not belong where I put my food. Period.
 
Brian Austin said:
Any animal that walks in its own crap does not belong where I put my food. Period.


why do you let them walk in their crap? ;)

if you cleaned the litterbox the minute they used it, wouldn't be an issue. :no:
 
Brian Austin said:
Any animal that walks in its own crap does not belong where I put my food. Period.
Well 1. What Elizabeth said.

2. How often does a dog lick your face? Where do you think that tounge has been? UGGHHH!!!!
 
smigaldi said:
Well 1. What Elizabeth said.

2. How often does a dog lick your face? Where do you think that tounge has been? UGGHHH!!!!
My dog doesn't lick my face...for exactly that reason.
 
woodstock said:
why do you let them walk in their crap? ;)

if you cleaned the litterbox the minute they used it, wouldn't be an issue. :no:
I am not following my cat around waiting for it to take a crap and pick up after it. Animals don't belong on furniture or counters. I don't see the issue here.
 
Brian Austin said:
I am not following my cat around waiting for it to take a crap and pick up after it. Animals don't belong on furniture or counters. I don't see the issue here.

ah but you see - that's easier. you can do that, yourself, much easier than following them around and making sure they never walk on the counter or table. even if you succeed while at home... just wait!
 
Brian Austin said:
Animals don't belong on furniture or counters. I don't see the issue here.
People are animals. When you have visitors do you make them sit on the floor? And seeing how some people live, maybe not your friends, on episodes of cops, there are a lot of them walking around in crap. :D:D:D

Guess if I ever get invoted over to your house I should bring a chair huh?

Really though try the hot sauce thing. I discovered it by accident with my cat. She would always beg food, it was quit annoying. One day I was having pizza with hot sauce and she started begging. I put a drop of hot sauce on my finger and held it out she came running and the rest is history. After that if I showed her the bottle she would run. I used that stuff to train her to stay off of the kitchen counters as well and to not bite wires.
 
mouse traps set, upside down various places on the counter. some people put newspaper on top but Im not sure its necessary
it only takes one encounter to make them shun the countertop as a hazardous locale, and you do not have to be present to ensure reinforcement
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
mouse traps set, upside down various places on the counter. some people put newspaper on top but Im not sure its necessary
it only takes one encounter to make them shun the countertop as a hazardous locale, and you do not have to be present to ensure reinforcement

Was given this very advice, by this very person (OK, his wife!), and can vouch for it- works marvelously!
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
mouse traps set, upside down various places on the counter. some people put newspaper on top but Im not sure its necessary
it only takes one encounter to make them shun the countertop as a hazardous locale, and you do not have to be present to ensure reinforcement

isn't there something else you are supposed to do, to make sure the kitty doesn't get a nose or paw caught? can you imagine how painful that would be?
 
woodstock said:
isn't there something else you are supposed to do, to make sure the kitty doesn't get a nose or paw caught? can you imagine how painful that would be?

That's why it's upside-down, works great. But putting anything at all over it still helps alleviate the concern over paw-crushin'.
 
TMetzinger said:
squirt gun and spray them with water. worked for us.

-Tim

Add Lemon juice to the water, they hate the taste so it re-inforces the no! when they have to clean the nasty tasting stuff off! It got to the point that all I had to do was make the same noise as the spary bottle and he would flinch and stop what he was doing.

Missa
 
TMetzinger said:
squirt gun and spray them with water. worked for us.

A .45 worked for us.


:rofl:
 
Cats, dogs, etc all belong outside. That's what the barn is for!
 
gkainz said:
Cats, dogs, etc all belong outside. That's what the barn is for!


Fie!

the rest of this message is to get past that stupid 5 character min that POA imposes.
 
woodstock said:
Fie!

the rest of this message is to get past that stupid 5 character min that POA imposes.

:D

Confession time... we did have 2 cats when I was a kid - they did come inside sometimes. But they were still technically barn cats - cuties, tho!

The dog is an outside critter.
 
I used the spray bottle technique to train the cat not to climb the christmas tree and bat the ornaments from the inside. It only took a 2 or 3 shots and she stayed away from the tree. She never did jump onto tables or counters, but I presume the same tactic would work.

I used the hot sauce trick on a dog who liked to rummage around in the cat's litter box. That worked too.

And for the record, dogs should not be on furniture, lick people, or sniff crotches. It's not that hard to ensure correct behavior. In animals, anyway. Kids are proving to be a little more difficult, as they keep hiding the spray bottle.
 
Ken Ibold said:
I used the spray bottle technique to train the cat not to climb the christmas tree and bat the ornaments from the inside. It only took a 2 or 3 shots and she stayed away from the tree. She never did jump onto tables or counters, but I presume the same tactic would work.

I used the hot sauce trick on a dog who liked to rummage around in the cat's litter box. That worked too.

And for the record, dogs should not be on furniture, lick people, or sniff crotches. It's not that hard to ensure correct behavior. In animals, anyway. Kids are proving to be a little more difficult, as they keep hiding the spray bottle.


now there's a trick I'd like to see - Billy, you do that again and I'm going to squirt you!
 
Joe Williams said:

Is that for the kid training that Ken was talking about?

I agree!! TASERS at nice resturants to train kids not to run around like wild apes would be a great idea:D:yes:

Or maybe we should just TASER the parents for letting their kids run amok.
 
A Phased Plasma Rifle in the 9 watt range.



:p
 
Anthony said:
A Phased Plasma Rifle in the 9 watt range.



:p
9 Watts??!

40 Watt range is what the Terminator wanted. 9 Watt, that is like a "baby" phased plasma riflle.;)

hmmm 'baby' maybe 9 watt would be good for crying babies on airplanes, hmmmm :D
 
smigaldi said:
9 Watts??!

40 Watt range is what the Terminator wanted. 9 Watt, that is like a "baby" phased plasma riflle.;)

hmmm 'baby' maybe 9 watt would be good for crying babies on airplanes, hmmmm :D

:D:rolleyes:
 
Anthony said:
A Phased Plasma Rifle in the 9 watt range.



:p
Carefull- Elizabeth will give you the evil eye..:blowingkisses:

(although I agree with you on this... )
 
Back
Top