I’m not fond of physical discipline. Growing up with cats and dogs, poor behavior was met with claps and shouts and the occasional swat on the nose. Now that I have my own home and pets, I am the one making the rules as to how these children of mine will be taught, and doing the research on behavioral problems.
When I first had Henry, he was a rough around the edges tomcat. He had his issues. I’ve mentioned in my first post he hated feet. Just wearing socks would prompt him to stalk my feet and attack. Crossing my legs, same results. Moving my feet beneath my bed? It was relentless. Feeling that he was responding from fear, some memories in his past that were negative, I didn’t want to add to the stress with further physical responses or punishments. I would shout, tuck my feet out of the way, clap, shake a can with thumb tacks in it for noise, but still he persisted. When my mother was visiting, I felt the need to warn her. Every guest had that notice, and I was desperate to curb the behavior.
Things were getting better, but it was a slow process, as to be expected with his psyche. His emotional responses to shoes/feet, wasn’t something I expected to resolve overnight. I was able to read Henry’s behavior more and anticipate when he was stalking said feet and would say his name in a warning tone that he knows very well. We still use that today and it has prevented him from making some bad choices. (Example: As I am writing this, Henry is wanting to kick Lana out of a spot on a claw post tower despite him sitting in another area.) In this situation, investing time and keeping patient was the best medicine for Henry. I asked that visitors not play with him with their feet, as it was a surprising first response from some guests I had over.
Despite his feelings towards feet, there were other behavioral issues to address. He would terrorize my plants, and run away the moment I made a move for him. Same thing for jumping on the counters. Henry had some manners, but I’m not sure how “house broken” he was when it came to certain things. I needed something on hand, something that would get the job done quickly to signal to him, this behavior is not acceptable.
Growing up, I have a few memories of using a squirt bottle with our cats. It was usually out of reach, up on the refrigerator and it was always used in a situation where someone yelled: “Quick! Get the squirt bottle!” Very dramatic, but very helpful. I broke it out for Henry and kept it on hand at all times. The results were amazing. He learned quickly that counters = squirts, digging in pots = squirts, and clawing furniture = squirts. On rare occasions he sits for a few seconds (I think to angrily spite me) but eventually, he gives up on what he wanted to shred, or quits chasing the Lonz and settles in the middle of the floor to clean off the water drops.
Mostly when Henry is squirted now, it is because of a Lana chase. In fact, what prompted me to write this today was due to such a chase. Lana will chase Henry, Henry will run, but I don’t get worried about those play times. In this situation, Lana came tearing into the living room, wet marks on her fur from Henry bites, with the Sir close behind. That bottle got whipped out and he was chased back to the bedroom. This is my new long term problem that I feel is not going to be solved with streamlined H2O. Currently I’m looking into Jackson Galaxy’s line of Sprit Essences. I’ve tried other brand drops in their water before and Feliway plug ins, nothing that I saw immediate results with. So for now, this case is unsolved, but I may post a review on the Spirit Essences if I get them.
Lana, I would have to admit, does not get the wrath of the squirt bottle as often as Henry, but that does not make her innocent of any bad deeds. This cat is EXPENSIVE. And not because I buy her cute collars every time something new comes out. She destroys expensive things. While I’m away. Henry is guilty of this as well, he never got over plant digging once I left the house. In these situations, I am the one who modifies my behavior. Henry’s plants go on top of bookshelves, out of reach. And Alannah, all of the Macbook cords, phone cables, tablet cables, headphones cords, any cord really, is tucked away where she can’t find them.
In addition to her need to bite cords (Sometimes while they are plugged in? How?) Alannah is notorious for jumping on counters, BUT, only when everyone is in bed. She hears the door close, and boom, that cat is on the counter, hunting down the butter dish and clanking it around until the top falls off or she hears a door open and vanishes into the dark. Talk about mischievous. For this cat, I got something good. It wasn’t even expensive! It’s called a Sofa Scram, but I used it for countertops. It’s simply a pressure sensitive matt that you can lay out anywhere you don’t want your pet to go, and if they step on it, a high frequency tone will sound until that pressure is removed. Amazing. I’ve used it once or twice and haven’t had to since.
There are lots of methods to discipline your pet, or to simply modify their behavior (even our own) that don’t require a physical swat. Sometimes they take a lot of work, because the symptom is stemming from a larger issue. I love my pets and I love that there are innovations out there that can help me curb their behaviors in a more positive direction without attacking their confidence and personality. There is always a work in progress, because WE are always a work in progress. We always want to be better, and we want that for our pets. We want that friendly coexisting with snuggles and playtime.
Any stories that you guys have with your cuddle buckets?
