My kitty is as wild as a buck!!! She needs discipline!!

[Nurse_Jamie]

Hey all! My young kitten (4 months) is so frisky!! I know that it's completely normal for young kittens to be rambunctious and wild, but lately, it's been getting a little out of hand. I mean, I love it when she is playful, and I think that she just gets so excited when me and my husband come home that she just goes wild wanting our attention. (We are gone a lot, working.)

We went out of town for a couple of days this week and when we came back, we found that she had gotten up on the dinner table and knocked a glass of water off, and the glass was shattered and there was water all over the floor. And she tore up a fake plant in my living room. Is she doing this for attention, or what?

I want to teach her that being up on the dinner table is NOT acceptable, and I have been using the water bottle when I see her on the table. But when we aren't home, I know she gets up on there and there is noone here to use the water bottle to let her know that is a no no.

She really does need some discipline. I love her spunk and playfulness, but I don't want her being destructive. I want to teach her what things are acceptable and what are not. She knows what "no" means, but I guess I spoil her so much that she thinks she can get away with it.

What can I do to brake her from climbing on the table? And how can I teach her a little discipline??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[MA]

sigh......she is a kitten- she is not being destuctive, she is being playful. She is bored, she needs a nice sturdy cat post, she needs an owner with patience who will not use squirt bottles to *teach* her. She needs scratching posts, and toys and exercise.

Find an old fishing pole. Tie a toy to the end of the line and play with her about 10 minutes a day this way. Get her a nice tall cat condo, you can find them all over eBay. Give her alternative places to get off the floor- Katwallks has a good product to help with this. Once she is spayed, some of her energy will go down a bit, but right now, she is just being a typical kitten. Clear off your tables before you leave the house, and put your plants up high for awhile so she can't get into them. This kitten sounds major bored.

[Guest]

The first time I wrote, people were telling me to use the squirt bottle as a punishment, and now you are telling me it's a bad idea??? Then just what are you supposed to do about bad behavior? Just let them get away with anything?? The squirt bottle works just fine.

You don't have to get harsh about it. This is the first time I have raised a kitten, and I am just learning.

She proabably is bored. But I have toys around the house for her to play with...even a toy like the fishing pole thing.

Oh well, I guess I am supposed to know everything......what's the point of this forum again???

[JessK]

Well, I will concur with nurse_jamie that it can be tremendously difficult to teach a kitty not to jump on the table and other places. I've been unsuccessful at it and would also love to see advice on what to do.

I totally relate to the problem of the cat being able to roam around off-limits areas when you're not home. For that reason I opted to not use the water bottle on him when he jumps on the table, because I thought it would be too confusing.

I tried a remedy I read several times, which was to apply double-sided tape to the table. I've heard that it can be effective (but it's hard to wash the stickiness off, so you might try a solution I read about later, which was to cover the table with inexpensive placemats that have double sided tape on them.) Supposedly the cat dislikes the sticky sensation and will therefore learn to avoid any place that has it. You might try it but in my case it didn't work--Neo was clearly irritated by the tape, but he didn't let it get in the way of his table exploring, he just put up with it.

Another solution I read about is to line the edge of the table with empty aluminum cans--but put a couple pennies in each can. That way the cat will knock them over when she jumps up and the sound will be alarming so will discourage her from doing it again.

I'll admit I didn't try this because I guessed it would work only while the cans were present, so I didn't go to the trouble. I'd love to know if anyone has been successful with this method though.

Any other ideas hugely appreciated! As for the kitten being bored, I don't think so necessarily. My kitty has tons of toys and ample sisal climbing surfaces--he's just immensely curious. If there's a place he can't see, such as the surface of a table, he wants to go the heck up there an investigate. As for destroying the fake plant, who knows what's in their kitty brains. Maybe your kitty brushed it, causing a leaf to move, which meant it needed to be pounced on. One thing I've definitely observed in my 3.5 months as kitten owner is, as far as the cat is concerned, anything that moves requires immediate pouncing on. Sometimes things that don't move also require pouncing.

Whew, long post-sorry! Hope there's a modicum of helpfulness in it...

[JessK]

Oh, and on the water bottle: I personally think the correction should fit the crime. I don't use it on vicitimless crimes like table-jumping, but when he pounces on my feet and bites, you can bet that gets a squirt!

[kate & kobi]

The first time I wrote, people were telling me to use the squirt bottle as a punishment, and now you are telling me it's a bad idea???
<snip>
Oh well, I guess I am supposed to know everything......what's the point of this forum again???

I think that your kitten would benefit more from you playing with her, than from you trying to "teach" her not to jump on the table. She is bored, and the only thing that will cure boredom is more interactive playtime. She doesn't need to be punished or taught a lesson ... she needs to be loved and played with.

Jumping on the table is connected to her being bored and wanting attention. She might be trainable on this, but you might also need to "give" a little here and accept that she will probably get onto the table once in a while. JessK's suggestions sound good; you could also try lining the table with aluminum foil while you are away during the day.

Also, going away for several days without having anyone come by to play with your kitten is asking for trouble. As you can see, she can get into dangerous situations (broken glass) and with no one to check on her, she could get hurt.

It sounds like you would be more suited to taking care of an adult cat. Your kitten will mature with time, but in the meantime, she needs your love and attention in order to become a happy, well-adjusted adult cat.

Also please accept that different people will have different opinions about how to respond to situations like this, and if you ask everyone on this board you are likely to get lots of different opinions. You'll just have to try to take it all into account and form the best plan of action you can for your situation.

[jason]

You don't have to get harsh about it. This is the first time I have raised a kitten, and I am just learning.

dont think anyone was being harsh.

She proabably is bored. But I have toys around the house for her to play with...even a toy like the fishing pole thing.

what was mentioned was not only toys, but your interaction as well.

Oh well, I guess I am supposed to know everything......what's the point of this forum again???

to educate the world of the feline dominance that has existed for ages, why you ask? (do keep cool Nurse_Jamie, id appreciate it)

anyhow, as far as teaching rules of the house...i think this will happen in time with careful rewards for good behavior and appropiate time outs and the like for (what you determine) as bad behavior like jumping up on the dinning room table for example.

a small spray of water can help, so can simply placing the cat immediately down on the floor and petting/rubbing her. for a situation of the dinning room table, as soon as she hops up on there you need to be deligent about placing her down (not harshly) and making her feel more welcomed on the floor.

also, be sure to maintain patience during her youthfullness...cats can pick up on frustration and that leads to issues you (and especially the cat) dont want.

[Nurse_Jamie]

I do play with my kitten - all the time! When I am home, she is constantly in my lap, or laying with me...I give her more attention at times than I give my husband!!! She definitely isn't neglected. She's spoiled if anything. I play with her all the time.

[jason]

She's spoiled if anything.

well, might need to start balancing/working in some discipline along with the playtime, but given her age i would go easy on her...what i mean is, if you place too many "no no" rules into effect, it will become overwhelming and stressfull.

choose maybe a couple things that you feel must be worked on and stick to it...combine some of the suggestions: water bottle, putting her down, time outs, etc....try different things on her (for at least a few days each) to find what gets through to her the most and then stick to it.

good luck.

[Traci]

Jamie, first, please read the advice given you and take it to heart, it is from experience by others that we ALL learn something valuable here. MA's post was not harsh, she simply saw familiarity because she knows kittens and cats, their behaviors, and how to deal appropriately with the issues at hand.

Next, you did say you and your husband are gone alot (working), and you did say you recently were gone for two days. A four-month-old kitten requires constant attention, affection, and some direction. She is alone much of the time and has no other form of interaction with either a sibling or you as her human parent. It's up to you and your husband to try to find what works for her in particular. Boredom is also a major cause of destructive behavior in young kittens and cats, so introducing more interactive toys, kitty trees, perches, scratching posts, etc may help keep her entertained for such long periods of time when you're not there. You might also try leaving on a radio or tv so that she doesn't feel so alone during the day.

She's only 4 months old, she is learning how to be a cat, yet she needs to exercise her right to be a kitten. She is still growing and developing and needs social interaction in order to learn the "rules" of your household. Be patient with her, and DO expect accidents in the home to occur. Kitten-proof your home so that valuables and dangerous items are not left at her disposal.