How do you discipline your cat? I had a cat I used to use a water pistol with. Got to the point

[applegrove]

where all I had to do is point the weapon at her and say "freeze" and she would stop on a dime, look terrified, then turn and run. LOL! I've been looking for a pistol for years now and have not found one. As a result the vinyl couch in my living room is the largest, most expensive 'cat toy' ever. Growing up, we used to discipline our cat with a tap on the bum but I don't want to do that to my cats (plus monster would attack me back if I did).

[stuntcat]

1. we keep water guns in every room

and sitting by the front and back doors. All I have to do is pick one up and shake it and they all freeze

If I tried to punish them for anything I'm not sure they'd understand. I will screech at them when I have to, they hate that.

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. Never really worked, but I would hiss sharply at NoName... and she would respond...

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...with a short, sharp little mew that I interpreted as, "But I'm not DOIN' nothin'."
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Kali, without ever actually HEARING her, told me she was saying, "FUCK you!!!"
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The next time we had that exchange, I listened closely...
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...and DAMN if Kali wasn't exactly right.
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I'm surprised that you can't find some sort of squirt-thing -- if not a gun, then a fish
or something. I got my cousin (a bulldog-lover) a squirt bulldog (the water came out of its
MOUTH, tyvm) when she was in the hospital to "discipline" her nurses when they got out of hand.
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[applegrove]

3. Yup. Squirt bath toys would work. Didn't think of that.

[pinboy3niner]

4. You don't need a squirtgun

My mom had a pretty good solution. All she had to do was take out the cat carrier--the one she used to take the cat to the vet. Immediately, the cat would zoom out of the room and hide under the bed.

[elocs]

5. Ironically, I just used the spray bottle on a aggressive kitten

who is antagonizing my 17 year old cat. If the kitten just sees the water bottle he takes off. I've used the water bottle for decades and it works well.

[Skittles]

6. I don't even have to use the water pistol anymore

just the sight of me reaching up to the top of the fridge (where I keep it) modifies their behavior

[kimi]

7. Yeah, I tried the water pistol with my Loki cat

He's a 22-lb Norwegian Forest Cat and just loved to jump up on the kitchen counter, when he was younger and a bit more agile. I tried the water pistol thing, and he reveled in it, thought I was giving him a REWARD or something, a high-five for making it onto the counter. He'd open his mouth and try to catch the water. His eyes would light up, I swear, and he'd start purring when he saw me whip out that plastic pistol.

I'm not sure what would discourage him from anything. He loves everything and everybody.

[meow2u3]

39. I had a 20-pound Maine Coon who was just like your Weegie

My late, great Sylvester (R.I.P) had this habit of looking at either me or my mom (may she rest in peace) with this defiant look on his face and proceed to knock down anything from candles, decorations, etc., located on the coffee table. I tried a water pistol to discipline him, but not only did it not stop him, he took a break from his destructive behavior to lick the water off his fur and resume knocking down everything that wasn't bolted down!

He loved everything and everybody, even though he scared the neighborhood kids with his sheer size until I reassured them that he was just a big baby. Unfortunately, when my mom passed away nearly 8 years ago, he stopped eating--something he was a champ at doing (he died of a broken heart) and I had to have him euthanized so he could join my mom.

[SOteric]

8. StirFry has never needed discipline.

He is the most marvelous, well-mannered, quiet and loving little friend. I must be truly blessed.

[Kali]

9. c'mon!

if you were a cat named StirFry wouldn't YOU behave?!

[ZombieHorde]

23. Good one. nt

[ProdigalJunkMail]

42. best cat name ever...

might have to flat out steal this for a nickname for our monster kitten...

sP

[NuclearDem]

10. I always just grabbed Grande by the scruff and looked him right in the eyes

He's still a kitten (seven months old now) but he got the message really quick.

A variation on that involves just holding him on his back in my arms and staring him in the eyes. He's a pretty dominant cat, but I think I'm starting to break him of it.

[applegrove]

11. LOL! That would work with Twilight but not Monster. Monster is dominant and he wasn't

fixed until he was two (when I got him) so he had all the male hormones and does not back down from nothing.

[mockmonkey]

12. We have a spray bottle in every room

I just added a "StayAway" motion detector to keep one particular cat off the kitchen table. She has a habit of peeing on the toasters. Lucky for her they were never plugged in.

[GoCubsGo]

13. Canned air , scruffing, and an occasional jiggle of the vacuum cleaner

Canned air hisses, which the cats don't like, and you don't have to wipe up water after you spray it.

If one of them is really being naughty, they get "scruffed", and if they are exceptionally naughty, a thunk on the nose. I grab the skin on the back of their neck, and thunk them LIGHTLY on the nose with one finger. Just don't pick them up by the neck fur. Make sure they are grounded, or you are holding them with your other arm. Usually the tap on the nose isn't necessary...

My younger cat is deathly afraid of the vacuum cleaner. When she is being a nuisance, all I have to do grab the vacuum and roll it a foot or so. Just the sound of that sends her under the bed for a good 20 minutes. I don't even have to turn the thing on. She is also afraid of my metal tape measure. I just pull out a few feet of the tape and jiggle it at her.

The geezer doesn't get disciplined these days. I blame his rare misbehavior on cognitive dysfunction. Poor, old cat.

[MrsMatt]

27. Canned air - especially good for cats

who love water. I had one cat that had such a thick pelt (not to mention a HUGE attitude) that water pistols were useless. Compressed air, right in the face, did the trick!

[meow2u3]

38. I use canned air to clean my computer

Side effect: it scares the cats.

[meow2u3]

37. Mother cats discipline their kittens by thunking them on the nose with her paw

I've seen Ruby do that to Max when he was a little kitten. Now, he's a not-so-little cat and she still does that to him when he gets out of line, even though he's almost twice her size now.

When I hear them scratch in inappropriate places, I yell, "UH, UH, UH, UH, UH!" as loud as I can and that scares them away from what they shouldn't be doing.

[HopeHoops]

14. Super Soaker. After they learn the sound, all you have to do is pump a few times.

They don't know whether or not you've got water in it.

[lunatica]

15. A very light touch on the nose will have instant results

Then all you have to do after that is raise your finger so they can see it. They get the message very fast, and never get hurt. Cats hate having their noses touched with a purple passion! Use the gentlest and lightest touch you can and say "no" while you do it and only while the crime is being committed. With a squirt bottle you have to run and find it or fill it because it's empty and by the time you squirt the cat it's left wondering what the hell you did that for. But a raised finger is quick and you catch them in the act so they know what the crime was.

[haele]

36. Well, that's some cats -

Kali loves, just loves, the magic finger. She'll come running up stand up on her hind legs and hit your outstretched finger with her nose. Of course, she might be a bit nearsighted (her pupils always look wide open and round) so she might be thinking "dinner" when she sees a finger.
But she does like being bopped on the nose. She'll run her face up your finger if you tap her on the nose.
As for the word no, she knows what it means, but will tend to express a non-verbal "f* you" if you try and get her to see how much you may disapprove of her actions.

Haele

[meow2u3]

41. See post #37 and you'll know why

It's a human adaptation of natural feline discipline mother cats do to their kittens.

[woo me with science]

16. "Discipline" our cat?

[ColesCountyDem]

17. Raquet ball can with small stones in it.

Shake vigorously, as needed.

[txwhitedove]

18. My granddaughter keeps a water spray bottle on the table while she

does homework.

[kedrys]

19. The spray bottle worked pretty well when they were growing up

I don't even know where it is, but if I pick up a bottle of Resolve or Febreze, two of the five automatically find a shady spot until I'm done, even if they weren't doing anything.

Plato is waterproof. His nickname when he was little was Aquatread. His fur is so thick, you can shoot him and shoot him and all he does is stand there and drip. I shot him square in the face one time after a particularly exasperating bout of bad behavior, and all he did was flick his ears, lick his chops and give me the "did you hear a sloshy noise?" look.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. Squirt guns or spray bottles work pretty well with most cats,

but they did not faze the late Teddy in the least. He had the annoying habit of waking me up by shoving stuff onto the floor. Everything -- table lamp, alarm clock, anything he could find to get me up in the morning. So I got a spray bottle, thinking this would dissuade him. It didn't. He'd start his gravity-testing and I'd squirt him. He'd just stare at me, blink, and shove something else on the floor. Squirt. Blink. Shove. He'd just sit there with water dripping off his whiskers, stare at me defiantly, and -- shove -- there goes the alarm clock. He was incorrigible.

[meow2u3]

40. Liquid discipline on most cats is right

Water-based discipline of felines is counterproductive with semilonghair breeds originating from very cold climates, e.g., Maine Coons, Norwegian Forest Cats, Siberians, etc., or Turkish Vans, who are called the Swimming Cats. They think it's a game because they not only developed water-resistant fur, they're also smart cats who learn quickly when you're about to pull out the squirt device and prepare themselves beforehand.

One other drawback: liquid feline discipline only works on cats when humans are around. The best discipline is to set up noisy kitty "booby traps" and set them up in places off limits to them. Most cats, except for a few geniuses, will soon get the message that they're not allowed to do such a thing.

[hippywife]

21. Squirt bottle with a really great range.

I can squirt them no matter how fast and how far they run.

I can make the exact same noise forcing air through my teeth so half the time I don't even have to use it.

[Haole Girl]

22. I don't discipline my cats, they discipline me

[Kali]

24. I tell her NO, lightly slap/pat her butt and then wipe the blood off the scratch marks from my hand

not really - mostly the cats are pretty good or fast enough I don't catch them. I tend to make a psssshhh sound and lob lightweight objects if I see anything, like chewing on the house plants or up on counters.

[nadine_mn]

25. I spank him on the butt - not too hard - little perv likes it

I yelled at him once in my angry voice when he knocked my glasses off the stereo - that scared him pretty good.

Usually I tell him to stop and he sasses me

[HockeyMom]

26. Mom used to put pennies in a soda can

and then shake it. Scared her cats and they would stop and run away. Never tried it with mine, but my male cat didn't like the sound of a plastic bag (supermarket kind) shaking and would run away. With my girl cat I would clap my hands loudly and yell stop. She would run.

Must be something with sounds they don't like.

[LisaL]

28. I wouldn't even dream of disciplining a cat.

It does what it wants. Thankfully most of the time it just wants to sleep.

[udbcrzy2]

29. A can of air freshener

My cats have a fear of the can of air freshener. Just one little squirt and they take off immediately.
I don't squirt it at them, I just squirt it into the air. The noise is what they are afraid of, but I
don't know why??

[WolverineDG]

30. clap my hands & yell

works well for most of my household miscreants, but right now I have a particularly boneheaded kitten who's required a tap of my index finger on her nose once or twice.

dg

[Burma Jones]

31. Canned Air.......

Once for each of them, now I only have to hold my hand behind my back.........

[Enthusiast]

32. Our cat pushes his claws

into the Lay-Z-Boy every day. He acts like he is going to claw the chair. As soon as he does this I yell at him at the top of my lungs. He stops and runs. But he loves to get me to yell like that. He is teasing me.

[Love Bug]

33. The Avenging Squirt Bottle of Justice will smite the kitteh

My cat will run if I even look like I'm going to pick it up!

[Enthusiast]

34. Smite the kitteh! LOL!

[jobycom]

35. I show my kitties! I replace whatever they break or destroy, or I live without!

That stops them. They decided to turn my couch into a litterbox after clawing it to death. How did I stop them? By giving away the couch! Yes, I sit on the floor to watch television, but the cats don't destroy my couch anymore. So there.

[astral]

43. I see cats as needing not much discipline.

There are some basic boundaries cats have to learn, and at the same time they need to respectfully be given the things they like. Cats like to claw, and NEED to claw if they are not de-clawed, so if clawing the leather couch is the problem, make sure they have a TALL scratching post.

Cats like to be high. In fact I think ALL cats love to be high, and will naturally jump on counters if that is all there is. And the kitchen table. So give them high places, or at least ONE high place, that they ARE allowed to go. This reminds me my cat did used to have a standoff with me about the dining table, I forgot about that. But he did get it after awhile, that the dining table fight wasn't a 'game,' it was a 'rule.'

Cats need lots of fresh water. Give them fresh water and rinse out their bowl every day or at least every other day. (I know that's off topic but it's a pet peeve of mine. I won't go into the dry vs wet here. . . .)