Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, Everyone,
I'm having trouble with my one and a half year old cat, Joshua. I adopted him from a shelter at 10 weeks. Unfortunately I wasn't able to adopt his brother. Anyway he started biting right away. He gave little warning, sometimes none and did not fit into the usual aggression catagories. He did this often in my lap and I would put him on the floor but I wasn't too good at ignoring him. As he aged it got worse. He would walk back and forth across my lap and then bite or sometimes from the side. He really acted like a dominant aggressive dog(I took a dog survey and he got a very dominant score as well) Worse he didn't care if I ignored him anymore. So I armed myself with a plant mister and sprayed him when he attacked. This has worked very well and he does not bite as hard or often(it used to be daily). Now he doesn't sit in my lap too much. It's almost like he doesn't know how to interact with me without being aggressive which bothers me. I spent (and spend) lots of time playing with him, and being with him,etc. and he's indoor-only. So right after the biting stopped he went for all the fabric on the furniture. EVERYTHING. I used the sticky paws but he didn't seem too bothered and since there's so much he wants to scratch I'm using aluminum foil. It looks like David Bowie is my interior decorator,lol. But Josh will look for any uncovered area and scratch it. In the past he used to "graze" on the carpet and eat inedibles. He's very smart and I feel like he will probably resume scratching once the foil comes off. Haven't tried nail caps yet because I'm sure he'll get those off. He has a sisal post that's several inches too short(sometimes) which he was using. I play with him to get him to jump on his post. Now he's scratching any tiny un-foiled areas and not his post. Water doesn't work. So, any suggestions?
Sandra and Joshua

I am assuming that Joshua is neutered? If not, then this is a must do ASAP.

In the meantime, you are doing the right thing by letting Joshua have his space. I hope that as Joshua gets older, he will calm down and become more lovey-dovey. This is entirely possible.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thank you, MadameAlto! Yes, Joshua was neutered before he left the shelter at ten weeks(I would have had it done anyway). I didn't mention that he can be very sweet at times. I use fishing pole type toys, catnip mice(I toss them).He doesn't like the Cat Dancer or charmer very much. He's my first kitty. He used to sleep on me all the time as a kitten then slept with me sometimes and rarely does so now...It's like he grew up overnight! Is this common? Also the foil is not working as well as I hoped. Will the feliway discourage scratching the off limits stuff? Also I would like to get him a good cat tree in the not so distant future. Any recommendations? One more thing; Josh got used to being in a bathroom with his water and litter box and a toy for the short perids he's alone. First it was because I didn't trust my sister's wonderful dog with Josh, then when he started eating weird things and charging doors we continued. He still will try to eat weird stuff(Like the carpet) and charge doors. We've left him out several times lately and found no problems though and are hoping he won't damage himself or anything else so he can be out all the time(except when we eat-he's a fast and silent hunter,lol. Thanks!
Sandra and Joshua

I don't know that much about cat behavior as I have had two kittens only a few months now, but all the same I would suggest that you clicker train him. It will give him something new to do and he will have your attention at the same time. Give him treats/touches for being good, and ignore him when he does the forbidden things. You can find good information about clicker training on the internet. Just search for "Cat clicker" or something like that.

Regards
Anne (Ronja and Johnny's person)

I've been somewhat negligent about it(Actually very much so-he's picked up behaviors I just haven't gotten to naming them(Targeting, siting) I have more in mind. I've been really busy and his stomach was a bit off so he was just eating his cat food but Josh is a great student and picks up where we left off. It's very fun. His favorite treat(He works best for small bits of food) is tuna but he turns into a tuna junkie so I don't give him any anymore. Chicken is good, too. I think I'll pick up some chicken tonight Are you planning on clicker training your kittens?
Sandra and Joshua

Yes, I train them and it is so much fun. We do targeting and go to mat. They know sit and come from before I started the clicker training. They are really good at go to mat now, I am working on adding a cue. I have also used the clicker when training them to go on a leash - have not been outside yet though (it is winter and cold in Norway). Also we are working on give me five and rollover - slowly progressing.

I have always thought you could not train cats, but this is really fun. My kittens are 7 months old now and they love their training sessions.

Ronja, Johnny and their coach Anne

That is AWESOME! Btw, thank you for your suggestion of clicker training. I think rolling over won't be hard for Joshie as when he gets tired from playing and lies on his back he'll roll to the side you put the toy next to. I was thinking of trying, "Go scratch your post". Do you re-inforce them each time with play, food, petting, or sometimes just "Good Kitties"? Some things I've read indicate that you always do verbal praise and something else once the kitty is doing just what you want and others say to re-inforce with extras on a variable schedule. I didn't know cats were so easy to train either. Josh is the first animal I've trained period. Funny thing though; I didn't notice it at the time but when I took out the clicker Josh would sit promptly with one front paw in the air,lol. So, I started clicking for him putting his foot down and realized I'm not teaching him to sit so after a bit of luring into position and ignoring three legged sits Joshua sits normally;sleeps weird but sits normally.
Sandra and Joshua

Hello again,
I always click and give them a treat - tiny bits of dried food with chicken which they both like. And when I am extra pleased with what they do I give them their absolute favorite treat - freeze dried codfish, and pet them and tell them how beautiful and clever they are. I do not know if this is the right thing to do, but it works for us. And I always end the training session when they do something right - I never end on failure. So if they will not lift their paw or whatever I am trying to teach them, I just do a bit of targeting, which is always a success and then end the session. And sometimes after a good session they get to play with the laser pointer (the red dot).

But I am no master, I have not done this for very long. So it is "learning by doing" for all three of us.

Ronja, Johnny and Anne

That's what I do, too. Well, I use fresh chicken but I think I'll switch to this freeze dried raw liver(Ugh!) that Josh likes. I found one book on clicker training cats so that helped some and I apply some "dog" clicker book principles. I also end with success. I read that if the behaviour is extra good you increase the number of treats but not the number of clicks. I think your method might work much better since the kitties don't know what exactly they will get just that it's good Do you carry around the clicker most of the time or take it out every so often like in a training session? I take the clicker out when I want to teach but I think I'll start carrying it around the house so Joshua may have more to think about.

Usually I do training sessions, mostly because I concentrate on go to mat, high five and grooming for the time being. Lateron I think I will carry the clicker around more at least for shorter periods to click at the right moment when they do something cute. But that is future. One step at the time.

Ronja, Johnny and Anne