I'm widely known as the cat lady because of my affinity for & understanding of cats. I'm a cat whisperer. I've actually been given the gift of attracting & understanding all animals but especially cats. I grew up with dogs but cats started happening to me 27 years ago & I've lived with multiples ever since. They've taught me much about taking care of my needs & about themselves. For about 20 years I also had a subscription to "Cat Fancy" magazine, which I read from cover to cover. I've also been blessed to babysit 2 month old hand raised tiger cubs for about a week! I fed them their bottles, rocked them in my arms when they were restless, played with them, let them teethe on my substantial Crocs. I'll never get rid of the pair that bears their teeth marks! For photos, see my Facebook page. In this series of blogs I'm going to share with you all I can about cats. Some of you will know these things but these are the things your cat wishes you knew. I'll start with the most simple & move on. Because even savvy pet parents come to me for help & advice about their cats.
First I have to say that if you own a cat I don't ever even want to meet you!!! I don't have anything in common with pet owners. I'm a pet parent. All pets have needs & feelings just like the rest of us. THEY AREN'T PROPERTY!!! We probably all know about science fair experiments where you yell at one plant & talk nicely to another. The ones yelled at shrivel or at least fail to thrive while the other plant does much better. Animals are way more sensitive than plants, so think about it. Don't yell at your pet, ridicule or say unkind things, or use an unkind tone of voice. And certainly don't hit them! That teaches violence & simply makes them afraid of you. The only lesson they learn is that home is an unsafe place. So I guess my first topic has to be good ways of disciplining cats.
There are many ways & aids. You can use aluminum foil to cover areas where you don't want your cats to go. It can be used to cover a couch when you're going to be away, taped to the edge of a counter you don't want them jumping on, etc. They don't like it. You can loosely fill a can with some stones or nuts & shake it when they start to do something you don't want them doing. I find a squirt bottle (WATER ONLY) to be my preferred method. After 1-2 times of being squirted, all I have to do is pick up the bottle & the cat leaves the area. I use that to warn away a cat trying to dart in or out a door or for severe aggression, like when I have just added a cat to the household. Cat safety is another issue, which I'll cover in another post. If you have a cat that chews electrical cords or something else unsafe, you can spray the undesirable thing with bitter apple or other store bought (pet store) deterrent, or coat with something like Tabasco Sauce.
I find redirection to be another very effective form of discipline. My cats have plenty of safe things to play with, climb. I can grab a toy & toss it to distract a cat from unwanted behaviors, including tossing a toy into the midst of 2 cats getting too rough. Mostly I don't have real problems with mine though. I am gentle & calm so my cats have a calm environment. When the environment gets ruffled, I sometimes play soothing music for all of us. You can also try TV. There are many nature programs on that show birds & other interesting things, or you can purchase special DVDs for cats. They're well worth the price. A small investment in your pets pays big dividends in peace of mind & enjoyment of them. It's so much easier to maintain a happy environment than fix a problem. And you want your home to be a sanctuary for you, your family, your pets, not another place of conflict.
Again, about voice & sound as discipline. Yelling is counterproductive but a stern tone of voice works wonders. You can scold your cat in tone & words as you would a child. You can also use cat language & hiss at your cat. Another option & one you can CAREFULLY use to restrain your cat is hold him/her by the scruff of the neck, with his feet on a surface. Don't lift them that way - you could hurt them. But if you have to restrain a cat to trim nails or give medicine, do it the way a mother cat does - firmly hold the scruff of the neck. I find that more effective than wrapping a cat in a towel - a fight I always lose & bleed from.
I also find that praise is a great reinforcement. Cats do understand certain words & tone of voice, & they love to be praised. They also LOVE to hear their names! So whether you have one or more, say their names often & every time you praise them. They love to be called cute, pretty or handsome. They love to hear that you love them & that they're good. They love to hear "thank you." They'll fully understand all that. They associate the sounds of the words & the tone of voice we typically use with our meaning, & know it's all good even if they don't all understand the meaning of the word. In another post I'll tell you about cat language & understanding, as it's worthy of it's own post. I'll also cover litter box problems, scratching furniture, & introducing a new cat to the household in another post.
No comments:
Post a Comment