he's destroying my house! he claws everything, even the walls. hes about 6 months old, and he's fixed with all his shots. we've tried the squirt bottle, but he likes it! and we've tried the bitter apple spray for when he bites/claws the furniture, but that too did nothing. he torments our golden retriever and our other cat! i'll be walking down the hall, and he'll jump on me, and attempt to attack me, in a playful, but forceful way. he tore into the cat food bag, and i caught his butt sticking out of it, with him eating all the cat food inside. he's an inside cat [we live in las vegas...WAY too hot for him to be outside], yet he always wants outside. finally one day i got fed up with hearing him cry by the door, that i let him out, and he got caught in a thunderstorm!! i swear he tried to trip people on purpose, which isnt cool because im pregnant, and me falling could really hurt me and the baby. any advice? i love him to death, ive had him since he was itty bitty, and he loves to cuddle and purr and be super sweet, but he's a little terrorist!
Update:umm...it says ive tried the water gun ...aka spray bottle. he likes water...he even jumped in the tub once while i was taking a bath!!! [i was home alone with the door open...big mistake.]
Update 3:he has TONS of toys, a HUGE scratching post. and He'll wait til the dog is asleep, and then bite his tail or ear so hard that the dog will squeel! he even made the dogs leg bleed once!!
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Every time my cat does that I spray her with a bottle. Whenever I don't have the bottle with me I just swat her away with the kitchen rag or with the broom.
LOL, he's a kitten and this is STANDARD kitten behavior. On the high end of the spectrum, yes, but still standard kitten behavior. Crate training does not work on cats. If the spray of water didn't work the first time, it will never work.
What DOES work is patience and removing him from the offending behavior area. When he jumps out at you go get a distance toy like a laser pointer or Da Bird and use that to help him run off energy. Put the cat food bag behind a cupboard door. Get the soft paws for his claws to reduce furniture shredding. As for the biting--mom cat would box him down, litter mates would bite him back, and he'd learn from both that biting hard is not nice.
He'll outgrow it........eventually.
I had a terrorist too and it took him 3 years to calm down (he was 1/2 siamese). He tormented the other cats. Normally kittens would be running off their energy with litter mates. Your stodgy older cat and dog are not as much fun, so he turns to you. It MAY help to foster another kitten his age for two or three months, to let them beat each other up rather than the others in the household, but that's up to you.
There is a lot going on here! Part of this behavior is probably related to the fact that your cat is still a kitten. The tormenting of your dog, and when he jumps on you is just part of his desire to play. Some of the other things can be stopped with good behavioral training. Don't punish your cat though--that will only teach him to be afraid of you, and if you punish him after the fact, he won't understand it anyway. He will just associate you with something he doesn't like.
First of all, with the dog--what is he doing exactly, and how does your dog respond? This may be a situation that will sort itself out eventually. As far as the chasing and "attacking" you he does, do you have good cat toys? Dangly toys are really good. Play with your cat with the toy a couple of times a day. This will help you to bond with him, and will wear him out some. Just remember not to use your fingers and hands as a toy.
For the clawing on the furniture issue--does he have a scratching post? If not, get him one. They make them with carpeting or with a rough rope, and my cats have always seemed to prefer the latter type. Scratching is a natural behavior in cats--they do it both to remove the old sheaths off their claws and to exercise their muscles. If possible, get two or three to put around the house. I trained my cat to use hers when she was a kitten by putting her next to it, and gently putting her legs up and running her feet on it. Then I immediately gave her a treat. It didn't take her long to start using it on her own.
About the cat food bag--my advice would be to put it somewhere he can't reach it! : ) Or, even better, get a plastic tub with a snap-on lid and keep it in there. It will keep his food fresher anyway.
The meowing to get outside thing is also a behavioral issue, and unfortunately, letting him out is probably not the best thing to do. The way to a cat's heart is through his stomach, so to speak. When your cat starts meowing at the door, you and your family must absolutely ignore him. Pretend he isn't there. I know this is easier said than done. The second he walks away from the door, though, lavish him with praise and his favorite treats. Pretty soon, he will learn.
When all is said and done, though, it sounds like your life is pretty hectic and once your baby is born, you'll have two babies! Cats don't really become fully mature until they are about 1 1/2 or 2 years old, and at that point, his behavior will mellow out a lot anyway. But if this becomes too much to deal with, you might consider rehoming him and adopting an older, more laid back cat. I know you love him, but in the long run, it may turn out to be best for you, your family, and the cat.
I've included some links below that may help you out.
Good luck!
EDIT (based on what you added & because I forgot to mention a few things)
I DO NOT believe in declawing. Declawing often leads to biting behaviors and sometimes not using the litter box (because scraping the litter can be painful to their tender paws). While some cats are perfectly fine after being declawed, some will become completely neurotic (I know this from volunteering at a cat shelter and fostering.) Also, declawing is mutilating the cat. It is equivalent to cutting off a human's finger at the top joint. There is more information here: http://www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm
One alternative to declawing is something called Softpaws. They are little covers that go over your cat's claws that do not prevent him from doing her natural scratching behavior.
About the dog--I doubt your kitten is trying to hurt the dog. This is probably more play behavior. If you catch him in the act, try hissing at him or using a squirt gun.
I fully understand how you feel, since I had been in your situation. I was six month pregnant with a crazy 4 month old kitten. He didn't do much of scratching, but liked to knock things down, dig into trash bins, mess the cat food all over the kitchen floor, and make the 2 feet surrounding of the litter box like a sandy beach. Finally when I got to almost eight month with a huge tummy, I was really tired of cleaning up all those mess every night & day, and found the kitten a family with 2 young couple by placing ads on newspaper. Then now, I have another 2 cats from MSPCA, and those like to scratch very very much, plus doing damage around the house. Therefore, I placed them in the back stair as their own room. I never let my cats outside. However, they can demolish every step of the carpet plus the commercial grade carpet at the landing.
See, I love my cat too, but I also love my house & property. So currently, (you might not agree with me but I do think this is an option) I started to look for declawing service. I saw all my 5 friends with total of 11 cats that have declawed are just normal and healthy. I want to enjoy of having pet but not getting myself mad because of the animal behavior. I posted my question and all people only tell me the cruelty of declawing. Let me tell you this, you and me want things in harmony in the house, including your stress level. As what you did, I've tried toys, spray, etc. I believe your kitten won't be happy if you're not happy. What I think cruel is to drop animal off to shelter when you found them don't fit. So if a laser surgery can help me out, then maybe it should help you out too. I've read a lot of website regarding declawing & the procedure, if operated correctly, it won't be a problem to the cat (you vet can give you more info). The thing is, it can cost more than $700, but it can solve a long time problem. Just don't let the cat out again as your original thought.
I have used a water pistol to teach them not to get on counters or tables and not to climb up the drapes:) use a command word like "no" at the same time and they will get the message.
lol i'm sorry but your cat is funny
whenever he does something "bad" lock him in a room or his cage for 5-10 min ?? maybe that will work and don't give him any attention
Try locking your cat in a laundry or another small place.
Providing he won't poo in there :P
Take it to the nearest Dog
Hit it with a shoe.