I Feel Like A Terrible Person For This...

Arirang

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Hello, all.

So, my cat Autumn has a tendency to go places she is not allowed. There are only two, really; on top of the tarantula tanks (only one of which she can reach anyways), and on top of the snake tank. Tonight, she went on top of the tarantula tank, again.

Now, I had an atrocious day at work. I'm in the middle of a depressive episode. I am exhausted. I'm not saying that to excuse what I did, but to explain how it happened.

I'd had it with her doing these things. She has plenty of hiding/climbing places, and she always seems to do it for attention. I am /so/ sick of it. I have tried everything to get her to stop and she just won't. She's still young, so I'm hoping she'll grow out of it.

Anyways, when I got her out of the tarantula's cubbyhole... I flicked her nose. Quite hard. She seemed absolutely shocked and hit my hand several times afterwards. She ran and hid for a while, and now she's just ignoring me. She's not bleeding, nor does she show any signs of pain, but I feel absolutely terrible. I need to keep her off those tanks, for her own safety (the mesh will not support her weight; indeed, the snake tank has a large, cat-shaped dent in the roof) and I need her to not hate me ._. I feel absolutely terrible for what I did to her.
 

Pjg8r

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If the snake and spider tanks are in cubby holes, the easiest solution to me seems to be put something under the tank to raise the height and eliminate a crawl space for the cat on top. I might not have the correct picture of how the tanks are located so a picture might help us.
 

di and bob

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I have done things I regret later, so who am I to judge you? Especially when you are cranky and tired. Cats do not learn with physical punishment like dogs because they are not pack animals and aim to please. Punishment just makes them afraid and sneaky. The nest time, take her by the back of the neck, the loose skin, hold her still and hiss loudly and say NO! This is what mama cats do to train a youngster. Then put her in another room for 5 minutes. No longer or she will forget what she is being punished for.
I myself would do like what was said above, make the top of the tank inaccessible. Something 'breathable' so air to your other pets is not compromised. Make sure she has other entertainments around so the spiders and snakes aren't so fascinating, but that will be hard, because both of those are natural prey for a cat. She will ignore them as she gets used to them and older, but please be on guard, because if one gets out, it will be a tragedy.
 

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Can't judge you, just advise to try and earn your cat's trust back in slow steps and from now on remember that negative reinforcement does not work with cats. Only positive reinforcement.

If you can't make the tops of the creature enclosures more "cat-sturdy", perhaps get one of those motion activated air cannisters and attach them to the top there. Every time the cat gets up there, it'll activate the cannister and it will puff out harmless, but annoying and starling, pressured air.

That's not enough though. There's a reason she wants to go "up there". This means that because you don't want her up that cage, you need to provide her something where she can go up and sit on that is near those cages. A cat tree, or something of the likes.

You can also look into clicker-training your cat.

This may seem like a lot of work, but it really isn't. It's super simple and it will make you and your cat's life easier - and it will eliminate any resentment that you carry toward your cat. Try to remember that being mad at a cat or holding resentment is pointless. They have no idea what you're mad about and they are only just following their instincts by seeking stimulation/attention/exploring. It serves no purpose to be mad at an innocent party, and it can make you do things you end up regretting.

I understand what you did, I'm not judging you in any way. Work on letting go of the guilt by solving this problem with her; it is very doable. And easy.
 
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Arirang

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The spiders are on a bookcase. One is on top and I used decor on the shelf to make it inaccessible. The other one has a tiny crawlspace with wooden bars and coconyt mat in an attempt to keep kitty out. Unsuccessfully, obviously.

As for entertainment, she has two (soon to be three) cat trees, a window, many toys, and I always try to hide treats before I leave. I doubt she can see the spider or snake, as she never shows interest when they actually move. The snake tank /is/ warm, but that never seems to attract her to anything else (she does not try to climb the bearded dragon tank, which is easier to climb and warmer still, plus has a pet she actually has interest in.)

On the bright side, she seems to have forgiven me this morning, coming around for snuggles and morning playtime on the one cat tree.
 

Jem

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The only way we were able to stop our cat from jumping on our snake tank, was to make it inaccessible. In our case the tank is on a stand between two bookshelves. So I attached thin strips of wood, that matched the bookshelves, horizontally across the front, above the tank, I have three strips about 6 inches apart, starting 6 inches above the top of the tank (so I can still reach in to feed, and I can still pull the tank out to clean it. That extra 2 feet of "height" was enough of a barrier to stop him from jumping up on the tank.
 
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Arirang

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Do you play with her?
I do. I toss treats around for her to chase (low calorie, single ingredient treats) and often use various teaser wands and the like.
 

Kflowers

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Heat is always a draw for cats. If the tanks are warm, that maybe what's drawing your cat to them. Does Autumn have warm places to curl up - under a pile of blankets? You may think your home is comfortably warm, but Autumn might like it just a little warmer.

I'd follow the closing off the tanks advice above and consider kitty tent or tiny carpeted house (like the ones on cat trees) to give her warm places.

Of course she might just like the noises your spiders and snakes make, or she might like watching them.

Which just occurred to me. Perhaps tables beside the tank so that she can watch the spiders and snakes without going on top of the tanks? You can get practical, though not lovely tables at the Goodwill, the Dollar store and the like. (In case that's not the answer.)
 

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I don't think a cat can be trained to stay off of something like that (it's sort of iffy with dogs too). Even if you succeed in getting the cat to not jump up there when you're home, they'll still jump up there when you aren't around to stop them. So I kind of feel like this is due to unrealistic expectations.

I'd recommend strengthening the tanks or completely blocking off access. I think that's the only way. My cats also like to sleep on the snake tanks :D. The only problem I've had with that so far is that one tank was under the stairs where they could jump down onto it, and that eventually ruined the top. But really that was my own fault for putting it somewhere they could jump down on it (which puts much more weight on it then when they jump up), and not reinforcing the top if I wanted to keep it in that location.
 

Elfilou

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Sounds like you try hard to entertain her and that's all you can ask from someone. Also yay! she has forgiven you and of course she should - a stupid mistake shouldn't ruin a friendship.

Just shows yet again how cats are always very willing to work with us, not against. If you make it inaccessible up there and figure out why she wants to go up there, you can provide an alternative (more play, cat tree to watch the creatures and smell them or any other form of cat tv)... your spiders and snakes will be safe and you can and you will see success.

tl;dr - If your cat is doing something that you don't want them to do, ask yourself what their motivation is and try to look for a compromise. Cats are so willing to compromise, no need to get mad at them.
 
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Arirang

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She never looks at them. Is only interested in being on top. Here's a picture to prove it. She even saw Nagini, but paid her no heed.
 

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Arirang

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I am going to ask a co-worker who is handy to build a frame to let her be on top of Nagini. I will be buying a stronger lid for Tauriel tonight. I just hope it works, as the tank is a bit unusual.
 

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Assuming it's a one-off occurrence, a thump on the nose isn't going to be a problem. Cats do that sort of thing to each other all of the time.

The difference is that cats are roughly equal in size and you are a large, looming human. A thump on the nose from a cat means something different than a thump from a human. However, if it's a one-time thing, I don't think it will have a lasting effect.

Instead, just pick her up and place her on the floor or pat her on the bum until she jumps down on her own. With Casper, just scolding him with our voice is enough to teach him a lesson.

As to the cat coexisting with a tarantula, that's a different story.

Casper's Girl-Human used to keep tarantulas and she also had cats.
She just told me that her cats had a fearful fascination of her spiders. They would sit and stare at them but, at the slightest movement, they would jump away. I don't think you'll have too much problem as long as you keep the tarantulas and/or other critters in secure enclosures. Responsible keepers should be using secure enclosures, anyway. Right? ;)

Just make sure that the tarantula enclosure is secure and up, out of the reach of the cat. As others say, build a good, strong top so that, in case the cat gets up there, it won't break the top... potentially letting the cat in or, worse, the spider out.

Just keep your wits and, as the cat grows up, it will learn. :)
 
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Arirang

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I got the same sturdy lid I have for the other tarantula, and it juuuust fit, so we should be good now.

Hissing seems to help with her /other/ fascination with the blinds. She's got her own string- why does she need mine? I keep it up out of the way, but she still tries. Hissing, however, is best done when NOT eating ._. Gross.
 
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Arirang

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... By the goddess Bast, I feel like I speak Cat! That hissing trick is /marvellous/! Why have I never heard of this before? It's like magic! I'm going to tell all of the cat owners I know!
 
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