Headstrong Cat (long)

[the_devoted]

I adopted two littermates 11 months ago - a boy and a girl, domestic shorthairs. They were born in late December 2008. My problem is with the boy, Becket. In general, he is what we would all define as a cat - he does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants. His sister, Ellie, on the other hand is almost the perfect cat. She behaves, knows when she is doing something wrong, and immediately stops when I even give her "the look".

Becket has a couple of issues that are just driving me crazy. I've done all kinds of things and they just aren't working. I guess I'll just itemize them...

1. Similar to this thread, he is all over my entertainment center. The entertainment center can be seen here.Since he was a little kitten, he would jump inside of it. It seemed like he left it alone for a long time but lately he just won't leave it alone. I tried to watch a movie earlier tonight and had to remove him from the area at least 10 times. I feel like I've tried almost everything - I bought some of that "keep off" spray, sprayed it all over some cloth and put it inside - no dice. It actually intrigued him. As you can see from the picture of the entertainment center, I've built a little "wall" of stuff so he can't see a way inside. No dice, he bats it away. Also, as you can see in the bottom right of the picture, I have ssscat, which is great but only covers one side at a time. If it's in the front, he goes around the side/back. If it's on the side, he'll go to the other side. He also realizes that it only works when it's there. If it's not around, he doesn't automatically associate a particular spot with that terror. He's smart enough to associate it only with the ssscat unit (only the unit, he is not fooled by the empty cans) so if it's not around, he just goes for it.

2. He's got water dish issues, as well. I started off with one of those pure-flow models that is constantly cycling the water through. He realized he could push it around the floor with his head. It spilled the water all over the carpet and pulled on the cord, pulling it out of the wall. So I tried water dish #2 - one of those self-feeder ones with the plastic water container on top. Did you know those things are easy to tip over and spill the water all over the floor? Becket does. He did it every day. So I finally bought a stainless steel dog water dish that has a wide base with rubber so that it sticks to the linoleum on the floor. He has managed to push that around the floor (despite the rubber) and, failing that, he just bats the water onto the floor. I can tell he isn't doing this because he's mad, he's doing it because he thinks it's fun. I might just have to wait this one out.

3. And FINALLY, he won't stay off the kitchen counter. I don't keep food on there so there's nothing to get at. When he jumps up, I immediately grab him and put him on the floor with as little fanfare as possible. I don't want him to associate his getting up there with getting attention, so I literally just pick him up and put him on the floor. He will do this 5-10x per evening. Jump up, get put on the floor. Jump up, get put on the floor. I was hoping that the repetition of this would teach him that when he gets up there, he won't stay there. It's not sinking in.

So what to do? In general, he's a very loving and nice little kitty. He's just too independent and smart for his own good most of the time. Before tonight's movie viewing, I made sure to play with him for almost 20 minutes and got him running all over the apartment in the hope that it would tire him out. As you can probably tell from his constant jumping on the entertainment center, it didn't work. I also try to play with him a lot of the time to let him get out his pent-up energy but it's hard to get him interested. He'll play with little mice, the wand, the cat dancer, and the laser pointer for a couple of minutes maybe but then he gets bored and I can't get him engaged. So instead of playing with his toys, he does something he knows he shouldn't do.

The only thing I can do to watch an entire movie, get in a gaming session, or take a nap on the couch is to give him time-outs by locking him in my bedroom for 20 or so minutes at a pop. He calms down for a while but then is back at it within 10 minutes and I feel bad locking him up so much. I'd prefer to find a constructive way to change his behavior or get him to get negative associations with these behaviors.

Any ideas I haven't tried? I might try that uncomfortable texture thing in the entertainment center. It's possible it could work. He likes walking on aluminum foil. He's intrigued and amused by pennies in a soup can that make a lot of noise. He's impervious to all the standard stuff, what can I do?

 

[mystik spiral]

I don't know if it would work on your counter and entertainment center, but I've heard people here say to use double sided tape if foil doesn't work. Sorry I don't have more help for you... but your kitties are beautiful. Though it sounds like Becket is a handful and a half!

PS - I'm the 3-point shot QUEEN on Wii Sports Resort...

 

[cococat]

He is very cute

Your kitten sounds like my cat. Very active, playful, and does what she wants, despite consistency and clear rules on the human side. That is a kitten for you.

I would like to say it will get better with age.
But he doesn't sound headstrong, just sounds like a normal cat. Cats can't be trained like dogs. But their behaviors can be shaped like that of most animals, but they are not motivated like dogs to shape/change behavior for us humans.
Does your cat have any vertical space? Cats need that, does he have some cat towers?
I would play with your cat an hour per day if you can at all.
Mine does have vertical space, and this helps with the climbing all over everything in the home like it is all one big jungle gym for her personal entertainment.
I am big on cleaning, there is nothing on the counters, doesn't matter, kitty likes counters, nothing worked, so we have SSS cat to the rescue.
Get a massive water bowl, call it "the lake", then he can't move it around. Maybe place it in a tub?
Some cats like to be clingy. My cat is constantly all over people, sitting on laps, shoulders, etc. Also bothering sleeping people.
Some behaviors I have learned to live with over the years, since there is no changing her.

 

[rarepuss]

my Marshmallow is similar, and it's all about attention

from you to him.

You may want to try these as they have worked for me:

1. things you do not want him to touch - double stick tape works!, foil does not. I buy this stuff called 'paws away', it's double sticky and very clingy, worked like magic.

in my case, he loved to scratch a picture behind my bed's headboard - to do that, he would climb on a dresser, then headboard, then he would bat at the painting, at 4am in the morning, when i'm sleeping in my bed. the double-sticky tape on top of headboard did the trick immidiately. before I used foil - nothing. I used to yell and scream - nothing. after paws away, i'm sleeping like a baby, no more bratty behavior

2. for things like your entertainment center - empty the top shelf and let him bake in there.. in the end, who really cares, he'll get bored of it on day 3.

3. as far as the water dish... my guy will also bat at the water, I think a lot of cats will do that before they drink - I just have a heavy, deep ceramic dish, no automatic waterers.

 

[3catsn1dog]

I dont know what to tell you about the counters and entertainment stand. I dont keep anything on my counters so they are fair game and then entertainment stand doubles as a scratching post because its made out of rough oak wood. As for the water dish try glueing velcro strips to the water dish and the floor so that way it cant move and is still able to be lifted off when its time to clean the dish and refill it.

Out of my three cats I have all these issues and because its just me and BF we basically let the cats have free roam of the stuff. My GiGi sleeps and plays on the entertainment stand *it doesnt hold our tv but books and dvds*, my one cat has his own kitchen table to sleep and nap on in front of our big bay window, and I have given up on keeping my other cat from batting around his water dish. He does it to get the water moving and then drinks out of it. I have just accepted that my cats rule the house and since they havent broken anything I just let it go as it is.

 

[bookworm]

Two of mine are obsessed with playing in water, and have found a way to spill every type of system I've bought.

I add an immune booster to their water and there was no way to know who had had enough before it was spilled and who hadn't. I didn't want any who needed it to do without, but I didn't want to OD any others.

Finally I nailed a small corner shelf to the wall, put four cup hooks on it's front and put the Le Bistro water system with a gallon jug inside. I use two elastic headbands criss crossed over the front on the cup hooks to strap the container down. It's been three or four months and my water nymphs haven't been able to outsmart it. Yet.

 

[stephanietx]

I know you don't want to hear it, but he's being a normal cat. That's what they do, they like to be high up and they will climb on almost anything if you let them.

I second the suggestion of a cat tree, preferably by a window with a bird feeder nearby so he has entertainment. I probably replied on the other thread about this, but you can use plastic carpet runner and turn it upside down so the little nubby things are pointed up to deter them from flat surfaces where you don't want them.

 

[penstemon]

I don''t know if this will help. Kato thinks the word "no" to keep doing it as he is getting attention. I find if I don't say "no" and use another term or way; he stopped doing it. He loves to tease his Dad. Pushing items off the self is a favorite thing. I place items that won't hurt nearby. Usually this stops the behavior as he knows he won't get attention.
An example we got a different armchair. He went over to it and lightly scratch at the base. I told him no and he hasn't done it since. He uses his tree to scratch.
Before you can solve any animal's misbehavior is to know why he is doing it.

Then you figure out how to stop it. I taught a German shorthair pointer to refuse the jumps as she was pointing birds and I made her jump. It took over 2 weeks to understand why she refuse the jumps at home and took them at class.

 

[chadsgirl374]

I've got a headstrong cat named Sunny. I bought a small bookcase type structure at Target that has a drawer and cabinet unit that stacks with it. I bought that specifically for Sunny who also likes to be inside of cubby holes when he sleeps. He no longer messes with the entertainment unit.

I used to live in a very tiny rental house and had very little counter space, so I didn't want him on there. I put the glad press and seal wrap on the counters with sticky side up and it only took two times for him to decide that he didn't want to jump on the counters. Now, I let him up on our counters since our new home has so much counter space. I just sanitize them prior to using them.

Sunny has always been enamoured with water. He loves to play in his water dish. He loves to dump his dish also. Since he also likes to sleep in the bathtubs, I just keep his dish in there. I simply remove it when I need to use the tub. We no longer have water on the floor and Sunny gets to be the cat that he wants to be.

 

[jack31]

I have two kitties like this and with the older one thus far I've found that his mind needs to work in another way so I got the cat training in 10 minutes book-he lives for this! I'm going to start this with the little girl who is 9 mos who seems to have the same brain function as her big brother-u might give it a try

Leslie

 

[momofmany]

Actually he does sound a little head strong, but I only see that because I live with the king of head strong cats (Stumpy)!

I love their personalities!!

Think of ways to redirect him. I have a cat tree slightly taller than the kitchen counters in my kitchen. They prefer that over the counters because cats love to be in high places to look down upon their world. When you see him on a counter, redirect him to the acceptable alternative - the cat tree. Ditto with your entertainment center or anything else he gets on. Get a plastic container for your bathtub and fill that with a little water for him to play in. I play water games with Stumpy in my sinks - turn the water on at a dribble and let him play with it for a while - yes, he also likes to play with water.

I like to look at it this way: if you were a young child attending school for the first time and the teacher never taught you the "right" answer and only punished you when you guessed at the wrong answer, would you ever learn? You are the teacher here and must reinforce what you want him to do by showing it to him, not just saying "no" when he is doing the wrong thing.

I am thankful for my "stubborn" boy. He turns 15 this year and still is strong willed. But he and I have come to terms with it over the years, and he often responds to me when I give "the look". I limit his time outs to 5 minutes otherwise they loose their effectiveness.

 

[farleyv]

Sorry to tell you, but he is being normal. Although that does not help you!

They recommend that the Scaaat bottle be hidden so just what happens with your cat does not happen. When they don't know where it is coming from it works better.

I know it is expensive, but another unit may do the trick. That way you can get him from either side. It only took one time and my cat was trained.

As he gets older, you will find he will become more sedentary. This behavior usually does not last forever. Why don't you try to make him his own "entertainment center". Some boxes, or storage cubes with cardboard tunnels connecting them. He just might like his unit more than yours!