My little troublemaker Indiana has just turned one year old!
Unfortunately, he still is chock full of behavioral problems that are driving us up the wall!
The last time I posted, he had a nasty habit of waking me up by attacking my head. I'm proud to say that this problem has been fixed. He no longer jumps on me at all when I am in my bed, it is a safe place for me.
Unfortunately, the other major problem I posted about is still occurring. He likes to attack my arm and my mother's arm while we are sitting in our computer chairs in the morning and afternoon. He does not do this to my father or my younger brother, just to myself and my mother. Sometimes it seems like he is playing, and sometimes he is just very vicious about it.
He has taken a liking to counter-surfing as well. We can't thaw out any type of meat in our home without sticking it into a cold oven to keep him out of it. I finally broke down and bought baby-proofing locks for our cabinets because he had learned how to get into them.
He's very odd, he doesn't like to be petted except to have his cheeks rubbed. He always seems like he's in a rush to get away and get active when we try and give him affection.
We've tried a couple of different fixes for his problems. For his arm attacks, we tried scruffing him and holding him down like a mother cat would, and telling him no. We tried pulling away and shouting "Ow!" to make him understand he was hurting us. We are now scruffing him and putting him in the bathroom for a few minutes as a time-out, which makes him bearable for about half an hour, then he gets feisty again.
For his counter-surfing, we tried lining the counters with double sided tape, he found ways to pull it off. We tried putting aluminum foil on the counters, both crumpled up a bit and flat out of the box. He managed to find spots on it that were bearable and kept going along his merry way. We also tried SSSCat and once he got used to it, he ignored it. And we tried plain-old "Pull him off and shout No!", which for him is useless.
When we first got him, our dog would play with him, and that along with toy-time would wear him out for the day. Our dog is old though, he wouldn't play more than once or twice a week. Now he won't play with Indiana at all (he is still perfectly healthy, just an old man, that's too much exertion for him!). I make a point of playing with Indy for at least an hour each day, thirty minutes in the morning, and thirty minutes in the evening, which are his most active times. He tires of his toys so easily, he's almost given up on our laser pointer because he knows that when he gets his paws on the light, nothing happens.
I really, really, REALLY wish we could get him a playmate, but that is just not an option right now. My father was already very upset when we brought Indy home, he feels like we should not have any animals other than our dog, which is quite upsetting. I have tried to explain to him that, counter-intuitive though it may seem, another cat would actually REDUCE the amount of cat problems in our home. But he won't budge.
I am really hoping someone here can offer me some guidance... I am very frustrated. I can handle high-energy animals (I make a living doing so, i'm a dog handler at a doggy daycare!), but I worry something is wrong with Indiana to make him so bull-headed and playfully aggressive. He is super smart, and together with his energy level, that is dangerous!
The last time I posted, he had a nasty habit of waking me up by attacking my head. I'm proud to say that this problem has been fixed. He no longer jumps on me at all when I am in my bed, it is a safe place for me.
Unfortunately, the other major problem I posted about is still occurring. He likes to attack my arm and my mother's arm while we are sitting in our computer chairs in the morning and afternoon. He does not do this to my father or my younger brother, just to myself and my mother. Sometimes it seems like he is playing, and sometimes he is just very vicious about it.
He has taken a liking to counter-surfing as well. We can't thaw out any type of meat in our home without sticking it into a cold oven to keep him out of it. I finally broke down and bought baby-proofing locks for our cabinets because he had learned how to get into them.
He's very odd, he doesn't like to be petted except to have his cheeks rubbed. He always seems like he's in a rush to get away and get active when we try and give him affection.
We've tried a couple of different fixes for his problems. For his arm attacks, we tried scruffing him and holding him down like a mother cat would, and telling him no. We tried pulling away and shouting "Ow!" to make him understand he was hurting us. We are now scruffing him and putting him in the bathroom for a few minutes as a time-out, which makes him bearable for about half an hour, then he gets feisty again.
For his counter-surfing, we tried lining the counters with double sided tape, he found ways to pull it off. We tried putting aluminum foil on the counters, both crumpled up a bit and flat out of the box. He managed to find spots on it that were bearable and kept going along his merry way. We also tried SSSCat and once he got used to it, he ignored it. And we tried plain-old "Pull him off and shout No!", which for him is useless.
When we first got him, our dog would play with him, and that along with toy-time would wear him out for the day. Our dog is old though, he wouldn't play more than once or twice a week. Now he won't play with Indiana at all (he is still perfectly healthy, just an old man, that's too much exertion for him!). I make a point of playing with Indy for at least an hour each day, thirty minutes in the morning, and thirty minutes in the evening, which are his most active times. He tires of his toys so easily, he's almost given up on our laser pointer because he knows that when he gets his paws on the light, nothing happens.
I really, really, REALLY wish we could get him a playmate, but that is just not an option right now. My father was already very upset when we brought Indy home, he feels like we should not have any animals other than our dog, which is quite upsetting. I have tried to explain to him that, counter-intuitive though it may seem, another cat would actually REDUCE the amount of cat problems in our home. But he won't budge.
I am really hoping someone here can offer me some guidance... I am very frustrated. I can handle high-energy animals (I make a living doing so, i'm a dog handler at a doggy daycare!), but I worry something is wrong with Indiana to make him so bull-headed and playfully aggressive. He is super smart, and together with his energy level, that is dangerous!
