It's a "Cat Came Back" Situation.

[maggan]

So, I've had a cat by the name of Beatrix for a little over a year now. No matter how hard I try to train her, she absolutely refuses to stick to the rules. I have three other cats who are very well behaved, they don't scratch furniture or eat off of people's plates, they use the litter box, and play nicely with one another. Beatrix, on the other hand, is always in some kind of trouble. She's destroyed a three sofas, including two new ones, she's torn down the plastic I spent 4 hours covering my windows with for the winter, she pulls bones, bags, and food out of the garbage on a regular basis regardless of whether there's food in the dish or not, and worst of all, you can barely walk away from a plate of food to grab a drink or use the bathroom without her pulling your chicken, pork chops, or hot dogs off of your plate. Just now I went to check the mailbox and she's licked all the milk out of my cereal. I normally use a spritz bottle for basic bad behaviour, and I use it on all of my cats, respectively, however she's even begun to draw my three already trained cats into bad behaviours they haven't engaged in for many years. I'm so fed up I've considered getting rid of her. Of course, I don't really want to have to get rid of her, she's a welcome edition to our family, but I don't know how else to teach her not to do these things. Any suggestions?

 

[icklemiss21]

Honestly? Cats do as they please. I have a former feral, who I was not looking forward to introducing to my well behaved cats, she was a brat (thats being nice), aggressive and had lived on garbage and scraps for at least 2 years. I took her home and within months she turned into a princess and with the exception of begging for chicken (its her fave) she is pretty good these days. My 'kitten' (he was about 5-6 months when we got him in Sept-Oct last year), a nightmare, he still pounces on the other cats, eats garbage, pulls all of the clothes out of the dresser. Just this morning he broke the door to my wardrobe trying to climb it and missing. I am working from home today and I dont think half an hour has gone by where I haven't had to take something off him or tell him to stop doing something.

Some cats, like some kids, are just better behaved than others.

The things I have found that slow him down a bit; playing with him a lot, he is hyperactive at best, he needs a lot of attention to get that energy out of him. I do not find spray bottles work, he either drinks from the spray or just jumps out of the way. It doesn't stop him, it just makes him sneakier the next time he does it.

Even by telling her off/spraying her, you are giving her attention, it may be what she craves - they learn from experiences, if she learns she can get attention by doing something she will do it.

I have this saved from when we brought Autumn home, not sure of the source, but we use it with all of the cats, Quincy is getting better with age, but he still wants to be a kitten. Training him not to eat out of the garbage (and subsequently getting stuck in the garbage can) and scratching furniture has worked though. We still have childlocks on the fridge & cupboard though

First:
. Stop all reprimands. Concentrate on making your relationship fun, rewarding, playful and interesting. Sometimes this change alone will solve your problem. Cats are known to become overly active and destructive when bored. Daily play sessions and relaxing massages help calm kitty down. Cats that feel neglected will often stop using their litter box. If you schedule regular sessions to give kitty your undivided attention and to play games with him, even litter box problems can disappear almost overnight.

Second:
The most effective method of cat training is through rewards, so the second step is setting up the cat's environment so he can succeed. This will give you the opportunity to reward and praise him for good behavior. - Catproof your home, if you do not want them in something, don't give them access to it.

Third:
The third step is setting up the cat's environment so that his misbehavior is not a rewarding experience. Let's take a look at furniture scratching as an example. While making kitty's scratching post fun, rewarding and exciting, the training process also requires you to make the furniture unattractive as a clawing item. Instead of you telling the cat to avoid the furniture, let the furniture itself tell the cat to stay away. It's up to you to find something your cat does not like. Each cat is different. However, most cats don't like to snag their claws when scratching, so you might try draping some netting or tulle over the furniture. Some cats don't like the feel of aluminum foil or two-sided sticky tape. A mild menthol or citrus scent repels some cats. Once your cat realizes that these places are not fun to scratch or sit on, and she regularly has wonderful times at her scratching post, the problem of inappropriate scratching will disappear.

 

[strange_wings]

My cats are fairly behaved and I can't leave my food, either. It's part of having pets in the house - your steak is always going to smell better than whats in their bowl so they're going to want what you're having.

You need to make sure your trash is secured. Either get one with a lid that seals/clips shut or put it in a room that the cats cannot get to. Cooked bones splinter easily and are the last thing you want a cat chewing on.
We put all of our bones in a spare small plastic bag, tie it up and put the bag in the utility room to be taken out later that evening or in the morning to our large trashcan in our detached garage. The cats never have a chance to get at them.

If you have to leave your food for a minute put it in the fridge/oven/microwave... or learn to eat faster.

Have you tried using sofa and chair covers? The covers are often loose enough that they move and ruin the fun for a cat wanting a surface to scratch on that doesn't move. Plus they can be easily tossed in the washer. I prefer them, myself, because it's easier than trying to remove cat fur and misc human smells from upholstery.
Make sure you have plenty of cat furniture for the cats - If a cat has their own cat tree that goes to the ceiling, that's more interesting and they don't bother your boring one level sofa.

There's no solution for the windows. You blocked her view with weird scratchable stuff. Mine wouldn't leave that alone, either.

Other problems can be cut off just by not providing the cat with anything to get into. Prevention being easier than doing something after the fact.

All in all, it sound like your cat is still a kitten or still in kitten mentality. She's hyper and has more energy. I have three kittens in the house and all I can do it try to stay on top of their antics.

 

[mystik spiral]

I can't add much to the good advice already posted, but when I first got my cat, if she tried to eat off my plate I would shut her in the bathroom while I ate. Her litterbox is in there, and I knew she would be fine for 20 minutes without food or water. It didn't take her long to learn not to eat my food. I still have to put her in there every once in a while for a refresher course.

You definitely need to secure your trash. She could choke on a chicken bone or eat something else dangerous. I've got mine in the cupboard under the sink with a child safety lock on it.

 

[killerapple]

One of my friends had a kitty before she got married and the husband and the cat have 'had some issues', which when hearing them, always make me giggle. For example, he'll make a sandwich with some sliced deli meat, put it on the counter, then go to the bathroom. He'll come back and the meat will be gone.

Then he gets upset at the cat. But the way I see it, food is left out, and the kitty sees it as fair game.

When we eat dinner, Batman was taught not to mooch or sit up on the table or chairs, but I also wouldn't leave food on the table if I wasn't there - I just think he would find it and not think he was doing anything wrong.

I guess my point is that you can't blame her for being curious about the yummy milk sitting out. She just has a more curious personality than the others.

I think you got some awesome suggestions. Hopefully they'll help you