Petsmu

Many of us, getting a cat for the first time, assume that cat house training will somehow happen by itself, with the minimal input or effort from ourselves. Perhaps we credit the cat with more intelligence than it possesses, but many will underestimate how much time and patience is required before the cat learns to follow the basic house rules. In these early days, the new owner should refrain from smacking or slapping or even shaking the cat.

You cannot beat a cat or kitten into obedience, so that they become the perfect home cat - you will only provoke hatred and fear, which will further reduce the chances of training her properly. Here’s a great and very effective tip - always keep a spray bottle of water at hand, and if she misbehaves badly, just gently spray her.

If you gain an understanding of how and why your cat does what she does, what cat instinct she is following, then you are heading for success in your cat house training. If you expect her to do something that goes against her nature, then you better be prepared to make it worth her while. If you want to make the most rapid progress, a modest investment in a decent cat manual or guide will be richly rewarded, and you will at a stroke begin to understand “cat think” and cat care in general, and also avoid the most common mistakes.

In practical terms, this most commonly means rewarding correct behavior either with a physical treat - a favorite food, biscuit, for example - or with words of praise and congratulation. She will quickly learn to associate particular actions with positive responses, and, conversely, if these rewards are withheld, she will know that she has transgressed in some way.

Cats are known for their short attention span, so your training sessions should be fairly brief, ideally around 10 minutes. And because their attention does tend to wander, make sure your sessions are held somewhere where there are as few distractions as possible. So make it indoors, with no view of the outdoor world, and no visitors, human or animal.

The essential training exercises that concern most new cat owners are to do with urination, scratching, jumping and biting.

Most cat owners face problems with their cat not using the litter box - obviously, a new kitten has to be taught toilet training cat style, but even mature well-behaved cats can suddenly “forget” to use the litter box, and, when this occurs, the wise owner will know to look for some change in the cat’s environment that will have triggered this behavior.

The second biggest concern is with cat scratching, a behavior that is an essential part of the animal’s nature. The provision of good scratching posts in strategic places will alleviate the problem, and spare your furniture and curtains. The surgical removal of the cat’s claws was until recently seen as an easy and permanent solution to the problem, but in a more humane age this is seen as quite a barbaric act to perform on a Cat, and one that upsets the whole balance mechanism of the cat, and is really traumatic.

A cat will not expend unnecessary energy, so if she jumps there is a reason for it. Most often, she will jump onto the window sill to view the outside world - if you want her not to jump on a particular sill, block off the view for the first 15 inches, perhaps with a piece of fabric. If there is no view, she will soon go elsewhere. Jumping onto counters or worktops or tables in the kitchen should be completely discouraged from the beginning - it might simply signal that she wants feeding.

Biting is unfortunately often encouraged in a kitchen - children in particular enjoy being bitten by young kitten teeth, and will often playfully provoke it until it bites. Cats have pretty sharp teeth, so you have to let your cat know that biting will not be tolerated. If the behavior persists, you might discourage it with a spray from your water bottle.

About the author: For more tips on how to become the perfect cat owner, check out cat house training for more tips. Progress from a novice to a cat expert in no time! Or grab my free Cat Care reports.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

Waking up my cat Spike, especially in the evening when he’s been asleep in his box in the garage, is not a very wise thing to do if it’s my bedtime. After having slept most of the day, he’s full of energy and wants to play. I just want to go to sleep!

Each night I tip-toe past the door leading into the garage so I won’t disturb him. If he hears voices or footsteps he’ll start meowing, wanting something to eat. After I give him a handful of Meow Mix, he eats a few bites and then tries to slip past me into the house. Because he’s faster than me, most of the time he’s successful. Immediately upon entering the foyer he’ll start lying on his back and then rolling over, something I think is weird but it seems to make him happy.

My neighbor who has a lot of cats say that when one on his back he’s being friendly. Friendly is good when it’s much earlier in the evening, not when it’s time for me to go to bed. I’ve learned not to pet him too much. If I do he thinks I’m going to let him stay in the house. No way!

If I relent and let him go to his bed in the corner of my office, he’ll sleep awhile and just when I’m finally getting asleep, he’ll come to my bedroom and start meowing for me to let him back out. Almost every night it’s the same routine.

No matter how many times a day he’s been allowed in the house, Spike has to rub himself up against every door jamb and piece of furniture he passes. Cats supposedly do this to mark their territory so that other cats will know who rules their kingdom. I find it hard to believe that they have to mark the same place four or five times a day, especially if there are no other cats around. I think my cat does that just to annoy me!

Spike, being and indoor/outdoor cat occasional brings us a gift of a dead mouse or bird. Cat experts say this is because he has this inherent urge to hunt their own food. Instinctively he is using the same stealth and patience they would use in the wild to hunt for food.

From time to time I’ve noticed Spike walking across our front yard at a leisurely pace, when all of a sudden he will jump and start running around the house like he’s been stung by a bee. After that short burst of speed he stops and continues his unhurried stroll.

My thoughts have been that he was just batty and that there was very little I could do for him. Again, my cat loving neighbor has an explanation. Cats are simply pretending that they are in the jungle somewhere running down food, such as an antelope or springbok. Seriously, some cat psychologist must have figured that one out. I still think Spike is nuts!

The most serious question of all about why cats do anything is the one about drinking out of the toilet. After asking that question of several “experts”, I have yet to get a definitive answer. It seems that everyone have a different view of cat behavior.

Some say that cats just want to be close to where we have been, thus making toilet drinking a thing of love. Others say that cats like cold water that’s fresher and cleaner than what is in their water dish. This makes more sense to me than a cat having a romantic interlude with my toilet seat.

Let’s face it! No one really knows why a cat does anything. Spike let’s us believe that we’re in charge of his life, but when I command that he rolls over or fetch a stick, he simply stares at me and then lies down on the floor and start grooming himself. I guess I had better think of new tricks for him!

About the author: Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: http://www.redfishbob.com, http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com