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Teaching Pets Behavior...

Started by Rain 7 Dec 31, 2006 at 7:50 PM 24 replies 3k views

Original Post

Dec 31, 2006 at 7:50 PM

Animals certainly don't have manners sometimes. Is there any way for a cat to know NOT to go into a room? I generally close my door so that she won't get in as there are harmful things in my room that might kill her if she ate them. However, there are times when I am not afforded such opportunities and she puts herself in danger everytime she goes in there. Such an occurrence happened tonight. She looked at my room as I was going down the stairs and I gave her the evil eye. I went down stairs came back up 5 minutes later and she was sitting on my computer chair. At first I was angry and then I simmered down and tried to approach her. I think she sensed I was angry because she attempted to dart under the bed. I got extremely pissed at her tonight and grabbed her by the tail when she tried to run away from me and I kept telling her "No!" and she just doesn't seem to understand, that or she doesn't want to. This has happened a lot and I figured by now that she would start getting the point as she is fairly bright. However, I know very little about cats anyways, so am I going about this all wrong? Signed, Cat-fused

LessBread

Dec 31, 2006 at 7:51 PM

I don't know much about cats, but I've heard it's impossible to herd them... [grin]

Rain 7

Dec 31, 2006 at 7:55 PM

Its really unfortunate for her. On one hand I know that she's bored and that our house is too small for her. I understand her pain of confinement and need for stimulation. However, she needs to understand that there are certain things she cannot do. She's young though. That surely has a factor in her stubbornness.

Nytegard

Dec 31, 2006 at 7:57 PM

Pets are sort of like little children. Even if you teach them not to go somewhere, the instant you're not around, they'll most likely try to enter.

The last cat I had, I got it to stay away from my room when I was in the house. Any time it got near my door, even if it was open, I stomped on the ground and yelled at it. Nothing physical, but after a month or two, the cat wouldn't dare even get close to it. However, anytime I left the house and came back, I always noticed there was cat hair in my room that was not there before. The cat denied it of course (as it was never near my room when I was around), but I knew the truth.

There are other ways you can get a pet to stay away. There are fences that send out electrical impulses to certain collars which many people put on dogs to shock them if they try getting near a road. I'm sure there is something similar for inhouse pets.

Rain 7

Dec 31, 2006 at 8:03 PM

Sneaky bastards.

DakeDesu

Dec 31, 2006 at 8:08 PM

I've heard water guns are good.

Though, in my cat's case, he decided the water gun was a toy.

nagromo

Dec 31, 2006 at 8:19 PM

With my cat, we had a spray bottle that we would use when he was bad (usually scratching furniture). It was a nozzle similar to those you find on many cleaning chemicals (but please don't spray your cat with cleaning chemicals).

Why can't you just always keep your door closed? It seems like that would be the easiest solution.

Rain 7

Dec 31, 2006 at 8:41 PM

Quote:
Original post by nagromo
With my cat, we had a spray bottle that we would use when he was bad (usually scratching furniture). It was a nozzle similar to those you find on many cleaning chemicals (but please don't spray your cat with cleaning chemicals).

I've sprayed water at my cat, she gets pissed and then kind of thinks its a game so I am not sure its getting anything done. The chemicals sound like they might work better...

Quote:
Original post by nagromoWhy can't you just always keep your door closed? It seems like that would be the easiest solution.

I've already specified that this is not always possible. People come and go in my room all the time with or without my being there. Would you imagine that they would close the door aftering entering? Hell no. I guess that may be why my cat wants to go in there...its a happenin' place!

PouyaCat

Jan 1, 2007 at 3:28 AM

Solution: Train the humans not to enter your room either, so the door remains closed. ^^ My suggestion: A lock.

DakeDesu

Jan 1, 2007 at 3:31 AM

Quote:
Original post by PouyaCat
Solution: Train the humans not to enter your room either, so the door remains closed. ^^ My suggestion: A lock.

I dunno... your name suggests a certain bias... can we be sure you are telling the truth?

Thevenin

Jan 1, 2007 at 3:46 AM

Create an artificial predator:

Borrow a friend's robocop robot that they recieved for christmas, and then rig it up with projectile weapons (optionally download a wolf cry and play it through the mic on it).

Then go out and buy some cheap perfume (one that no one you know wears), spray it on the robot, BUT ONLY THE ROBOT.

Then, have the robot maul the cat, and confine the robot to that one room. The cat will recognize the scent in the future, and avoid that room.

shmoove

Jan 1, 2007 at 4:24 AM

Quote:
Original post by Rain 7
Is there any way for a cat to know NOT to go into a room?

She knows. But it's impossible to get her to care. You'll have to find a way to keep the dangerous stuff out of her reach.

shmoove

mutex

Jan 1, 2007 at 5:17 AM

You can try booby-trapping the entrance for your cat so that it'll associate entering with badness regardless of your presence. Maybe have opening the door trigger a loud noise or bottle spray? Otherwise like shmoove mentioned, it will likely only associate it with badness when you're around.

Rain 7

Jan 1, 2007 at 4:20 PM

Quote:
Original post by shmoove
She knows. But it's impossible to get her to care. You'll have to find a way to keep the dangerous stuff out of her reach.
shmoove

Quote:
Original post by mutex
You can try booby-trapping the entrance for your cat so that it'll associate entering with badness regardless of your presence. Maybe have opening the door trigger a loud noise or bottle spray? Otherwise like shmoove mentioned, it will likely only associate it with badness when you're around.

Note to self: next time get a dog instead of cat.

Quote:
Original post by Thevenin
Create an artificial predator:

Borrow a friend's robocop robot that they recieved for christmas, and then rig it up with projectile weapons (optionally download a wolf cry and play it through the mic on it).

Then go out and buy some cheap perfume (one that no one you know wears), spray it on the robot, BUT ONLY THE ROBOT.

Then, have the robot maul the cat, and confine the robot to that one room. The cat will recognize the scent in the future, and avoid that room.

Rig up a perfumed Robocop howling-wolf, nerf missile-spewing cat-eliminator to keep my cat from entering the room? Brilliant. Actually I really am too lazy to go through all that trouble. Perhaps I should just buy one of these instead?

Anti-Cat Robot1

or better yet, one of these:

Anti-Cat Robot2

Raloth

Jan 1, 2007 at 7:59 PM

It's really hard to train a cat. Mine knows it's not supposed to do certain things, but it does them anyway. If I walk in on it doing something stupid it runs away as quickly as it can. I don't even have to say anything. Still can't get it not to do it in the first place though.

I do know that grabbing a cat's tail is a good way to piss it off. All that will do is make it angry at you, and screaming doesn't help either. I would try to find something your cat is either scared of or hates and put it by your door. I have some hand lotion that my cat absolutely hates the smell of. She won't go within 5 feet of it. Some cats hate to walk on plastic (like a garbage bag), so that might be another thing to try.

ManaStone

Jan 1, 2007 at 10:28 PM

My cat understands "out" and usually obeys when I say that to get it out of my room, but that is about all it does as far as obeying.

Steadtler

Jan 2, 2007 at 12:03 PM

Quote:
Original post by Thevenin
Create an artificial predator:

Borrow a friend's robocop robot that they recieved for christmas, and then rig it up with projectile weapons (optionally download a wolf cry and play it through the mic on it).

Then go out and buy some cheap perfume (one that no one you know wears), spray it on the robot, BUT ONLY THE ROBOT.

Then, have the robot maul the cat, and confine the robot to that one room. The cat will recognize the scent in the future, and avoid that room.

I like that idea. Im positive you could program a vacuum robot (roomba?) to guard your room from cats. Plus, even it it fails, it would clean the cat hair off your floor!

Thr33d

Jan 2, 2007 at 12:17 PM

We gave our cat a bath once, and used a hairdryer to dry him off (so he wouldn't get really cold.)

Ever since then he's hated that hairdryer.
If he *smells* it, or sees it, or even sees the plug in for it (or any that look very similar) his hair raises and he starts hissing and spatting all over the place.

I guess if I didn't want him somewhere, I'd just have to put the hairdryer across the doorway or something.

-M

knowyourrole

Jan 2, 2007 at 2:40 PM

Quote:
Original post by ManaStone
My cat understands "out" and usually obeys when I say that to get it out of my room, but that is about all it does as far as obeying.

My cat is the same. He knows now exactly where he's allowed and where he's not. Still, when I'm out he'll go and sleep somewhere he's not supposed to, and the second I come through the door he'll scurry off. Then again, he is 15 years old, maybe it takes that long =]

I say just keep yelling and scare her out, she'll probably get the message eventually.

LilBudyWizer

Jan 2, 2007 at 11:20 PM

I tried flipping on the vacuum cleaner when my cats messed with it to train them to leave it alone. I thought it worked good, I never saw them mess with it, but my wife said that when I wasn't around they would run across the room, make a flying leap, land on it and attack it with wild abandon. Personally, I'm inclined to bet the cat is smarter than the robot.

There is a wonderful invention called a lock that will train the humans not to open the door to your room when you're not there. If, for some reason, locking the door isn't an option you can put one of those things they put on screen doors to automatically close the door on it. Overall though I wouldn't worry much about the cat eating something that will kill it. They aren't dogs. You would be lucky to get a cat to eat a new brand of catfood much less anything that doesn't look the slightest bit like anything they ever recognized as food.

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