kittens and benchtops...

My 17 year old is allowed wherever she damn well pleases now - she never used to get on the benches - but now that she is scrawny compared to the younger cat, she jumps on the bench - where the other does not DARE to go - so she will get something to eat. Each to their own I say. When you are not looking they will get up there and when you are home they won't based on the usual training of "no way (big gruff voice) and putting them straight back on the floor. It works! However it is a natural cat instinct to be "on high" so you are fighting a losing battle in the long run unless you are there to police it. I just don't have food on my bench unless I have seen the older cat get run off her feed and then I turn a blind eye to the fact that her food is on the bench. Grin. Works for both of us.

A lady I worked with had the most kleptomaniac cat ever. He regularly bought socks home, singles pairs dirty and clean. He bought home slices of cold toast, even bacon rashers. She came home one day and saw a trail of powder lead from the neighbours garage down their driveway then up her pathway and ended under a bush. The little blighter had stolen an open bag of blood and bone.

you can rig up a system with a IR sensor from a house alarm, set to cat size sensitivity, a battery and a loisemaker such as a LOUDspeaker. any good electrician could run one up for you, set it on the bench, and whenever you leave the bench turn it on. Cat jumps up, IR sparks the noisemaker, cat jumps.

Thanks Kate, we'll try that. Our little girl has the bathroom to roam at the moment - I knew there was a reason we put 2 bathrooms in when we built!!
Karey

quote:Originally posted by Kate

Hi Karey

You'll have lots of fun [8D]

We just fed our kittens, didn't confine them and spent time with them quietly until they got used to us. They were confined to the laundry and until we put in the cat flap the door to the garden was always open for them. If I walked towards them they would run away so I just sat down some distance from them and waited for them to come to me. I'd take a book to read and they'd soon get curious and come over to sniff at me and pat me with their paws. It took a month before we could pick them up and even then the male cats were wary for a while.

Now they have turned into lovely little lap cats who just want to be held and stroked and told how gorgeous they are [][]For hours at a time [}]

Good luck
Kate

Ditto with the feeding. I 'acquired' two dumped cats at Christmas. One had obviously been a house pet, and took about three days before he leapt into my arms, and has been happy ever since. The other, who I suspect was semi-wild, took three months to get close enough to pat.

He stayed outside, and would turn up twice a day for feeding. Originally he was sleeping in one of the sheds, then the chook house, (after chasing the chooks out [}]) then under the house. He now sleeps inside, but I always keep a window open, so he doesn't feel threatened. He is also a squeaker, whereas the other has a very loud voice, and is always using it to ask where I am. Our vet thinks he might be part Abysinian.

Just be patient, and they will let you know when they're ready to make friends.

On the actual subject of benches Kate, a workmate has told me his guaranteed method. The first time he catches them on the bench, they get their head held under the cold running tap for a few seconds. [:0] He swears it does the trick, and he never has to worry about the bench ever again, but you might not want to be quite that ruthless!

quote:Originally posted by maggies mum

Kate if you think thats a problem, maybe you should spare a thought for me and BD, sharing a king size bed with 2 dogs and 3 cats. I wake up some mornings in such an impossible position that I wonder if I shall ever be able to straighten up, and having slept with only a 2 inch strip of covers wondering whether I have frozen into that position!

Gawd, MM, and we thought it was bad with one small huntaway/foxie cross in the middle of the bed! [:0]

One consolation in winter is that it stops that funnel of bedclothes where the cold air gets in when someone turns over [}]

Just a quick update on my little girl - today is day 3 and I'm allowed cuddles now!! I get the occasional (token) hiss but she's no longer trying to rip my hands to shreds and while she is still very timid (understandably), she is quite content to curl up in the pocket of my sweatshirt if I'm sitting in the bathroom with her. Am a very happy 'mum' at the moment as it seems like she is here to stay! [^] So fingers crossed she continues to progress so I can get my other bathroom back!!
Karey
Dargaville

Awwww. Well done, kaz. There's no nicer feeling than those first few cuddles. I think the hissing is a reactive hiss first, ask questions later sort of thing, it will go away in time. What sort/colour is she?

She's a grey tabby, actually looks a lot like my first cat Tequila (I really should stop naming my cats after alcohol) and yes, first cuddles are lovely!!

Hooper is a fierce little fecker with a voracious appetite. He steals food off your plate whilst you are eating it (sandwich's appear to be a favourite), climbs up human limbs at any given opportunity, is frequently seen on the bench in the chook scraps and beats all the other animals in the house up at dinner time so he can steal the best bits and crouch over them growling ferociously. I think the other cats and dogs are too stunned to do anything! He was only tiny when we got him but he's growing fast!

We actually find verbalising the word 'bang' and clapping seems to work. Failing that, we lock him in the hallway until his plaintiff mews drive us insane and he is released only to go straight back into his wicked ways!

Just to prove that Tui is quietening down here is a photo of her with my partner.

Isn't she just the cutest thing?? [^] (one-eyed 'mother' speaking) lol