Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: chrisnjulie on September 19, 2015, 19:21:18 PM
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We've never owned a cat before only dogs .....
We have an 8 week old kitten who just wants to be with us but we're having to lock her away when we're eating otherwise she's climbing all over us and it's not acceptable really . (Cute at the moment but not when she's a fully grown cat) How can we have her in the room but not climbing all over us ?, how do I teach her ? Do I start this now? Please help as we want to get it right for everyone.
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She is just a baby and cats are very different to dogs. They will leave a message and get back to you :rofl: :rofl:
She will be misssing her mother and need lots of attention and play and will investigate everything, you and your food.
I have never had a kitten that young so cant advise but try giving her her food when you are eating................doubt it will help lol.
Try not to shut her out cos she is needing love and is learning about everything.
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tbh I gave up trying to teach them things years ago, the youngest kitten I've had was 14 weeks, we used to feed her when we were eating to distract her a bit but usually once they get an idea you end up going along with it!
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One of our "Borrower" cats always pops up about around our dinnertime, looking hopeful. He'll crane his neck trying to get a look at what delicacies are on the plate with that "Is there enuff on there fer me ter have a bit, eh?" :-: "Is there....?"
And of course, there always is..... :evillaugh:
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One of our "Borrower" cats always pops up about around our dinnertime, looking hopeful.
Sounds rather like my BIL - but we are rather less accommodating to him! :evillaugh:
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One of our "Borrower" cats always pops up about around our dinnertime, looking hopeful.
Sounds rather like my BIL - but we are rather less accommodating to him! :evillaugh:
:rofl:
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Kocka used to sit by my side when I was eating and get closer and closer when she saw the food disapearing. Paws on the tray near the end in panic :rofl: :rofl:
She always got some :shify: :shify:
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:welcome: to Purrs.
You say it's not acceptable for the kitten to walk all over you and you haven't mentioned her name. I might be wrong but you don't sound as though you have the patience for a kitten. I have never had a kitten, always rescued oldies.
Is your dog ok with the kitten? I think you would have been better looking up on the internet about kittens before getting her. Every cat/kitten is different but lots of people on here have had kittens and I am sure they can help you.
Good luck.
Mary
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Kittens are energetic bundles of fur and mischief, and that's as it should be, but it can some as a shock when you've never had a cat before.
However, even if you've been used to dogs and havent ever had a cat or a kitten before, one distinguishing feature between them (and I love both) is that an unruly puppy seldom grows into a calm dog without owner intervention, whereas kittens, as they mature, generally adopt a more reserved demeanour.
I say "generally" because of course as Gill pointed out, all cats are different, and for sure they react very differently to dogs. It's a delicate process "teaching" a cat, and you cant apply dog training principles, cos they dont work. Punishing cats especially doesnt work.
If you dont want her to interrupt at mealtimes, you could try giving her alittle bowl of food of her own when you sit down to eat. however, if it's more about the interaction with her humans than it is about the food, she'll continue to want to be with you whilst you're eating - it's a very sociable thing for a kitten. If that's the case, you can just gently pick her up, place her on the floor and say "No" firmly. You'll need to keep doing this, and if necessary to ignore her when she repeats her efforts to engage with you.
Just a personal thing, but I love any engagement with my babies, because it means they want to hang out with us, and it's helping to forge the bonds that will take you all into hopefully a long, happy adulthood.
Sadly, many people lose interest in cats once they become adults, because they think the cat has lost it's "fun" element. but that does a cat a huge injustice, because as everyone who's ever really taken time to understand their cats will tell you, the inner kitten remains with the cat well into old age. :) There are few things more enchanting than witnessing a cat having a play session when they think no-one's watching - or when they know you're watching and they don't mind or care. :Luv: The key is to study a cat's body language and learn how that works, in the same way you would come to instinctively know how to interpret your dog's "language."
Don't be put off having chosen a kitten if it now turns out you feel a bit unprepared. :shify: :evillaugh: You'll learn fast, and as you've no doubt found out by now, we're all happy to chip in with advice as and when you need it.
It's great she's getting on with your dogs too. :Luv: We combined cats and dogs happily for many years, with one of our cats acting as the eyes and ears for a dog we had who went blind and deaf in her later years. He went everywhere with her, and was very protective of her.
Got any more piccies? :wow: ;)
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Thanks for that Sue .....
We always do our best by our animals and Sophie will never not be played with , she is just adorable and such a cuddly kitten .
With regards to the sitting on us when we're eating , she crawls all over us while we're trying to eat and we've managed to get her to sit by our side now which means we have come to a compromise . We don't want to push her out just eat our tea haha
She tries to suckle on all of our dogs which they don't particularly like but when they are calm with her they are praised and if a bit lively they are distracted . It's all going ok bit like I say not getting complacent as it's our first week .....WE'VE ALL SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK !!
As for piccies ....is there a way of uploading from an Android phone or do I have to do it via photobiology which I've always found a faff ?
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Stupid predictive text .....I meant photobox
Thanks for that Sue .....
We always do our best by our animals and Sophie will never not be played with , she is just adorable and such a cuddly kitten .
With regards to the sitting on us when we're eating , she crawls all over us while we're trying to eat and we've managed to get her to sit by our side now which means we have come to a compromise . We don't want to push her out just eat our tea haha
She tries to suckle on all of our dogs which they don't particularly like but when they are calm with her they are praised and if a bit lively they are distracted . It's all going ok bit like I say not getting complacent as it's our first week .....WE'VE ALL SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK !!
As for piccies ....is there a way of uploading from an Android phone or do I have to do it via photobiology which I've always found a faff ?
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WE'VE ALL SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK !!
:evillaugh: :evillaugh: And so it begins........ ;)
I think you're doing great. :)
Our Ross was a suckler. He preferred my right earlobe. He still did it as a young adult cat. It was a surprise at first, but I quickly adapted. My right earlobe misses his attention, but I'm sure whatever he's up to over the RainbowBridge, he still thinks of us, and remembers his hooman comforts. :)
Predictive text - the bane of my life. I'm a horror on a Kindle - poor Moray's name frequently converts to "Norah" - imagine! :-[ As for uploading photos....... I know a little about cats, but absolutely diddley squat about techno things. Hopefully Gill or Andrew may be along to help with that. :shify:
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You will need an app to resize your pics. Try - images easy resizer & JPG PNG - from Play store. Your resized pics will be automatically saved for you.
I hadn't had any kittens for over 25 years (I had cats), then I adopted 2, big shock :rofl:
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And now Astrophe and Zoonie are legends in their own lunchtime, aren't they Andrew :wow: ;)
They can tell a thing or two about having adventures, and getting up to "stuff" :evillaugh:
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And now Astrophe and Zoonie are legends in their own lunchtime, aren't they Andrew :wow: ;)
They can tell a thing or two about having adventures, and getting up to "stuff" :evillaugh:
:rofl: :rofl:
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Pleased Andrew answered the question cos Although I have android Hudl and phone, dont use the latter and all resizing on the foirmer is in instagram!
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I sympathise with the meal time issues as I have had the same problems with Mosi (now 9 and doesn't bother me at meal times) and Kito (8 months and does everything he can to take the food off my plate or out of my mouth!). With Mosi every time he got to close when I was eating I pushed him away (gently by pushing his head - like his mum would do) and said "no" firmly or hissed at him. To begin with I barely had time to pick my fork back up before he was coming again but after doing this persistently for a few days he got the message and stopped being a pain in the :censored: He still hovered at mealtimes but he got the message that trying to help himself achieved nothing.
Fast forward 9 years and young Kito was exactly the same. He was worse if anything and such a battle to keep him from climbing over me, the plate and just trying to actually get anything into my mouth. I did the same though and although the first couple of days were a nightmare and so difficult to get anything into my mouth (hardly got one "no" out before needing to say it again) he did gradually get the message and back off a bit. I generally eat sat on the sofa (I know... :innocent:) and he sits on the coffee table looking longingly and trying his luck every now and again. He seemed to be getting better then all of a sudden he went back to trying to climb on me and grab food. So back to the beginning and we are now making progress. He still hovers nearby and often sits on the coffee table looking longingly at my plate and sticking a paw out every now and again. But he's getting the message and I've even had the odd meal without him pestering me. The key with cats is to be consistent. If they get what they want even just now and again they will see that as encouragement and just try harder. How do you react when she tries to climb all over you? You mentioned it was cute now that she's a kitten - does that mean you are letting her get away with it at meal times? ;)
As to climbing over you at other times - well that's what cats do and I would consider it a compliment. Dogs have masters and cats have servants, remember!
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Hi Susanne
Sophie isn't after food off our plates (at the moment haha) she just walks all over us while we're eating and we don't have the luxury of a table (that went when the parrot arrived 6 years ago) I think we're getting there with her , she sits in between us now while we eat . We don't discourage her from climbing on us at any other time because we love it and making the most of it incase it lessens as she gets older (I don't know if that will happen I'm just sumising)
We are pleased to serve her and here to cater for her every whim
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You're shaping up to be a very decent cat slave in the making :evillaugh: :)
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I am so glad everything is sounding so much better :hug:
When I was a lot younger and lived at home we had at one time have a cat, dog and a parakeet and they all got on great.
Glad you are getting some help from our Purrs kitten owners. I'll stick to rescuing oldies, don't have the energy for kittens :rofl: ;)
Mary
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You're shaping up to be a very decent cat slave in the making :evillaugh: :)
I second that and you have a parrot?
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Yes Gill, we have an African grey called Teddy. He has bonded with my fella and totally hates me even tough I feed him and make his aviary exciting for him to play in !! Typical
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Indeed typical!
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Yes Gill, we have an African grey called Teddy. He has bonded with my fella and totally hates me even tough I feed him and make his aviary exciting for him to play in !! Typical
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A friend of mine has 2 African Greys and they love him to bits and they were ok with me at first, even sat on my hand and gave me a kiss but now he just wants to bite me and as you will know their beaks really hurt.
Mary
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Hi Susanne
Sophie isn't after food off our plates (at the moment haha) she just walks all over us while we're eating and we don't have the luxury of a table (that went when the parrot arrived 6 years ago) I think we're getting there with her , she sits in between us now while we eat . We don't discourage her from climbing on us at any other time because we love it and making the most of it incase it lessens as she gets older (I don't know if that will happen I'm just sumising)
We are pleased to serve her and here to cater for her every whim
What's the problem then? ;) ;D You are a kitten climbing frame as all good cat slaves are ;D Do you have a cat tree for her?
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No climbing frame yet ....still searching for one ...there's far too many to choose from
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Not all cats use cat trees so I wouldn't spend a lot of money on one to start with.
You could try the RSPCA charity shop for a used one. Many people take them in because their cat won't use them.
Mary