My Cat is a bully ... help!

TooManyDogs

dorgasm wrote: »

Of course, when I go out to shoo the cat away, it sees me and is gone before I take two steps into the garden.

^ This. This is my problem too, very easy for cat owners to say "sure just spray him with a water pistol" but when the cat that torments my rabbits even sees a shadow moving behind the window he's gone, so there simply is no way to get remotely near it with a water pistol spray. I've seen it at my rabbits countless times and have never managed to catch it unawares enough to throw water at it, so it keeps coming back.

At this stage I let my dogs out after it, only thing I can think of to scare the cat effectively enough to make it leave my rabbit alone. Now bearing in mind that my garden is fully secure to keep my pets on my premesis, so I have no remorse about scaring the willies out of someone elses pet who clearly doesn't care enough about it to keep it contained or build a run for it. I'm not wishing for the cat to get injured but I'm out of options, I don't have money to spend on devices that would ultimately harm my own pets, and to be perfectly honest I'm not prepared to spend the little money I have to spare to rectify someone elses irresponsibility

lubie76

dorgasm wrote: »

a little prick of a cat torments them. The horrid creature will see that the dogs are in the garden, will hop into our garden and sit down and wait for the dogs to notice it.

Bit pathetic name calling the cat when it's only doing what comes natural to it. Just like your dogs are following their natural instinct i.e barking and jumping at it. Maybe you should take up your problem with the owner instead for allowing him to roam in the first place.

UnknownSpecies

lubie76 wrote: »

Bit pathetic name calling the cat when it's only doing what comes natural to it. Just like your dogs are following their natural instinct i.e barking and jumping at it. Maybe you should take up your problem with the owner instead for allowing him to roam in the first place.

Not really pathetic at all actually. The same neighbours have 4 cats and it's only one that does this so I don't see how you say it comes naturally. It doesn't.

I know the owners very well but they just won't keep the cat indoors. It's the same shite being spouted in this thread "Cats are meant to roam", "It's cruel to keep them indoors" :rolleyes:

The difference between my dogs and that cat doing what comes naturally is that the dogs are doing is on MY property and only when provoked. The cat leaves its owner's property and that is where the problem is.

sambuka41

dorgasm wrote: »

I know the owners very well but they just won't keep the cat indoors. It's the same shite being spouted in this thread "Cats are meant to roam", "It's cruel to keep them indoors" :rolleyes:

Actually most people in this thread are saying to keep the cat indoors, only one or two are saying let it roam. Only the difference is that we aren't aggressively calling the cats names. :mad:

There's no cat hatred on this forum :rolleyes:

UnknownSpecies

I don't hate cats at all. However, I despise that particular cat a LOT, so I'll call it what I like.

Ayla

Bambi wrote: »

I would contend that equally if your cat is going to spend its life cooped up then you shouldn't have one.

Whew, dramatic much? :rolleyes:

Keeping a cat inside does not automatically mean they're cooped up in a tiny cardboard box without any stimulation. Assuming there is something for the cat to "do" and getting attention from other living creatures, there is no reason to assume an indoor cat is having a half-life.

Try to keep this in perspective - cats are quite small animals, so even a small apartment (properly kitted out) can hold enough stimulation for them.

Cherry Blossom

MajorMax wrote: »

We had a few run ins but I quickly showed her that I could hit a lot harder than she could (to the cat not the ex-Girlfriend/Current Wife) and now she loves & adores me (the cat not the ex-Girlfriend/Current Wife) and hasn't raised a paw to me since.

Advocating cruelty to animals is not permitted in this forum, please read the forum charter.

MajorMax

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Advocating cruelty to animals is not permitted in this forum, please read the forum charter.

I'm sorry kneejerk mod, did you read my post? I do not and never have advocated cruelty to animals.

Negative reinforcement is a legitimate training tool for animals. You reward good behaviour and punish bad behaviour. Am I wrong? If so, prove it!

I've come across this sort of anthropomorphism before. I have punished my cat for unacceptable behaviour
while my ex-Girlfriend/Current Wife mollycoddles the Cat, guess who the cat obeys. She is my warrior princess

I now expect that you will abuse your powers as a Moderator and ban me.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

<BANNED>

SimonLynch

Mad thread, keeping cats indoors?

sambuka41

MajorMax wrote: »

Negative reinforcement is a legitimate training tool for animals. You reward good behaviour and punish bad behaviour.

Negative reinforcement and punishment are not the same thing

iguana

On average allowing cats to roam shortens their lifespan by 75-80%. There is no debate, allowing them to roam is cruel as it puts them in so much danger that their lifespans are reduced so significantly.

lolo62

iguana wrote: »

On average allowing cats to roam shortens their lifespan by 75-80%. There is no debate, allowing them to roam is cruel as it puts them in so much danger that their lifespans are reduced so significantly.

true but theres a difference between letting them out and letting them roam.
cats respond really well to routine...
i only let my cat out the back door and at certain times.

cars drive ridiculously fast up and down our road despite there being ramps so i never let her out the front and she never makes her way around there (the houses are terraced which is an advantage)
i also feed her three meals so she gets hungry more often and stays close by, she rarely leaves the garden or lane but if i cant see her one shake of the treat box has her back in ten seconds

the only time shes out for long periods is when she wont let me sleep, in which case she has a hut with comfy blankets and cushions...she just snoozes there until she can get back in the house and take over my bed

the neighbours two doors down have a little cat who is pregnant for the second time and they just let her run wild, they have no idea where her first litter of kittens are...i regularly see her out the front in danger of being hit, forraging in the lane and causing trouble

so my point is not all cats that are outdoors are 'roaming' hence owned by irresponsible owners, and letting your cat outdoors is not cruel if some thought and planning goes into it

wolfpawnat

My puppy is tormented by my cat, both are in the same enclosed space, in all fairness, my pup torments him too.

As for the not letting cats roam, easier said than done. I am in a ground floor apartment, taking the dog out for the bathroom/opening any window for half a second and the cat will go for it, they are a curious creature by nature. And yes you can be as careful as possible, but it doesn't always work, and some cats refuse to stay indoors, responsible owners neuter so that they don't contribute to the kitten epidemic, but apart from that there is little can be done.

They are not like dogs, they are not very trainable. They are very independently minded and do not give a hoot about what humans want them to do. And though that pup is in its own garden, cats don't tend to care about boundaries set by humans and other animals, if it deems something on its turf, you will not convince them otherwise.