A couple of general cat/dog questions

Queen-Mise

Just a few general question.

Is it possible to 'train' a cat? I don't want the cat on our table or counter tops. So when I see him on them - I have been putting him out the back door.
Albeit - I know when he does it now, as I have developed an evil ear and he also hides under my daughter's chair:rolleyes: But I still put him out for a while. Is there a better way to do this? Can you 'train' a cat?

How early can I groom a dog that spends most of him time outside. I have a Westie X and his hair is very overgrown but I don't want to groom him and then find out he is cold. Am I best to leave it till the first week of April before booking him in for a grooming?

And last question is a toughie. What do you do with a dog that has bitten someone. This is an old issue for me, but has been in my head a lot lately. At the time - I got him put down. And still wondering if I did the right thing.
He got out of our garden while we were getting building work done. And one of our neighbours had brought him back a couple of times. This time she went again to pick him up (she knew him well, like five years) and he bit her hand. Very deep, she had to go to doctor, tetanus shots and has a scar now from him.
It was strange at the time as our kids were still small and he had all the patience in the world for them. And a few people were telling me to re-home him - but how could I re-home him knowing that he had bitten someone badly.

Nody

Yes cats can be trained but it's much harder then training a dog. Your best bet is to use double sided tape (works for furniture scratching etc.), remove anything of interest to eat, give them a way to see that there's nothing up there (i.e. something higher then the counter to look tat you) at the area and/or some anti cat smell spray such as this (I've ordered one as my kittens have decided to start walking on the counter at times but it has not arrived yet).

DamagedTrax

Queen-Mise wrote: »

And last question is a toughie. What do you do with a dog that has bitten someone. This is an old issue for me, but has been in my head a lot lately. At the time - I got him put down. And still wondering if I did the right thing.

depends on the situation really. if it was an attack bite i'd have it put down. if it was defensive, then i'd think harder about it. without seeing the incident in person it was a tough call for you to make.

Pumpkinseeds

Queen-Mise wrote: »

Just a few general question.

Is it possible to 'train' a cat? I don't want the cat on our table or counter tops. So when I see him on them - I have been putting him out the back door.
Albeit - I know when he does it now, as I have developed an evil ear and he also hides under my daughter's chair:rolleyes: But I still put him out for a while. Is there a better way to do this? Can you 'train' a cat?

How early can I groom a dog that spends most of him time outside. I have a Westie X and his hair is very overgrown but I don't want to groom him and then find out he is cold. Am I best to leave it till the first week of April before booking him in for a grooming?

And last question is a toughie. What do you do with a dog that has bitten someone. This is an old issue for me, but has been in my head a lot lately. At the time - I got him put down. And still wondering if I did the right thing.
He got out of our garden while we were getting building work done. And one of our neighbours had brought him back a couple of times. This time she went again to pick him up (she knew him well, like five years) and he bit her hand. Very deep, she had to go to doctor, tetanus shots and has a scar now from him.
It was strange at the time as our kids were still small and he had all the patience in the world for them. And a few people were telling me to re-home him - but how could I re-home him knowing that he had bitten someone badly.

You can train a cat. The easiest way to keep them off the work surfaces etc is to get a motion sensored device that lets out compressed air when the cat passes it. Puss won't like it and should come to see it as a hostile area, the idea is that they'll decide there are better places to investigate:)

hdowney

I am trying to train my three - failing miserably. They KNOW they ain't allowed on the kitchen table. When I walk towards it they leap off and leggit, but they still get up there! And one likes to go on top of the fridge. They go everywhere without a care

Pumpkinseeds

hdowney wrote: »

I am trying to train my three - failing miserably. They KNOW they ain't allowed on the kitchen table. When I walk towards it they leap off and leggit, but they still get up there! And one likes to go on top of the fridge. They go everywhere without a care

A lot of cats like to be off the ground so tables and work surfaces are a big attraction. We have a shoe cabinet in the kitchen that we let them sit on, its higher than the table and they can get a good view of everything from it. Before we had the cabinet we just put a tablecloth on the kitchen table and let them sit on that. Its easier in the long term to replace something they aren't allowed to get up on with something that they can. They just want to see whats happening in the room. Even putting up a shelf for them can make a big difference. I find compromise with our cats to be the easiest option for us and them:)

Queen-Mise

Another question: What is the story with cats obsession with running water?

I always thought cats hated water - our idiot of a feline is obsessed with taps. I cannot go to the bathroom without cat following me in (he opens the door) and jumps straight into bath and stares expectantly at the faucet. I turn on the tap for him and then he sits staring at the water and occasionally attacking it.
Turning it off is as much fun for him because then he attacks tap trying to get water to come out again.

And our idiot of a feline also attacks raindrops on the ground.

Nody

It's normal; I got one foster cat who'll insist to jump into the bathtub the moment the shower stops to drink that water (because the three bowls changed daily or the water fountain with a filter is not good enough); he's the same with water in a glass (given him the option of a glass or a bowl and he'll go for the glass every time).

Pumpkinseeds

One of our cats used to take a sip of out of my glass of water every night after I got into bed. He'd look so pleased with himself, it was almost as if he thought he was doing me a favour:) With the 2 we have now, 1 will drink plenty of cold water in his outdoor water bowl, never drinks indoors.

The other we bought a water fountain for and he never once used it. I even used bottled water. He won't drink tap water or drink from the steel bowl in the garden. Occasionally he'll drink rainwater from a clean container in the garden. Mine love to pull the bath panel aside and get under the bath to hear the water in the pipes:D

hdowney

Yep mine are in the bath quick as a shot. The youngest likes to 'swim' (as the mammy calls it!) in their drinking water - she bats at it with her paws getting it everywhere!

abbyw1989

Queen-Mise wrote: »

Just a few general question.

How early can I groom a dog that spends most of him time outside. I have a Westie X and his hair is very overgrown but I don't want to groom him and then find out he is cold. Am I best to leave it till the first week of April before booking him in for a grooming?

Leave it the longest you can, but if he's starting to get matted get him trimmed. Maybe invest in a warm coat for him, especially over night and he should be fine

Queen-Mise

abbyw1989 wrote: »

Leave it the longest you can, but if he's starting to get matted get him trimmed. Maybe invest in a warm coat for him, especially over night and he should be fine

Oh - the coat is a good idea. I feel embarrassed walking him at the moment as he just looks like a messy hippy...

He will matt - he has the Westie coat of hair, although not a pure blood. Looks like a large one really.

Dublin21

Nody wrote: »

anti cat smell spray such as this (I've ordered one as my kittens have decided to start walking on the counter at times but it has not arrived yet).

I tried this over Christmas for my two cats Nody.. didn't make the slightest difference.. in fact they seemed quite intrigued by the scent of it!
Id love to know how yours get on with it though?

We have justed moved into an apartment with an open kitchen/dining/living area and the kitchen has plenty of shelving for them to jump around on which is quite a pain atm!
Everything is literally cleared the minute we finish eating/cooking and they are put out in the spare room while we eat but id still prefer them off the actual counters when they come back in.
The older one in particular tries to fish the smallest crumb he can out of the sink

My partner wants to get the ssscat tool which blasts some air at the cat (sensor)
Only prob is its expensive enough and depending on how big your kitchen is you might need a few!

The only thing that has actually ever 'deterred' our cats from going somewhere was fresh cut lemons.. they would literally run away from them!
Realised this by accident when we were preparing a chicken last Sunday.. had cut up lemons beisde it waiting to stuff it.. the younger cat jumped up on the counter only to look repulsed and jumped back down again...

Now i haven't tried rubbing the counters down with pure lemon juice yet but it might be an idea!

Pumpkinseeds

I've heard really positive things about the ssscat. The idea is that they are a temporary thing. After a few encounters with it in one area the cat decides that the work surface etc is hostile. I'd say you could just move it around once they've given up on 1 surface or get 2. I'd doubt you'd need them for everywhere.

If you can fit a tall cat tree into the area they work very well too. Our cats love to sit on them and they can see everthing thats going on. Its really just about making sure they don't miss any of the action. So if you can replace a high surface you don't want them to climb on, with one that you do, it'd make things easier.

We couldn't use the ssscat in our house. One of my cats refuses to eat on the ground as he feels intimidated by our other cat. So he eats on a work surface. I just have to make sure I use a dettol wipe or dettol spray before I put food etc on the surfaces.

ABajaninCork

I used a water pistol on mine! One of my cats had a habit of running up my legs to perch on my shoulder like a parrot. Got too painful, so in the end, I bought a water pistol to use on him. Worked a treat.

I also used the same method to stop them jumping on worktops.

Takes only a few squirts for them to get the message. In the end, all I had to do was show it to them...

Queen-Mise

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I used a water pistol on mine! One of my cats had a habit of running up my legs to perch on my shoulder like a parrot. Got too painful, so in the end, I bought a water pistol to use on him. Worked a treat.

I also used the same method to stop them jumping on worktops.

Takes only a few squirts for them to get the message. In the end, all I had to do was show it to them...

My cat loves water (that is not a sentence I ever thought I would say in my life). So if I tried the water pistol - he would probably jump up just to play with it.

ABajaninCork

Queen-Mise wrote: »

My cat loves water (that is not a sentence I ever thought I would say in my life). So if I tried the water pistol - he would probably jump up just to play with it.

Not true. The same cat used to get in the shower with me, and loved to drink from the bathroom tap. He also fell into the loo as a kitten, as he was fascinated with water. What they don't like is the shock of the water suddenly hitting them. That's why I found the water pistol to be so effective...