# Water spray bottle alienates my cats?



## Lunatique (Nov 1, 2009)

I always read that a water spray bottle is great for when you want your cat to not do something, so I decided to give it a try. We've had our two cats (Muriel and Prowler) for a couple of weeks now, and as they got more comfortable in our home, they are starting to knock things over, digging stuff out and kicking them around on the floor, and they do this when we are sleeping at night and very early in the morning. We free feed them dry food so it's not a food problem. They use the litter just fine too. The two cats are also very close, snuggle and sleep together a lot, and chase each other around to play--never fighting (they were buddies at the previous owner's place even before they came to our household). 

So I tried using the water spray yesterday when they started digging little rocks out of our indoor plants and kicked them around on the floor, making a lot of noise. They ranoff immediately when I sprayed, which is exactly how cats normally react. Afterwards I'd wait a bit and then go comfort them to let them know I'm still their friend. But after a few times, they started to avoid me. If I walked anywhere near them, they immediately got away from me. They didn't do that before the water bottle. 

The water bottle was the last resort since we couldn't get them to stop by simply clapping our hands loudly and yelling "NO!" anymore. They just ignore us. But if the water bottle alienates us from the cats, what else can we do to stop them from doing things we don't want them to do? We can try to "cat-proof" our home in every way possible (we already gave them claw caps), but it's impossible since they would just jump on the bookshelf and knock DVD cases down on the floor, or even pulling down an entire stereo system by pulling on the power cord.

Any ideas?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Yea, that's one of the reasons I'm not that keen on the water bottle method. Although it _can_ be effective, it can backfire too.
I hate to say this but you're going to have to adjust. Little stones in a pot that go plunk when they hit the floor and then fly around the room when batted? What cat could resist _that_!! Maybe you could get bigger stones or use something else as a plant cover that doesn't interest them. What their doing really is in their nature and you can't train that out of them. They can certainly learn some things but you can't change their basic curiosity and playfulness. Basically, you're putting a really cool toy in front of them and telling them they can't have it. Good luck!
Sounds like they are having a wonderful time.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

The spray bottle didn't work for me, either. Different reason - Cali and Charlee would brace themselves and shut their little eyes, waiting for the spray, and then continue with their bad behavior. :? 

Yes, it is okay if you're smiling. It was funny. Brats.


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## Lunatique (Nov 1, 2009)

Ok, I'm glad to know others have the same problem. So I guess we can only try to cat-proof our home as much as we can stand, and then just accept the rest as the necessary evil that comes with having pets.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

But they're worth it.


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## Sarah-Lou (Sep 22, 2009)

marie73 said:


> The spray bottle didn't work for me, either. Different reason - Cali and Charlee would brace themselves and shut their little eyes, waiting for the spray, and then continue with their bad behavior. :?


That made me smile. Love it!  Cheeky kitties!

I use a spray bottle on Nala...when she is climbing on the table or scratching at the sofa...but for biting it doesn't work, I'm having to tell her off and ignore her...its a slow and painful process


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

I know my 2.5 year old Bengal, Teddy, does not like loud noises. I usually will give a loud "Ah" noise or clap my hands loudly when he is doing something I don't want him to do. 

So far, I have trained him to stay off of counters and tables for the most part (he still will test me once in a blue moon). He is also trained not to chew on wires (though he will still roll around an tackle them if he is wanting attention). As well as a few other things. I am currently working getting him to not moosh-moosh claw the carpet when he is in a playful mood.

I also keep knick-knacks and other valued breakables in a china cabinet. I have also found that I needed to get a trashcan with a heavy lid because he was opening and or knocking over the flip lid can that I did have and was eating stuff that gave him UTIs. (that is always fun to deal with)

There are also other effective punishment methods to employ. If your cats are people oriented (like my Teddy), ignoring them is one of the worst punishments you can give. I taught Teddy not to bite or scratch by studiously pretending he didn't exist after a bite or scratch incident for a half hour. He has not purposefully bitten or scratched me in 6 months or more.

There are also certian behaviors that you need to ignore. About 3-4 months ago, Teddy took to swatting my leg (without claws) when I would walk by him. At first I employed the loud "ah", chase him away and ignore him completely for a half hour. However, that only increased the frequency of the swattings. So I figured that him swatting my leg was a bid for attention and so I took to not reacting to this at all. Within a week or two of ignoring this behavior, it stopped.

The best advice I can give is to use trial and error to figure out what form of dicipline your cats respond best to (without truamizing them).

Best of luck,
Rae


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

nanook said:


> Yea, that's one of the reasons I'm not that keen on the water bottle method. Although it _can_ be effective, it can backfire too.


Ditto. Cats aren't stupid. If you aim something at them and fire, they DO know it was YOU! Generally the spray bottle method is a big mistake.


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

I used to use the spray bottle on Neko but the poor cat became so paranoid i felt awful. If I got up from a sitting position quickly, walked towards him quickly, picked up anything that looked like or sounded like the water bottle he would rocket away and hide. The poor cat seemed like he was on pins and needles all the time, When would I scare him next? So I decided to stop using the spray bottle and just get persistent. If he was doing something wrong I got up and removed him over and over until he gave up. Eventually he no longer got any fun out of doing the "naughty" things because he was always interrupted. I did the same thing with Willie but he gets time outs too because he enjoys the attention of being removed from the activity too much, he'll continue the bad activity just so I'll come get him. With the time out he looses all attention even though he does get picked up, the solitary confinement is so unpleasant for him that it outweighs the joy he gets from the minor attention. It is not as shocking and scary as the spray so they don't get so paranoid, plus if you use a vocal cue first (like off, no, bad kitty or something) they know when to expect it and hopefully will start responding to that so you don't have to keep getting up. The most important thing is not letting them get away with it or else they'll keep testing you to see if maybe next time you'll let them do it.


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## Sarah-Lou (Sep 22, 2009)

raecarrow said:


> There are also other effective punishment methods to employ. If your cats are people oriented (like my Teddy), ignoring them is one of the worst punishments you can give. I taught Teddy not to bite or scratch by studiously pretending he didn't exist after a bite or scratch incident for a half hour. He has not purposefully bitten or scratched me in 6 months or more.


That is very reassuring, thank you!!


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## deedub626 (Sep 2, 2009)

I would suggest taking out the vacuum cleaner, just roll it in front of them but not on.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

Sarah-Lou said:


> raecarrow said:
> 
> 
> > There are also other effective punishment methods to employ. If your cats are people oriented (like my Teddy), ignoring them is one of the worst punishments you can give. I taught Teddy not to bite or scratch by studiously pretending he didn't exist after a bite or scratch incident for a half hour. He has not purposefully bitten or scratched me in 6 months or more.
> ...


Another thing I want to add. A lot of people make the mistake of continuing to play with their cat if the cat play bites/scratches them. The best punishment if they bite or scratch is that play time is IMMEDIATELY over. 

Shortly after I got Teddy, he did the grab/bite/bunny kick combo to my arm while playing, I promptly froze and hissed at him with all my might (do not pull your arm/hand away because that will only damage you further). He released me, looking completely shocked and I walked away and ignored him for 15-20 min. I couldn't ignore him for longer because he realized he had done a bad thing and was profusely apologizing by looking at me with big puppy eyes and rubbing his head on my leg and presenting his belly to be patted. I'll tell you what, he NEVER did that again. Cats, like dogs, need to be taught was is appropriate play and what isn't. 

Also, I have abstained from using my hands/feet as play things for him. I will grab and wrestle with him a bit, but I never make my appendage his play thing. This only tempts him to play inappropriately.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

raecarrow said:


> Another thing I want to add. A lot of people make the mistake of continuing to play with their cat if the cat play bites/scratches them. The best punishment if they bite or scratch is that play time is IMMEDIATELY over.
> 
> Shortly after I got Teddy, he did the grab/bite/bunny kick combo to my arm while playing, I promptly froze and hissed at him with all my might (do not pull your arm/hand away because that will only damage you further). He released me, looking completely shocked and I walked away and ignored him for 15-20 min.


Yup -- when Jonah grabs my hand as if it's Calvin (he's TINY, remember -- this wouldn't work w/ an older/bigger kitten), I just take his scruff in my fingers, tweak him off me, and then walk away. I think 15-20 min is a long time, actually -- they "get" it almost immediately, so I don't think it's necessary to do it that long. But it IS important to realize that if the cat is in that kind of mood, you shouldn't offer yourself again b/c that's unfair. What I usually do, after ignoring him for 1-2 min., is to get out the Cat Dancer to show APPROPRIATE play w/ humans. Often by then he's just gone off to play w/ Calvin anyway, which is also fine.

A large part of living w/ other species is (or should be) management. I.e., you don't put the cat into a situation he can't handle. A hyper little kitten in a "mood" can't handle seeing hands and feet dangled in his way. He needs to be worn out pretty darn good before he can calm down for cuddling. Remembering to manage behavior means that you almost never have to punish behavior.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

My Teddy is 15lbs of SOLID (not fat at all) Bengal. If I pick him up by the scruff I also have to grab his back legs or his middle to support most of his weight. It usually doesn't get so bad that I have to grab him that way.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

raecarrow said:


> My Teddy is 15lbs of SOLID (not fat at all) Bengal. If I pick him up by the scruff I also have to grab his back legs or his middle to support most of his weight. It usually doesn't get so bad that I have to grab him that way.


Right -- and I'm not suggesting this for an adult cat. I can "tweak" little Jonah in much the same way Calvin does when he gets obstreperous. Scruffing an adult cat isn't recommended.


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## JillianSwift (Nov 3, 2009)

The spray bottle technique is only useful if you are *exceedingly* careful not to let the cat see you use it. You also can't react to it. No giggling at the cat's surprise, no enforcing "no!", you can't even be caught looking.

Cats are pretty smart, for having such wee brains.

It should be a _total mystery_ to your cat how she got wet. The most you want your cat to make of the situation is along the lines of "I get annoyingly wet when I'm clawing the sofa."

I've had great success with the squirt bottle technique. My kitties have no idea the squirt bottle is the source of the annoying wetness.


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