The Pet Thread

[leggo PE]

Switching to drapes may not help.  Our cats like to try to climb the curtain in our dining room (though not in the other rooms for some reason.)

Drapes would at least not make the same sound as the cheap metal blinds do... And would prevent us from potentially losing some of our security deposit whenever it is we move out of this place.

 

[leggo PE]

He has recently started to like going through the blinds and chewing on the ends of them...

 

[MA_PE]

get rid of the kitty.  problem solved.

Water guns work wonders and it's fun to shoot at them.

 

[leggo PE]

get rid of the kitty.  problem solved.

Water guns work wonders and it's fun to shoot at them.

He's turned the squirt bottle into a game. He really doesn't mind getting squirted, no matter how much we shoot at him. He'll go and do the same thing again, and then will go clean himself to his preference later, when it's convenient for him, even if he's soaked in the mean time.

 

[MA_PE]

He's turned the squirt bottle into a game. He really doesn't mind getting squirted, no matter how much we shoot at him. He'll go and do the same thing again, and then will go clean himself to his preference later, when it's convenient for him, even if he's soaked in the mean time.

taze him, bro

 

[knight1fox3]

@knight1fox3, any advice for keeping a kitty aware from horizontal blinds? Thinking of going with drapes, or trying this: https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-PDT00-13914-SSSCAT-Spray-Deterrent/product-reviews/B000RIA95G/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

We don't really want to just keep the blinds raised, because the window is just above the headboard of our bed in our bedroom. Of course, our bed and the nightstand both provide excellent perching spots for him to get access to the windowsill. We're not really trying to redecorate and move the furniture around in the bedroom, either.

That's a tough one. And based on your 2nd paragraph, reconfiguration is out of the question. The spray deterrent might work. Apple bitters is another method we used when our cats "adapted" to water spray.

 

[leggo PE]

That's a tough one. And based on your 2nd paragraph, reconfiguration is out of the question. The spray deterrent might work. Apple bitters is another method we used when our cats "adapted" to water spray.

Apple bitters... You put them into the water in the spray bottle?

 

[knight1fox3]

Apple bitters... You put them into the water in the spray bottle?

Yes. But typically it already comes in a spray-type bottle. But often it's a larger bottle, so we'll re-distribute into smaller (think glasses cleaner) spray bottles. That way we can strategically place them throughout the house.

 

[leggo PE]

Yes. But typically it already comes in a spray-type bottle. But often it's a larger bottle, so we'll re-distribute into smaller (think glasses cleaner) spray bottles. That way we can strategically place them throughout the house.

We already have two bottles right by our bed, one for me and one for my fiancé. During the daytime, one of the bed ones moves to the bathroom (he likes to dig up and play with the catchall thing in the sink). 

 

[tj_PE]

I think Apple bitters are to put on an object to deter chewing.

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[tj_PE]

Can you just raise the blinds a tiny bit so catcan crawl under instead of through? And so the full stronger band of blinds is at the crawl through height? Maybe put a piece of foam core against the window to that height if you want to block peepers

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[tj_PE]

My big cat liked crawling through them so I ended up just raising so he can get behind without going thru

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[knight1fox3]

We already have two bottles right by our bed, one for me and one for my fiancé. During the daytime, one of the bed ones moves to the bathroom (he likes to dig up and play with the catchall thing in the sink). 

Wow, you both are far more tolerant with what rooms you allow pets in than I am. When I go into the bathroom to get ready in the morning, the door gets shut! After breakfast, when I go into the bedroom to get dressed, the door gets shut!  LOL

I think Apple bitters are to put on an object to deter chewing.

The very first iteration of it was. But a diluted version can also be used for those pets (*cough* leggo's cat *cough*) which are more aggressive and have difficult learning rules of the house.

 

[leggo PE]

Wow, you both are far more tolerant with what rooms you allow pets in than I am. When I go into the bathroom to get ready in the morning, the door gets shut! After breakfast, when I go into the bedroom to get dressed, the door gets shut!  LOL

Haha! Well, we technically only have four rooms in our one bedroom apartment (kitchen/dining room, living room, bedroom, and bathroom), and this cat likes to be wherever we are when we are there. Or, wherever the person doing whatever is more interesting is.

Part of the problem is that the bathroom is off of the bedroom, and has a sliding door that has a faulty lock, and he has figured out how to open it with his paws if it's closed. It's also where his litter box is, and we don't really want to prevent him from accessing that! He's just a very attention-needy cat. Our old cat was this way too, but he wanted all the petting and belly rubbing any human could possibly be able to give him. This guy wants all the action, and isn't picky about the positive vs. negative attention.

 

[knight1fox3]

Well it just seems to me based on what you all have shared that there's just too much leniency at this stage. Leniency that might have been carried over from the old cat. But when training a new kitten/cat, there simply has to be certain boundaries. Or things will just escalate and get out of your control. Leniency and discipline do not go hand-in-hand based on my pet training experiences. YMMV

 

[leggo PE]

YMMV

My mileage may vary?

 

[leggo PE]

And you might be right about the leniency, kf. We must change our ways.

 

[tj_PE]

@leggo PE i suggest the solutions i suggested above, as previously suggested.

 

[leggo PE]

Well, we have more or less been getting along better with the kitty in the past few weeks.

Case in point: We were gone four nights (with a friend stopping by each day to feed and play with him) over New Year's. We got back last night at a reasonable hour, around 7 pm, and as I'm bringing stuff into the apartment, I hear my fiancé start laughing really hard, saying I need to come to the bathroom. I go look at the bathroom, and it looks like a freaking MURDER scene. Pluto had gotten into the cabinet under the sink (which he'd never done before), shredded toilet paper, dragged/knocked everything out of it and spread it in a pile on the floor. Combine that with litter and stuff from the counter, and it looked straight up hilarious. I really wish we'd gotten a picture before we cleaned it up. Alas, we didn't.

Granted, much of this good reaction was due to the time we discovered it... Had we found it a few hours later, we probably wouldn't have been quite so thrilled. But as it was, it was quite comical!

 

[knight1fox3]

I hear my fiancé start laughing really hard, saying I need to come to the bathroom. I go look at the bathroom, and it looks like a freaking MURDER scene. Pluto had gotten into the cabinet under the sink (which he'd never done before), shredded toilet paper, dragged/knocked everything out of it and spread it in a pile on the floor. Combine that with litter and stuff from the counter, and it looked straight up hilarious.

You have a much different form of humor than I would have for this particular incident.