Conference misery::feline_v1

    biting:  occasionally Holly dos this to me and I put on a big act,
    like I'm really in pain.  This seems to solve the problem for quite
    a while.
    
    grabbing at leg with claws:  I've heard that this happens because
    the cat is bored to tears and has decided to play by pretending
    your feet are some sort of prey.  The suggested cure was to get
    another cat for company.....
    
    string: eek!  eek!  cats can swallow string and die if it gets their
    intestines and so forth blocked or tied.
    

    Hi Linda,
    
    Don't feel too guilty about yelling at her. In fact, do let her
    know when she's naughty and you are mad at her! Try to make a positive
    determination of what you will allow and what not, and stick to
    that, i.e. don't allow one day what you won't allow the other.
    
    On the other hand, be just as nice to her when she's doing "the
    right things". Punish and reward, I mean. 
    
    On punishing: don't spank her. Never. She'll think you attack her,
    not punish her. Grab her with one hand in her neck (support her
    with your other hand), hold her close to your face, stare at her
    intensely and say "NO!". If need be, pat her on her nose with your
    finger and make sure you don't do it friendly! That way, you can
    copy some behaviour of Mother's, you'll be amazed in what short
    time a single "NO" can do! For recidivists, buy a plant-spout.
    
    If got two perfectly relaxed cats, that stay out of trouble most
    of the time, when they get into trouble a simple "NO!" stops them,
    in severe cases I put the plant-spout next to me. I don't have to
    *use* it any more.
    
    What's your kittie's name?
    
    Ad Vissers - Holland
    

My wife and I were able to stop our kitten (Max) from using his claws 
by gently squeezing his paws each time he would use his claws 
when playing with us.  This does not hurt the kitty, it just 
makes him retract his claws.

We could not stop Max from biting until we got him a playmate 
(Sadie).  We had tried everything: yelling, spanking, nose 
tapping, strong "NO!", even biting back to show him that it hurt 
(don't laugh at me, we got this idea from this notes file).  All 
to no avail.  However, as soon as we got Sadie, and they adjusted 
to each other, Max stopped biting entirely.  I think it is 
because the two kittens play quite rough with each other which 
either gets out Max's frustrations or he now knows that it can 
hurt to be bitten (Sadie can bite pretty hard if she has to.)

Good luck,
Bill

    Linda--
    
    Don't let your self get on a major guilt-trip!  Animals have very
    short memories for this type of thing.  I used to always feel just
    horrible when I'd spank or yell at Billie for her tricks.  One she
    STILL does occasionally is the old snag Mom's leg as she walks by,
    and bite, too, if possible.  If she really catches me offguard,
    I may give her a light smack on her rearend--usually what I do is
    get right down with her, hold her firmly and say to her, "NO!  Mom
    doesn't LIKE that!" [BTW, don't you feel silly when you talk to
    cats this way?  I bet they think we're silly, too!]  And then walk
    away and ignore her for about 5 minutes.  She hates to be ignored,
    and will stop her behavior.  Then we make up and all's well.
    
    You sound like you love your kitty a lot, and therefore give her
    lots of love, care, and attention.  Remember that part of that love
    is occasional discipline--and lots of positive reinforcement for
    good stuff.  She knows you love her! :-)
    
    Good luck,
    
    Jane

    RE.-1

>    doesn't LIKE that!" [BTW, don't you feel silly when you talk to
>    cats this way?  I bet they think we're silly, too!]  And then walk
                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    
    Yep, they do. But there's nothing silly about a Plantspout!
    
    BTW: if they wouldn't be naughty sometimes they wouldn't be CATS!
         It's really amusing when they try to tease you. I'm convinced
         a cat has sense of humor! ( maybe we'd open a topic on that!)
    
    Ad

    I use a regular old squirtgun instead of a plant spout on my kitties
    for bad deeds like clawing our newly upholstered furniture and getting
    on the table.  They HATE it!  
    
    they also don't do either of the bad deeds anymore.  All you have
    to do is leave the squirt gun lying in a certian spot for the few
    days that you have to use it.  After a couple days, all you have
    to do is pretend you are reaching for it.  They know and associate
    it.  You can get rid of the actual squirt gun after awhile and just
    fake them out.
    
    Stacie

    RE: .2
    
    I guess I never did mention her name - it is Asia.
    
    RE: .3
    
    About the paw squeezes...
    I give Asia Pawly Squeezes too.  But my Pawly Squeezes are out of
    love not discipline.  Asia is too young for me to squeeze her whole
    body so I go for the pawlies.
    
    You must think I am crazy talking like this but everything has to
    end in "ly".
    
    Byely!
    
    

    I also recommend the Cat Adjustment Tool (alias squirt gun), used
    consistently.  And firm NO!s.  In the short term, just keep you
    eye of her when you leave.  If she starts at you, give her an
    appropriate message:  "HEY! NO! THIS MEANS YOU!",etc. 
    
    Also, trim your kitty's toenails routinely.  This way, if the little
    darling gets it's claws into something, the damage is minimized.  Playing
    with your kitty becomes much more fun, because the claws aren't so 
    @!#$% sharp.
           
    Just trim the part that is clear or translucent; it really boils
    down to clipping off the sharp points.  Don't cut back too far because
    that's just like cutting your own nails too short and your kitty
    WON'T like it (or you.)
    
    Good luck.
    
    MM