4 ms·

I agree cats are much more intentional in their communication than people appreciate, but sometimes you can't just give the cat what it wants. my cat mainly meo

I agree cats are much more intentional in their communication than people appreciate, but sometimes you can't just give the cat what it wants. my cat mainly meows for two reasons. he either wants food or he wants to go in the kitchen. unfortunately he can't be free fed because he will quickly become overweight. he's not allowed in the kitchen because he eats plants and jumps up on the stove, sometimes right next to an open flame. serious question: how would you handle this situation?

Alupis 6y ago
A properly fed cat, with an established routine, should only start going crazy around it's normal feeding time. Most cats and dogs crave a routine. Unfortunately, sometimes a routine is difficult to establish if your work hours don't permit, or other activities get in the way. That was the original intention behind the free-feeders, however as you noted that can lead to obesity in your pet (not all pets, some regulate their intake well on their own). So, if you're one that is establishing a feeding time, make sure you stick to exactly the same time every day (like clockwork, seriously). You may even consider providing "breakfast" and "dinner" to your cat (again on a fixed schedule), dividing the daily intake into two meals. Your cat wants into the Kitchen because they are curious creatures, and you've made the Kitchen some fun forbidden zone. Ideally you're in the Kitchen when the stove is on, so you can prevent burns. You could also try training them into a negative association with the stove by squirting them with a squirt gun (low pressure) every time they walk on it... same with nibbling the plants.
aksss 6y ago
Probably depends on how old the cat is. I would aim towards a day where the cat can go into the kitchen without worry. Time is on your side because eventually the cat won’t find the energy expenditure of jumping that height worth it (nor the risk of recovering from a bad jump). Start with supervised trips to kitchen but long term never leave anything up there that a successful cat burglar could access as a reward. If seen, I would react negatively (maybe spray bottle if u use that, loud remark, physically picking cat up off counter and putting on ground immediately). Never let cat have freedom or peace on the counter. I would watch for the cat’s preferred landing spots on the counter and put some temporary barriers in place (e.g. 1lb sack of flour, etc), just so it has to think twice about its movements (don’t let the path upwards become automatic/unconscious), and may doubt its ability to safely alight on the counter (remember it can only see what’s on the ledge). I would also be sure to interrupt the action of jumping up before it happens - like you can see the cat’s wheels turning as it stares at the counter, bobs it’s head around slightly to accurately gauge distance, depth, etc. at that time, interrupt the thought process. Distract it with something else, maybe even something good, so not jumping is a positive association. I think that pattern interrupt is really powerful with cats, but you have to be watching the cat to catch the right moment. You could also let the cat in the kitchen with no other purpose than to watch for and interrupt those moments. There’s a few other tricks like this to interrupt the action (moving a barrier according to its intentions) that just frustrate the cat into eventually losing interest. Cat ownership occasionally involves small battles of will power. Regarding food, I can’t say enough about the value of robots here - timed food distribution. Get a cat feeder that will release x amount three or four times a day. I think cat binging behavior is an outcome of an unpredictable feeding schedule, basically food insecurity. When the cat just knows that every day at these predictable times it will have food available it will be a happier, less anxious cat for sure. Cats don’t have watches, but they’ll show up at the feeding station like clockwork anticipating the food drop. The flip side is the binging will stop just because of scarcity, but also the cat worries less about food security and develops behaviors of moderation. If feeding cat wet food (which I wouldn’t recommend unless cat is very young or very old) you’ve just got to dole it out yourself on as a predictable basis as possible. Anyway, just my two cents, worth what you paid for it. Will be curious to see other people’s input.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  so I actually do have an automated feeder. unfortunately, I think he remembers the time before we had the feeder when humans would put food in his bowl. he waits patiently in the morning for the most part (maybe he realizes it's futile while I'm sleeping), but he usually starts meowing for food a few hours before the feeder is scheduled to dispense it in the afternoon. BTW, the portions are exactly what the vet recommended; he's not starving. with the kitchen, I do let him in if I'm going to be in there for a while. I think he really just wants to be where the people are. I don't use spray bottles or anything like that. I've read that sometimes the animal forms a negative association with the human rather than the proscribed behavior. I just put him out the first time he jumps on the counter or chews on a plant. anyways, it's not really a big deal. I don't find the meowing terribly annoying. I just want, if possible, to be sure I'm making the distinction between ignoring his requests and acknowledging them but "saying no".
  - aksss 6y ago
    Yeah, I don’t use a spray bottle either. I think there are better ways to modify behavior, such as that pattern interrupt. Cats are also way more empathetic than they’re given credit for, so I do think that they understand when main human is not happy with them. My cat has an uncanny ability to ask for food right before my alarm goes off. I’ve often wondered how it pulls this off even after a DST changeover, and figured it was because she could hear the rest of my neighborhood start to get active so not unreasonable to bug us. Simple fix: I set the first food drop about 15mins before my alarm. By the time I’m up she’s already chilling out post-feed. The cat and I agree that more food=better, particularly in frequency, with the caveat that I’m just trying to keep her from gaining or shedding any significant weight between vet visits, so that’s really the only limit I put on it. A decent pattern for us seems to be four times during my normal waking hours. Like morning, noonish/early afternoon, late afternoon, mid-evening. She’s a little scrounger though, definitely interested in whatever I’m eating, particularly cheese, and will try to convince any stranger that she hasn’t eaten for days and is on the verge of death (OmG). But yeah, healthy weight and stable.
  - doctorfoo 6y ago
    My cats very rarely go on a counter - since they were kittens, if I ever saw them there I would clap loudly and shout, shoo them off with my hands.
moosebear847 6y ago
Incorporating some of what u/aksss stated, don't let them freely and peacefully hang out there or it will be a habit and be harder to stop. They will understand at some point. Always be calm and gentle, while also very firm and clear, when you correct their undesired activity. If you get mad, they will instinctively get scared for their life that the 15x heavier giant will lose control of themself in anger, and kill them. You know you won't hurt them, but they don't know that - in the animal world, animals get killed suddenly by larger animals out of sharp anger. Plus, when you need to discipline them in the future, they won't run away and make it way harder to correct their behavior. Some behaviors, the only way is prevention. I still can't stop the cats from sometimes running into unwanted areas of the house, so most of the time I must block them. When they get past, I just let them check out the area for a bit then they eventually let me nicely pick them up and move them to the proper area. Perhaps a more firm owner could employ a better strategy, but this is much better than before. Before, they would escape into the house for 10+ minutes while I got very frustrated at them, they were scared to let me pick them up, and it was just an all around bad experience. Now, they know that when I pick them up, I'm petting them and it can even be a small bonding experience. On another note, the cat's behavior (meowing in your case) may be due to a different underlying need. One big thing I can think of is, is it bored? We humans spend a lot of time entertaining ourselves, cats have the same needs too. I try to have one 30m session of exciting cat wand play a week at the very least. Indoor cats might be better with a little more. Hunting is so, so fulfilling for these animals, if you look at how specialized they are at hunting, you could imagine how strong their desire to hunt is. So just a small session occasionally would do wonders for their happiness and contentment, and also their love for you that you would fulfill this need for them. If you know that you have sufficiently provided for and can rule out hunger, thirst, need to pee/poop, boredom, pain, then you at least know that their fundamentals are covered. From there, you can determine if it's something else that's important, or if their behavior is actually frivolous.

Alupis 6y ago

A properly fed cat, with an established routine, should only start going crazy around it's normal feeding time. Most cats and dogs crave a routine. Unfortunately, sometimes a routine is difficult to establish if your work hours don't permit, or other activities get in the way. That was the original intention behind the free-feeders, however as you noted that can lead to obesity in your pet (not all pets, some regulate their intake well on their own). So, if you're one that is establishing a feeding time, make sure you stick to exactly the same time every day (like clockwork, seriously). You may even consider providing "breakfast" and "dinner" to your cat (again on a fixed schedule), dividing the daily intake into two meals. Your cat wants into the Kitchen because they are curious creatures, and you've made the Kitchen some fun forbidden zone. Ideally you're in the Kitchen when the stove is on, so you can prevent burns. You could also try training them into a negative association with the stove by squirting them with a squirt gun (low pressure) every time they walk on it... same with nibbling the plants.

aksss 6y ago

Probably depends on how old the cat is. I would aim towards a day where the cat can go into the kitchen without worry. Time is on your side because eventually the cat won’t find the energy expenditure of jumping that height worth it (nor the risk of recovering from a bad jump). Start with supervised trips to kitchen but long term never leave anything up there that a successful cat burglar could access as a reward. If seen, I would react negatively (maybe spray bottle if u use that, loud remark, physically picking cat up off counter and putting on ground immediately). Never let cat have freedom or peace on the counter. I would watch for the cat’s preferred landing spots on the counter and put some temporary barriers in place (e.g. 1lb sack of flour, etc), just so it has to think twice about its movements (don’t let the path upwards become automatic/unconscious), and may doubt its ability to safely alight on the counter (remember it can only see what’s on the ledge). I would also be sure to interrupt the action of jumping up before it happens - like you can see the cat’s wheels turning as it stares at the counter, bobs it’s head around slightly to accurately gauge distance, depth, etc. at that time, interrupt the thought process. Distract it with something else, maybe even something good, so not jumping is a positive association. I think that pattern interrupt is really powerful with cats, but you have to be watching the cat to catch the right moment. You could also let the cat in the kitchen with no other purpose than to watch for and interrupt those moments. There’s a few other tricks like this to interrupt the action (moving a barrier according to its intentions) that just frustrate the cat into eventually losing interest. Cat ownership occasionally involves small battles of will power. Regarding food, I can’t say enough about the value of robots here - timed food distribution. Get a cat feeder that will release x amount three or four times a day. I think cat binging behavior is an outcome of an unpredictable feeding schedule, basically food insecurity. When the cat just knows that every day at these predictable times it will have food available it will be a happier, less anxious cat for sure. Cats don’t have watches, but they’ll show up at the feeding station like clockwork anticipating the food drop. The flip side is the binging will stop just because of scarcity, but also the cat worries less about food security and develops behaviors of moderation. If feeding cat wet food (which I wouldn’t recommend unless cat is very young or very old) you’ve just got to dole it out yourself on as a predictable basis as possible. Anyway, just my two cents, worth what you paid for it. Will be curious to see other people’s input.

leetcrew 6y ago
so I actually do have an automated feeder. unfortunately, I think he remembers the time before we had the feeder when humans would put food in his bowl. he waits patiently in the morning for the most part (maybe he realizes it's futile while I'm sleeping), but he usually starts meowing for food a few hours before the feeder is scheduled to dispense it in the afternoon. BTW, the portions are exactly what the vet recommended; he's not starving. with the kitchen, I do let him in if I'm going to be in there for a while. I think he really just wants to be where the people are. I don't use spray bottles or anything like that. I've read that sometimes the animal forms a negative association with the human rather than the proscribed behavior. I just put him out the first time he jumps on the counter or chews on a plant. anyways, it's not really a big deal. I don't find the meowing terribly annoying. I just want, if possible, to be sure I'm making the distinction between ignoring his requests and acknowledging them but "saying no".
- aksss 6y ago
  Yeah, I don’t use a spray bottle either. I think there are better ways to modify behavior, such as that pattern interrupt. Cats are also way more empathetic than they’re given credit for, so I do think that they understand when main human is not happy with them. My cat has an uncanny ability to ask for food right before my alarm goes off. I’ve often wondered how it pulls this off even after a DST changeover, and figured it was because she could hear the rest of my neighborhood start to get active so not unreasonable to bug us. Simple fix: I set the first food drop about 15mins before my alarm. By the time I’m up she’s already chilling out post-feed. The cat and I agree that more food=better, particularly in frequency, with the caveat that I’m just trying to keep her from gaining or shedding any significant weight between vet visits, so that’s really the only limit I put on it. A decent pattern for us seems to be four times during my normal waking hours. Like morning, noonish/early afternoon, late afternoon, mid-evening. She’s a little scrounger though, definitely interested in whatever I’m eating, particularly cheese, and will try to convince any stranger that she hasn’t eaten for days and is on the verge of death (OmG). But yeah, healthy weight and stable.
- doctorfoo 6y ago
  My cats very rarely go on a counter - since they were kittens, if I ever saw them there I would clap loudly and shout, shoo them off with my hands.

moosebear847 6y ago

Incorporating some of what u/aksss stated, don't let them freely and peacefully hang out there or it will be a habit and be harder to stop. They will understand at some point. Always be calm and gentle, while also very firm and clear, when you correct their undesired activity. If you get mad, they will instinctively get scared for their life that the 15x heavier giant will lose control of themself in anger, and kill them. You know you won't hurt them, but they don't know that - in the animal world, animals get killed suddenly by larger animals out of sharp anger. Plus, when you need to discipline them in the future, they won't run away and make it way harder to correct their behavior. Some behaviors, the only way is prevention. I still can't stop the cats from sometimes running into unwanted areas of the house, so most of the time I must block them. When they get past, I just let them check out the area for a bit then they eventually let me nicely pick them up and move them to the proper area. Perhaps a more firm owner could employ a better strategy, but this is much better than before. Before, they would escape into the house for 10+ minutes while I got very frustrated at them, they were scared to let me pick them up, and it was just an all around bad experience. Now, they know that when I pick them up, I'm petting them and it can even be a small bonding experience. On another note, the cat's behavior (meowing in your case) may be due to a different underlying need. One big thing I can think of is, is it bored? We humans spend a lot of time entertaining ourselves, cats have the same needs too. I try to have one 30m session of exciting cat wand play a week at the very least. Indoor cats might be better with a little more. Hunting is so, so fulfilling for these animals, if you look at how specialized they are at hunting, you could imagine how strong their desire to hunt is. So just a small session occasionally would do wonders for their happiness and contentment, and also their love for you that you would fulfill this need for them. If you know that you have sufficiently provided for and can rule out hunger, thirst, need to pee/poop, boredom, pain, then you at least know that their fundamentals are covered. From there, you can determine if it's something else that's important, or if their behavior is actually frivolous.