How to train a kitten

[Dantrag]

Damn.....a lot of crazy cat people up in here. Glad I own a dog!

I own a dog and feel the same way about people that dock ears and tails. If it's born with it, let them keep it. It's only ascetic that people trim the tails and ears off the dogs. Only reason is if it's going to hinder the dog in any REAL way.

[Bardicrune]

I own a dog and feel the same way about people that dock ears and tails. If it's born with it, let them keep it. It's only ascetic that people trim the tails and ears off the dogs. Only reason is if it's going to hinder the dog in any REAL way.

I didn't have a choice with my dog. Pretty much any Yorkshire Terrier you find will have had the tail docked before it's even ready to be adopted out.

[Bardlet]

I vote we go to the OP's house after his kitten is declawed and amputate his fingers at the first knuckle. Then they can match.

Aside, when I got my cat Dec '09, she was ~9 weeks old and after trying tons of things, she has finally (finally!) Outgrown the biting/clawing thing. What my bf and I did is when she started doing something we disliked- be it biting or clawing while playing- she would get a stern NO or STOP and then ignored for 10 minutes. After doing it consistently, it finally clicked and she doesn't do it anymore. (Now instead she terrorizes my 3 year old male cat. Sigh.)

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[TacoTaru]

Just out of curiosity, did you get your kitten from a kill shelter? I'm see a lot of hate on the declawing thing (which I agree it needs to be avoided at all costs), but I'm curious as to if people would rather you leave it at a kill shelter than rescue it and give it a home (even if that means declawing) and for the hopes someone else adopts it.

[Kipling]

I've never had problems with my cats biting beyond when they are kittens, I'm not sure why. Even then it always seemed playful and innocent. When they are kittens sometimes I let them chew on my fingers and swat/claw my hands when I play with them, lol. I think a lot of it is just an age thing.

[Guyverarmor]

I vote we go to the OP's house after his kitten is declawed and amputate his fingers at the first knuckle. Then they can match.

Aside, when I got my cat Dec '09, she was ~9 weeks old and after trying tons of things, she has finally (finally!) Outgrown the biting/clawing thing. What my bf and I did is when she started doing something we disliked- be it biting or clawing while playing- she would get a stern NO or STOP and then ignored for 10 minutes. After doing it consistently, it finally clicked and she doesn't do it anymore. (Now instead she terrorizes my 3 year old male cat. Sigh.)

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I totally agree we should, since he LOVES his cat so much to put him through it, I'm sure his cat would love him as much to put him through it

[Blasta]

I guess the first thing is to realize and accept that each cat is different and they all behave differently. Some cats can cope much more alone, while some (like mine) wants you to play with him a lot. When we got a cat, we quickly realized that he was a real hyper kitten. So playful, active but also very aggressive. He would tear up furnishing and even bite/scratch you if you didn't play with him.

As a family we decided to make a few rules that he was not allowed to do. We taught him to use his claws into 1 old chair (since it was already fucked up), but on nothing else. If he was destroying our couch for example, we would say NO, pick him up and literally place his claws into the old chair. Sometimes he would even continue fucking up the old chair and realizing hey, this is much more fun to destroy :D. This process can take time though and ur furnishing might burn, but just be patient.

I would only consider declawing if it was absolutely neccessary, but in your case I don't recommend it at all since It's only a small kitten. My cat is now 8 and while he does play alone a lot, he still wants people to play with him, otherwise he will get angry

Edit: We never ever had any problems him scratching/biting us when we were asleep, so not sure how to cope with that. Whenever we "punish" our cat, we all always use the same word "NO", pick him up calmly and move him to another room etc.

Also, kittens are good to teach tricks to!

We play hide n seek with my cat, though he knows always the places where I go so It's easy for him

[shaddix]

This is not a troll post. I am also not saying I would ever declaw a cat, if I was in OPs situation I would get a vet to make a fake bill, I'm sure they would have no problem with doing that for you.

I am sorry if I disagree with some of you that cats belong at the top of the food chain. Most of the time we as humans derive more benefit from animals than they do from us. I do not understand how some of you are so against declawing a cat if it is the only method of ownership of one. If you eat meat then you are contributing to the psychological torture of pigs, cows, chickens, etc. unless you are able to purchase expensive grass fed, free range meats. I am unable to see why it's okay to torture animals and eat meat to nourish your body(which isn't necessary, you can live off grains) but it is not ok declaw a cat for the physical and psychological benefits a pet provides(also unnecessary, so what's the difference?).

Even if you are able to buy only meat that you know came from happy animals, you are still killing them for a benefit that is not even needed(are all of you cat lovers vegan?). Is killing a pig which is supposedly more intelligent than a cat better than declawing? At least the cat is still alive and lives through its adult life, and probably still purrs. I do not think you can conclusively say that it will always, 100% of the time, ruin the cat for life if you declaw it. I remember playing with declawed cats before and they acted like normal cats as far as I could tell, they didn't spend all their time on top of the fridge or bite everything in sight.

Just as you should be drinking a little alcohol, getting some sunshine every day, taking cod liver oil, drink 60 ounces of water, sleep 7-8 hours a day, owning a pet provides the same type of benefits. It doesn't make sense to me to deprive yourself of that benefit because you have to declaw it.

And even if it did destroy the cat psychologically and you could no longer keep it as a pet, if you aren't vegan, you have no problems with killing an animal. You would rather kill it than let it live in constant mental anguish, right? I'm not going to say eat it so it doesn't go to waste since apparently that is worth an infraction on bg, but it would be better than throwing it in the trash imo. I guess you could bury it.

My cat is now 8 and while he does play alone a lot,

I read this as your cat plays Aion a lot.

[Guyverarmor]

Difference is though Shaddix is that if the cat gets out and he cannot get him back, that cat is good as dead since he will not be able to defend himself. BY declawing, you basically give them a death sentence. Also, a lot of vets will not declaw a cat either since they will say the same. I put the soft paws on my two cats... takes 10 min for both cats and stay on for 5-6 weeks. Cost 10$ for 4 application... so 10$ every 12 weeks. I understand his landlord probably won't care and say either declaw or GTFO, but when people think "Oh, declaw it won't do anything to em herp derp" they are fucking idiots, plain and simple.

[shaddix]

I'm not saying people who think declawing a cat does nothing to it aren't idiots. And as I said above I personally would not declaw a cat if possible. But if it is the only option vs not owning a cat at all, I think it is silly to not get it declawed.

Does giving the cat a death sentence if it gets outside outweigh the benefits of pet ownership? What about if you have a small child? If declawing your cat is the only way your toddler can have an animal, would you deny the child the developmental benefits of having the animal in order to prevent it from dying IF it gets outside? You can easily replace a cat if it dies or runs away, they aren't exactly expensive.

From the page linked:

Other physical and emotional needs fulfilled by pet ownership include:
...
Experience with loss if a pet is lost or dies.

http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Pets+a...s+for+Families

[XanthePandy]

I just don't understand why you'd go through the process of thinking, well my landlord says I can only get a cat if it's declawed, and opt to get a kitten and declaw it rather than getting a declawed cat from a shelter. It really is just rushing into something without thinking about it and being selfish in the process. I'm so glad declawing is illegal in the UK so I don't have to deal this way of thinking.

[Pocketrockets]

if I was in OPs situation I would get a vet to make a fake bill, I'm sure they would have no problem with doing that for you.

Actually, I'm sure that none of the vets at the clinic I work at would make a fake bill for anything for anyone.

[Eticket]

Personally, and I realize not everyone can do this... but if where I live is contingent on me handicapping my pets, then I'm not going to choose to live there.

I remember several years back, I was looking to move. I had two cats. I asked an apartment manager about their pet policy. She said they only allowed one. I replied that I'd have to look elsewhere then as I had two. She replied, "Well, you could always just give one away."

Comparing pets, which most people consider family members, to livestock used for food is ridiculous. That's the difference. If it's just a pet that you'll modify to suit your needs, then get a hamster or something.

[Melena]

Was same thing for me and the wife when we were apartment hunting. We were viewing the lease terms and it said declawed cats only. We told them if they can't make an exception, we'll find a different place. They quickly amended the policy for us.

[shaddix]

Actually, I'm sure that none of the vets at the clinic I work at would make a fake bill for anything for anyone.

How come? I guess you could just get a real bill from a friend and then mock something up yourself though. Would be worthwhile to save the $ it would cost to get it actually declawed.

[Pocketrockets]

As a general rule, it's kind of a bad idea for medical professionals to go around handing out fake documents lol.

[Amelya]

I'm not saying people who think declawing a cat does nothing to it aren't idiots. And as I said above I personally would not declaw a cat if possible. But if it is the only option vs not owning a cat at all, I think it is silly to not get it declawed.

Does giving the cat a death sentence if it gets outside outweigh the benefits of pet ownership? What about if you have a small child? If declawing your cat is the only way your toddler can have an animal, would you deny the child the developmental benefits of having the animal in order to prevent it from dying IF it gets outside? You can easily replace a cat if it dies or runs away, they aren't exactly expensive.

From the page linked:


http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Pets+a...s+for+Families

Or you could, you know, show your child how to be a responsible pet owner instead. Teach them that animals are not disposable, no matter how "cheap" they are, and that you should be in an appropriate environment that is suitable to the animal's needs before you buy one in the first place. If you are really dead set on having your child "experience loss" get them a fricking hamster or a betta which only live a couple of years, problem solved.

[shaddix]

Or you could, you know, show your child how to be a responsible pet owner instead. Teach them that animals are not disposable, no matter how "cheap" they are, and that you should be in an appropriate environment that is suitable to the animal's needs before you buy one in the first place. If you are really dead set on having your child "experience loss" get them a fricking hamster or a betta which only live a couple of years, problem solved.

I should have quoted the entire page I guess, that was just one of the things on the list. I wasn't saying to get a pet just so you could kill it.

[Lexa]

The thing is, if you're looking for a pet to benefit your child (or yourself, or any other family member), the natural choice shouldn't be "Let's get a kitten and mangle its feet because my landlord won't let me keep it otherwise!" That's like saying, "Let's find the most difficult solution to this!"

I understand moving isn't an option for a lot of people, but you'd think the natural choice in this situation (landlord accepts a cat, but only if declawed) would be to get an already declawed cat from a shelter or elsewhere, since there's so many cats out there that need homes, anyway.

[Guyverarmor]

Or you could, you know, show your child how to be a responsible pet owner instead. Teach them that animals are not disposable, no matter how "cheap" they are, and that you should be in an appropriate environment that is suitable to the animal's needs before you buy one in the first place. If you are really dead set on having your child "experience loss" get them a fricking hamster or a betta which only live a couple of years, problem solved.

I agree with you Amelya... a lot of people do not think pets are much, but I love my pets as much as I love my son. My cat is like a "daughter" to me, and I will be very distraught when she leaves