I have had a hard time concentrating on my training, as of late. My cats, which are also runners (sprinters), have been training very ferociously over the last few weeks. Other than their regular anaerobic sprint course, (which is around the living room up and over the bed, then out to the zero gravity chair) they have also included combat into their training regime. This includes scratching and biting. These battles have gone so far where there is blood is dripping everyday.
So…any suggestions on how to control this. I am curious on how to improve my state of mind, which will help my training. At the same time I want to make sure they getting their fair shake at an honest day’s training.
This subject has really brought a lot of interest to me. Before I posted some off-the-wall answer, I decided to consult with Slowman before I replied.
After 4 minutes discussing this, we both decided the best thing to do is to get some new pussy. You will sleep much better at night and as with most relationships, its “anything goes” for the first few months, therefore you can go train as much as you want while the new calm pussy lies around the house.
For the most part, cats will be cats. Just make sure they’re got some quiet nap time every day, even if it’s shutting one of them in the guest room for a couple of hours. If they’re drawing blood, and the cat will tolerate it, wash the wounds off with physoderm (what my vet recommends). You don’t want the scratches/bites to get infected.
Cats are very intersting, but relatively simple, animals.
They are predators. As such, they will be happy if they can emulate predatory behavior in their domestic lives.
I have one cat that is fiercely combative. We fight every day. When cats play fight they bite and scratch but in a playful, non-lethal way. The primary indication of a play or training fight is that they keep coming back for more. When they are done they just seem to say “Shit, I’ve had enough, I’m done.” and they walk away.
Also, remember- cats don’t understand we are different species. They think you are just a big, weird looking cat. They have no concept of species- their brain is the size of a walnut. So you have to interact with them like cats and that includes fighting and wrestling.
My cats also love the laser pointer and chasing the little red dot. They go nuts with that thing. Be careful about hitting them in the face or you’ll give them kitty lasik.
Trying to control an over-combative cat takes a little effort. I would suggest they are like any other animal (or person for that matter). A little kindness goes a long way. Give them some chicken soup, a warm towel from the dryer to lay on or brush them. If you do that and just talk to them conversationally, calmly and softly they usually respond by chilling out. They can sense your tone of voice.
I don;t know- I like cats… What was the question???
tom, you sound like an awesome cat owner…a laser pointer! i love that. i am gonna try it out on mowgli, our resident 9 month old who hasn’t yet realized that he isn’t a fierce, stealthy adult leopard.
I agree with the suggestion on a laser pointer. Didn’t realize they sell them at Petsmart now, but think that’s a little ironic - something invented to give you a cheap “wow” from your peers in busines meetings now marketed to help you entertain your cat. Anyhow, you (and the cat) are in for hours of fun with that.
There’s probably a bazillion dollar industry in selling cheap trinkets and catnip-filled balls and stuff to entertain cats. Well, I’ve had cats for almost all my 32 years, and I’ve found that they tend to discover their most entertaining items on their own, often by knocking over the trash basket. The plastic ring from a milk jug. Rubber bands. A folded up empty cigarette pack (from back in the day when I was a kid and my old man used to smoke. He finally quit, which made the family happy, but really upset the cat) - I think the cat liked the crackling sound of the cellophane. Pen caps, or the entire pen.
I bought some of the above mentioned balls and stuff from the pet store for my current cat , but she never really got into them. Then one day I discovered she’d knocked down a baseball from my closet shelf and was playing with that. She’s a large cat, and I think she liked the weight of the baseball compared to the little plastic ones I bought for her.
One of my cats, Cleo, the more intelligent of the two (Socks, the other cat, was raised at a Marine Corps Base and is kinda dumb from hanging around too many Marines. Since she got out she pretty much just lays around.) Exhibits this very strange behavior:
About an hour after I go to bed Cleo finds this nasty old brown stuffed catnip filled phoney mouse toy I bought her a year ago to replace an old orange one she lost. She carries the mouse around the house meowing very loudly with regular frequency, as though she is in some distress. I invariably wake up and go into the dining room and she is sitting there in the middle of the room with the mouse in front of her with nothing wrong. I go back to bed, it starts over again.
It could be one of two things: Bringing home something she thinks she caught, as cats often do- or: She thinks the mouse is a kitten and is distressed that it doesn’t move.
“I invariably wake up and go into the dining room and she is sitting there in the middle of the room with the mouse in front of her with nothing wrong. I go back to bed, it starts over again”
she’s got you trained well, i see!
mowgli does the same, but with other stuff…i think since cats are nocturnal, he’s just lonely and wants me to come out and play…
I woke up this morning and saw Socks laying in my bed then suddenly realized it was actually Sock’s bed and I am merely a guest. She was in the middle and I was over toward the edge almost falling off. That’s pretty normal.
Interestingly enough the notorious love/hate-cat/dog relationship works different ways on different continents… very rare you see cat&dog (getting along) in the same house in my homecountry (Romania) while here in US every petlover seems to have both.
Each one of my three cats gets along better with the dog than they do with each other. One of the cats is particularly fond of the dog, in fact, she thinks she also is a dog. Quite funny to see her with the dog hanging out together all day and then she doesn’t want to bother with the other two cats.
“I don;t know- I like cats…” <—I KNEW you were just a big softy!
Our house is just a big kitty condo. Felinus Ichiban loves tearing up and down the carpeted stairs, and has about 15 favorite places to sleep, especially the bed(but mostly when we aren’t in it.)
She and I are totally into the rough play. My wife(who spends about $30/month on cat toys, and supports our cat’s very bad catnip habit) thinks I’m nuts for letting her bite and scratch me, but I just figure that I’m giving her an outlet to her instincts. She also loves to attack unsuspecting feet. Her nickname isn’t ToeBiter for nothing.
We got a new cat about a month ago, and there is definitely some tension. The new cat was horribly socialized by her last humans, and consequently exhibits just about every bad behavioral trait I’ve ever seen in a cat. She scarfs down the food in both bowls, she digs in the houseplants, she climbs on the dinner table(about the only verboten surface in the house), and she spends almost no time with the humans who share the house with her.
So when our first cat attacks her, we’re ambivalent about it for two reasons. First, it’s mostly play, and they rarely get out of hand(no blood or major hissing). Second, the little bitch deserves it. She is always up in the other cat’s business. The sibling rivalry between them is astonishing. Whatever one is doing, the other has to do at the same time. Just when we think that the new cat is being abused by ToeBiter, the new cat will walk up to her and swat her head until Toebiter gives chase again.
You’re right on the money on every point but one. Cats do recognize us as a different creature. A subordinate creature that exists to serve them and cater to their every need. Beyond that, they find our constant need to be near them disgusting. They tolerate us only because they haven’t figured out where the kibble is stored. ;p
My gatos, they’re pretty good to each other and won’t settle in for a bout of kitty sumo unless both of them are interested. So I’m lucky I’m not having to constantly pull one off the other.
One thing I always did when we just had Five-kitty was that if I was going to rassle with him, I was always offering him a medium sized stuffed animal he could kill to his heart’s content rather than going directly hand to paw. He could bunny kick and bite his monkey all he wanted, and he never got the idea it was ever okay to pounce on or bite the Big Furless Beings.
