I need help training my cat!?

Question

I have two young cats that are 1.5 years old. They are both fixed, really friendly, always use the litterbox, come when called, but i am having a hard time getting the male to stop jumping up to ridiculously high places.
 From the time they were little they have not been allowed to jump onto the counters/table and the female never tries to get on them. She used to try of course when she was younger but we used a water bottle to spray her when she did and it only took a few squirts to get her to give up trying anymore. 
The male will not jump up and sit on the counters per say but he uses them as a quick step to get to the top of the fridge, to get inside the cabinets, to get onto of the cabinets........ you get the picture. 
He will try to get anywhere that is high up and often knocks things down. He doesn't stop at the kitchen either, i will often times wake up to him walking across the headboard of my bed which is only about 1/2" wide. He is scratching up all the furniture by trying to get into/ontop of all these places and it is driving me crazy. He does have tall cat specific trees/furniture that he spends a lot of time on and try to reward him when he plays on them instead on the top of the fridge but he is relentless. I keep their nails clipped but that doesn't stop him from digging in and leaving marks.

How should I react when he jumps up onto something that should be off limits, how can i get him to stop his midnight high wire act across the top of my bed and dresser mirror if I can't catch him doing it in the daytime? Also I will not smack him or hit him, I want to train him to stick to his furniture but simply rewarding him positively when he is playing on his tall cat furniture isn't working.
Unlike his sister the spray bottle does not deter him from jumping up on things- he just hunkers down to watcher he is onto of and gets soaked. I don't mind doing something extreme in the short run like sticking double sided tap to the tops of everything if that would work to keep him off of those items in the long run.

What have you had success with CS and what should I try that I haven't done? 

Sorry it is so long but Thanks for reading!!!

♪ Seattle ♫ · Accepted Answer

Hi Robert... have you placed the tall cat trees in places nearby where your male cat likes to climb and perch up high?  He finds it rewarding to be up high so you may need to add, build or include additional high perches in various areas of the home and reward him with either or both catnip and treats in those designated areas to help him associate that only good things happen when he's in those spots versus nothing as rewarding in the areas you'd like to discourage him to get up onto.

In the meantime, you'll need to employ learned aversives that he alone encounters which over time he will learn to avoid returning those spots.  Animals learn to repeat behaviours when they - discover by themselves without any direct human interaction - are rewarded by their actions (operant conditioning) or it is bothersome.  One well known aversive that is effective is using tacky/sticky surfaces which you could affix on top of the refrigerator and other locations you prefer he not get onto - some people use double-sided sticky tape or similar to accomplish this or purchase pre-fabbed stickies for cats such as this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14938 .  If your cabinets have doors, you could attached child safety locks so he cannot easily pop open the doors.  If the cabinets are doorless, you may need to affix the double-sided tape in areas he travels across to discourage the behaviour.  For counter surfing, areas which you use frequently, double-sided tape isn't ideal so when these areas are not in use, drape the area with foil and place randomly spaced mouse traps flipped upside down underneath the foil (this is so when the trap goes off it won't snap the foil but only against the table surface).  When the cat jumps onto the foil on the counter the upside down mouse traps will jump, pushing the foil up and make a bit of noise that will startle your cat. Using something that is novel works ideally best - something your cat hasn't ever personally experienced.

Aversives that we ourselves impose upon a cat, such as a water bottle squirt, they learn that it's the human that causes the irritation rather than the squirt itself.  This is why a bottle left out on it's own in hopes of deterring the cat to return is tested repeatedly and when they discover it doesn't bother them when the human isn't around, the deterrent is no longer effective.

The idea is to use aversives that your cat discovers on his own that he doesn't like - it doesn't need to be unkind, but unpleasant enough for him to learn "I don't like this spot", but it's important to note that he also needs substitutions in places nearby that are positive and rewarding to him so he'd prefer to return to these areas versus the unpleasant ones.  Aversives need to be left in place for awhile as the cat will repeatedly test previous areas they found rewarding.  As soon as they no longer have any interest to return these can be removed.

? · Answer

No. Not like puppies however you'll be able to teach them. They is not going to react like a puppy, you must lead them to consider that they wish to do anything like take a seat or soar. I have educated my cats to face on their hind legs and stroll.

Anonymous · Answer

depends  If you want to be friends with your cat make sure whatever on the table is cleared off.  Put the food away.They are looking for some type of comfort.

Trending News

I need help training my cat!?

3 Answers