Why is my cat untrainable?

[Daisypaisy]

She is a nightmare! So cat is approx 10 months old, DD got her when cat was about 5/6 months as a therapy cat. Cat goes between here and DD’s fathers, so we have shared care of both!

This means that cat is a house cat as not sure she would cope with being allowed out at both houses, not get lost etc.

She’s a bit naughty, but she has learnt to use her scratch post/the door mat rather than the furniture.
She is very vocal! And will have a run around the back room and kitchen during the day, I work from home so had company. DD spends time with her on an evening. Cat is not allowed upstairs so doesn’t have free rein, similar set up at DD’s fathers house.

Issue is that she just refuses to be trained not to go on the kitchen worktops/mantelpiece/bookcase top. I’ve tried click training, water spray, firm no, tap on the nose. Nothing works. It’s driving me a little bit mad. She had down time, naps on the sofa in the day, comes with is in the lounge in the evening when we are in there.
So not lonely/bored/hungry/starved of affection.

I know she’s a cat and free willed, she and DD are made for each other! Any ideas welcome, thank you!

[Daisypaisy]

Sorry for typos, didn’t read through before I posted but you get the gist!

[Hockeyboysmum]

In my experience cats do what they want when they want. Its not that they can't be trained they just wont be!

[Thecatisboss]

Lol the cat trains you not the other way around.

Dcat thinks we are just about trained after 20 years. I work under the delusion the cat does not go on the worktops - despite the evidence of pawprints. I therefore clean thoroughly before using the worktop.

[Daisypaisy]

Haha Hockeyboysmum* I feel you are right! I’ve just never had this with any cat before. We had two cats as children and they never went on the worktops. I think my DM must have used her death stare on them as well as us!

[30degreesandmeltinghere]

Not sure how a dcat knows it's supposed to be happy in 2 homes... And as a house dcat...

[Sunnyday321]

I agree , you can't train a cat but understand she is training you.

[Daisypaisy]

Thecatisboss I get through so much bleach and anti bac!
I do bath her paws when she is with me also, maybe she is naughty as pay back!

[iklboo]

Why do you bath her paws?

[Hoppinggreen]

It’s a cat
It is bored at being stuck in the house all the time and confused and unsettled at moving between 2 places
I dont know what you were expecting - and stop hitting it

[Daisypaisy]

30degreesandmeltinghere she seems to be happy enough! Eats well, loves the attention.
I am looking at a cat pen for her so she can go outside, one that attaches to the house so she can have some fresh air.

[Beamur]

Cats just see worktops as part of the house parkour facility.

[roobicoobi]

You can't train your cat. It owns you.

On a more serious note, the moving between houses isn't ideal.

[Hoppinggreen]

Have you had a cat before?
It sounds like you haven’t got a clue - bathing her paws??!!

[Daisypaisy]

iklboo because she gets litter in them, I don’t mean a full on dunk, just a wash.

Hoppinggreen it’s a tap, I would never hurt her, and obviously I don’t now. She is clearly a law to herself.

[Botherfreedays]

I would have thought the cat will be experiencing a degree of stress moving between two environments and could be cause.

[ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn]

She is probably stressed and bored. This set up is not suitable for a cat.

[RuddyHellItsSoftCell]

I really don’t think you can train a cat. However, depending on how much time dd spends with her dad, I’d consider that the cat might be happier in just one house that they can go outside in; I think they’re quite territorial and like to organise their outdoor space with other cats in the area. I know it might be disappointing for your dd to not have her cat when at her dads but I’ve not heard of a ‘shared custody’ cat before and not sure it’s in their best interests. Disclaimer: am not a cat expert just have had a few before, others may confirm this arrangement is absolutely fine.

[Hoppinggreen]

No, she’s a cat.
They dont like being kept downstairs, not allowed outside, moved between houses, being “tapped” on the nose, having water sprayed at them or having their paws washed. No wonder she’s vocal

[ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn]

If litter is sticking to her paws then use a different litter and let her clean herself.

This is weird.

[RuddyHellItsSoftCell]

The set up you describe sounds more suited to a dog than a cat tbh

[ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn]

And stop punishing and hurting her for things that are just what cats do.

She's not a toy, she's a living being.

[RuddyHellItsSoftCell]

Minus the not going outside, water spraying and tap on the nose obvs!

[NotAnotherPushyMum]

It’ll be because she’s a cat! Also it sounds quite stressy for the cat to move between homes, not ideal really.

[Daisypaisy]

She’s not howling, when I said she is vocal I mean makes playful noises.

She spends a week at either house. Yes, in a perfect world she would be with me full time. She could go outside, have company as plan is that I will remain working from home much of the time.

I’ve heard of people using the water spray as a training method?

[Motnight]

@Hoppinggreen

It’s a cat
It is bored at being stuck in the house all the time and confused and unsettled at moving between 2 places
I dont know what you were expecting - and stop hitting it

What Hoppinggreen said and even worse that the cat isn't allowed upstairs. This is no way to treat a pet.