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!

[theliverpoolone]

My cats go outside and upstairs, and still won't be trained not to jump on the worktops, mantelpiece etc. I think it's just luck whether cats are or aren't a nightmare, they cant be trained out of it. I do think yours will be bored only having access to downstairs though. They need to be able to roam, chase and jump up high on fences etc to keep active and stimulated, imo.

[UnicornsForLife]

Would it be better for the cat if there was 2 therapy cats. 1 at each household. Then the cat would have a more stable environment.

[UhtredRagnarson]

😂😂😂😂😂

Thanks for the laugh OP.

[OnTheSeaShore]

Oh please choose one house for her and let her settle. You can't keep moving a cat around like that, it's got to be distressing.

[Jaxhog]

@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

Exactly. Poor cat.

[Closetbeanmuncher]

@Daisypaisy

You should know by now that to be counted as a good owner on the LT you have to let your cat wake you up at 4am every day for food and have no quarms whatsoever when it comes to sleeping and preparing your food in surfaces that have indirectly had contact with cat shit.

😂😂

[Daisypaisy]

Shall I say it once more for people who haven’t RTFT, I stopped the water spray and nose tapping when it was clear that they are not effective. And the cat does very much want to be around me, so please stop with the assumptions.

Also, no, I will not stop washing her paws, it does her no harm, keeps my poo on work top yuck head at bay, and helps with the litter trail. I have bought a mat for outside the litter tray and yes, it does help so thank you all for that suggestion. Am also looking at slowly changing her litter, someone mentioned the wood pellets.

Currently debating where I can install a cat shelf area for her, and have ordered a cat tower.

Blimey, it’s a good job I’m an old timer on here, you lot can be horrid. Really didn’t expect this level of viperness in the litter tray section. Heaven forbid I should consider imposing restrictions on my cat and not treat her as an equal family member

[CSIblonde]

That's normal cat behaviour. If you can't hack jumping up on stuff cats aren't for you. And water spray & nose tapping aren't going to make her want to be around you much. The odd bit of litter stuck in her paws isn't the end of the world unless it's stuck there with poop. I'd say Google "The Cat Daddy", Jackson Galaxy , but he doesn't 'train' cats he solves real issues like aggression or peeing everywhere.

[Furries]

@Daisypaisy - you may have “explained” yourself a lot, but that doesn’t change things.

Please, stop with the moving homes every week for the cat. That is not right. You might “think” that cat seems ok, but it’s bloody confusing - cats are territorial, so now it has 2 separate homes to “defend”.

And stop washing the paws. As others have said, get a ridged mat that catches most of the tracking.

This is not easy, or nice, to write. But you are sacrificing your cat for your daughter. I completely get why that thought process is there - your daughter is happy when the cat is there. But your cat is being put into situations it shouldn’t be to accommodate that.

Should a parent’s first priority be their children? Yes.

Should an animal have its existence hampered to accommodate that? No.

You need to stop ASAP with the swapping homes. As hard as it is to hear, the cat is NOT there to assist your daughter. The cat needs one home to begin with.

[PussGirl]

My cat has been trained not to go onto the kitchen units - she understands it's not acceptable and doesn't jump up there at all unless I'm out of the room which clearly doesn't count and if I catch her on there she jumps down immediately

[Closetbeanmuncher]

Jesus christ OP I'm shocked at some of this bashing!!

One thing I do have to agree with is not taking the cat back and forth etween homes, not good for any animal

Cat shelves and a cat tree should reduce the counter climbing, you need to provide the high spaces to perch. One of mine still has a go at going on the counters occasionally but understands "down" and hops down reluctantly.

As far as anyone having a go at OP for wiping the cats feet maybe she doesn't want shitty litter paws and unwashed butt hole on her counters and bed!

I must be a cat torturer as mine being sphynx are bathed weekly, nails trimmed and ears cleaned. They also have their feet and bodies wiped occasionally with gentle wipes.

They're not allowed on my bed so my bedroom door is always shut and they sleep in the living room. They are also spoilt rotten in every respect and very happy cats.

We all love cats here clearly but not all of us want to sleep or prepare our food in faecal/litter crumbs!

[purdypuma]

I think it all sounds a bit confusing & stressful for the cat tbh.

Cats really are not transportable as such, especially between 2 houses. This would be very confusing as they like to have defined territories.

Add to this that the cat is not allowed upstairs in either house & that the cat has no access to outdoors then you really are vastly increasing the chances of the cat developing behavioural issues as it has very limited space to explore & enjoy.

[Daisypaisy]

Words I hardly swaddle her and put her down for a nap she does her own thing, the nap was in the context of the comment.

I have already stated that cat does not display signs of stress. She is very used to both houses now, it’s not an issue.

Maybe therapy cat was the wrong phrase to use. We got the cat as a distraction for my daughter when she was struggling with her mental health, as I have already explained upthread. DD is a teen, struggled immensely in lockdown and having the cat, the distraction of her, the looking after of her, the company of her, has helped my daughter.

I don’t really know why I’m explaining myself, but there we are.

[Words]

Don't bathe her paws!

Don't bleach your surfaces either. If she ingests it from licking her paws you could make her ill. Ensure they are clear of food though.

All the talk of down time and nap time etc. She is a cat, not a child.

Agree with previous posters that moving from one environment to another regularly is far from ideal, and probably highly stressful for her.

Keep her at one place only and buy the child a stuffed toy or something to take with her instead of a living creature.

Therapy cat.

[moonbedazzled]

Cats are professionals, men are amateurs. Haha.

Enjoy your cat. They are brill! ❤

[Daisypaisy]

Moonbedazzled
“ You are new to this but don't worry, she knows what she's doing and she'll have you knocked into shape in no time. It won't be long before you're feeling rejected because she doesn't come and sleep with you.”

Never thought that it would take a cat to train me! Good men have tried and failed

[Daisypaisy]

Haha, she will NOT be sleeping on the beds!
She is really good at night to be fair, but she loves her cosy fluffy bed!

[Sweak]

Daisy I will be honest..when I first got my cat I didn't want her on the bed either. I lasted two nights I think!

Now I'm disappointed if I wake up and she's not at the end of the bed 😂

[moonbedazzled]

I think, Daisypaisy, that she picked the battle and she won. Hehe. Next will be that nice comfy bed.

You are new to this but don't worry, she knows what she's doing and she'll have you knocked into shape in no time. It won't be long before you're feeling rejected because she doesn't come and sleep with you.

[Daisypaisy]

Yes it is Sweak. I’m currently decorating the hall and stairs, and need bedroom doors that close properly (new house, bit of a project) The minute I let her upstairs she takes delight in installing herself on one of the beds! So when the doors are on then she will be able to run up and down the stairs.

[Sweak]

Daisy is it because you don't want her on your bed?

Could you not just shut the bedroom doors? I just think given she's an indoor cat the exercise of the stairs would be good for her. Mine sometimes loves a bonkers 5 mins of running up the stairs like lightening!

[Daisypaisy]

Veterinari thank you! She does have mainly cod, but has some tuna also, I’ll stop giving her the tuna.

[Daisypaisy]

tinierclanger she hasn’t used her litter tray overnight on two or three occasions in several months, hardly an every day occurrence.

You may think it’s odd to limit a cat to a few rooms, I do not. I don’t want her to have access to all of the rooms.

I’ve had cats over the years, from being a child. Just never an indoor cat. I have said that I will look at cat shelves, a catio and other things to make life more interesting for her.

If she was displaying ongoing signs of stress and anxiety then I would of course look at her staying at one house only. She isn’t, so that arrangement will stand for now.

[Veterinari]

@Daisypaisy

No I wasn’t aware of that re the fish, thank you for the info. She does have other foods to balance this though, it isn’t her main source, it was an attempt at humour.

If you are saying that cats shouldn’t have any fish at all then thank you, I will take that on board along with the other advice, which I appreciate.

The odd bit probably won't do her any harm. But avoid regular feeding of fish that contains thiaminase:

Atlantic salmon, trout, cod, flounder, which are common fish that might be fed to cats or dogs, does not contain thiaminase. But, whitefish, goldfish, catfish, bass, smelt, tuna, mackerel, herring, does contain thiaminase

[Daisypaisy]

moonbedazzled she jumps up now! I haven’t been attempting to train her every day since we got her, I accept I need to pick my battles!