How can I get my cat to tolerate trips to the vet?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have trouble taking my cat to the vet. She runs from me and then when I catch her to put her in the carrier, she gets all her claws out and lets me have it. Help! Is there an easier way to do this? Also, once she’s locked in the carrier, she pees and poops all over herself. Makes for a nice visit to the vet. ~ Syndie Siouxsie: Well, Syndie, most of us cats don’t like the carrier... Read More
My kitten’s biting and scratching is out of control. Help!
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My 4-month-old kitten, Marcel, has been a real problem boy: biting, scratching, attacking, etc. I know this is kitten play, and they are trainable, but I’ve tried out all the advice I’ve read about and nothing is working. He doesn’t mind the spray bottle. Hissing at him sometimes works but sometimes gets him more excited and agitated, making for crazier attacks. I try to stay calm and... Read More
How can I keep my cat from eating clay?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My 8-month-old cat has eaten polymer clay a whole half including plastic! Is polymer clay toxic to a cat? How can I keep her from eating clay and all kinds of other non-food stuff including wires, shoe laces, plastic, paint brush tips, junk on the floor, bird food, fish food, paper, potato chips, and crackers? Help! ~ Christina Read More Read More
How can I train my cat to stop catching birds?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: How can I train my 9-month-old kitten not to catch or kill birds? He’s killed four birds. The last time I caught him I had to grab him by the hair to make him let go of the bird. How can I stop this? ~Jennie Siouxsie: Well, Jennie, the unfortunate truth is that you’d have about as much luck training your cat not to catch birds as you’d have if you tried to train your... Read More
How can I get my cat to use a rabbit drinking bottle?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: How can I get my cat to drink from a drinking bottle — like the ones they use for hamsters , but bigger? I bought one because my cat likes to drink from the tap, but he won’t use it. ~Hanna Siouxsie: Well, Hanna, I have to tell you that you just won the Most Unique Question About Cat Training award for the year! Sorry, there’s no big prize, but we will give you lots of headbonks... Read More
How do you clean a cat’s teeth?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I would like to know how to clean my cat’s teeth and what to use so she might take to it more easily. ~Joan Siouxsie: This is a very good question! Dental health is just as important for us cats as it is for humans. But rarely do people brush and floss our teeth. And then they make fun of us for having bad breath. It’s not fair! Read More Read More
How can I teach a cat where to scratch?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My kitties have multiple different items they can scratch on: cat trees, scratching boxes, and scratching posts. But Poupée, one of my three cats, will not scratch on any of them, and her nails are getting very long. Sometimes she tries to scratch on the living room carpet, so we’ve tried to get her to use a carpeted scratching post. We’ve tried moving her paws back and forth... Read More
