How Do I Get My Fearless Kitten to Fear Nearby Road?
May 1, 2010 10:24 AM Subscribe
How Do I Get My Fearless Kitten to Fear Nearby Road?
We live in a rural area, but our road is used by commuters and bicyclists. We have 2 cats: a 2 year old (he), who is quite skittish, and a 9 month old (she, "whole"), who is bold and who we've had since she was 2 months old.
We feel strongly about giving them an indoor (PM) / outdoor (daytime) lifestyle. Recently, the boy has been crossing the road more and more to get to good hunting area in a field across the street. This hasn't been a concern, as he watches the road for a good 10 minutes and then sprints across.
Problem is the little girl copies everything he does, and she's not nearly so careful (e.g., she's laid down in the road, or runs out not too much before car or bike passes.)
We've tried yelling "no" as a car comes, or just picking her up when she gets too close, but neither works to get her to be more wary. She's had her first oestrus, but this is happening in between oestrus's (sp.?)
Any suggestions appreciated...
We live in a rural area, but our road is used by commuters and bicyclists. We have 2 cats: a 2 year old (he), who is quite skittish, and a 9 month old (she, "whole"), who is bold and who we've had since she was 2 months old.
We feel strongly about giving them an indoor (PM) / outdoor (daytime) lifestyle. Recently, the boy has been crossing the road more and more to get to good hunting area in a field across the street. This hasn't been a concern, as he watches the road for a good 10 minutes and then sprints across.
Problem is the little girl copies everything he does, and she's not nearly so careful (e.g., she's laid down in the road, or runs out not too much before car or bike passes.)
We've tried yelling "no" as a car comes, or just picking her up when she gets too close, but neither works to get her to be more wary. She's had her first oestrus, but this is happening in between oestrus's (sp.?)
Any suggestions appreciated...
My eleven-month-old cats seem much too foolish still for them to be allowed in the front yard. We've blocked off all escape routes from our backyard, which has an eight-foot wooden fence around it. They can't manage an eight-foot vertical leap yet, so it's working fairly well.
posted by Ery at 11:00 AM on May 1, 2010
posted by Ery at 11:00 AM on May 1, 2010
Does this -- '(she, "whole")' -- mean that she's not spayed? I just haven't seen this terminology before
posted by amtho at 11:11 AM on May 1, 2010
posted by amtho at 11:11 AM on May 1, 2010
First thing -- cat questions must come with pictures. It's a ask.mefi rule :)
Second -- does the "whole" indeed mean unspayed? Before you let her out, get her spayed!! Please, please please. Spend a week in a shelter if you don't understand why I'm pleading with you. There are too many kittens already. Please. Check with your local SPCA or rescue organization for low cost options.
And at 9 months, she's still a "stupid" kitten... she will learn on her own, but she needs to grow up a bit. Think of her as a rebellious teenager, feeling invincible and thinking she knows everything. But avoiding cars is something that does come instinctively to every cat I've known... eventually. I've never actually heard of humans having to train a cat to avoid them. Then again, I suppose the ones that don't learn this don't last long :( There's a reason why outdoor cats have an expected lifetime half of those kept indoors. Keeping her on a leash outdoors for a while sounds like a good idea, though. She doesn't yet have enough experience with cars or the world to realize that the road is a bad place to be. Once she gets the idea that these big scary things come rumbling down that particular stretch of land, she'll stay away.
posted by cgg at 11:30 AM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Second -- does the "whole" indeed mean unspayed? Before you let her out, get her spayed!! Please, please please. Spend a week in a shelter if you don't understand why I'm pleading with you. There are too many kittens already. Please. Check with your local SPCA or rescue organization for low cost options.
And at 9 months, she's still a "stupid" kitten... she will learn on her own, but she needs to grow up a bit. Think of her as a rebellious teenager, feeling invincible and thinking she knows everything. But avoiding cars is something that does come instinctively to every cat I've known... eventually. I've never actually heard of humans having to train a cat to avoid them. Then again, I suppose the ones that don't learn this don't last long :( There's a reason why outdoor cats have an expected lifetime half of those kept indoors. Keeping her on a leash outdoors for a while sounds like a good idea, though. She doesn't yet have enough experience with cars or the world to realize that the road is a bad place to be. Once she gets the idea that these big scary things come rumbling down that particular stretch of land, she'll stay away.
posted by cgg at 11:30 AM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yes, use the water torture method to make her hate that road. Also, don't pick her up near the road or even talk to her, unless it's necessary for safety. No good interaction at all. She needs to think of the road as a bad place with noise and water and danger, not a place to see her people and hang out and get her chin scratched. Also, get that gal fixed! Aside from the unwanted kittens angle, unfixed cats are more difficult to keep safe.
posted by tula at 11:38 AM on May 1, 2010
posted by tula at 11:38 AM on May 1, 2010
I disagree with the 'aversion therapy' approaches suggested here. No snark intended. Your cat does not deserve to be tortured, no matter how much it's ostensibly for her 'best interest.' Your cat deserves moral consideration which means not placing this living being, for which you have accepted the responsibility of caring, in a position where you're intentionally inflicting fear and discomfort.
Let the cat grow up a bit before letting her go into the street. She'll avoid the cars when she's old enough. I raised hundreds of kittens to be healthy, well adjusted indoor-outdoor cats, and we never once sprayed them with water or put them in fear inducing situations to teach them to be scared of anything.
posted by jardinier at 11:45 AM on May 1, 2010
Let the cat grow up a bit before letting her go into the street. She'll avoid the cars when she's old enough. I raised hundreds of kittens to be healthy, well adjusted indoor-outdoor cats, and we never once sprayed them with water or put them in fear inducing situations to teach them to be scared of anything.
posted by jardinier at 11:45 AM on May 1, 2010
In my experience with three separate cat households (mine, my mother-in-law's and my best friend's), spayed and neutered cats don't roam as far as intact cats. I don't know if there's any scientific basis for that, it's just what I've seen. As there's no downside to spaying (I'm assuming you're not letting your purebred, intending-to-breed cat outside willy-nilly), you ought to get that done before you start letting her out on a regular basis. Anything to keep her roaming to a minimum!
I've had some profoundly stupid cats in my life, ones who never, ever developed that natural fear of cars or fast-moving objects. Those are the ones we kept inside (though we now keep all four of ours inside full-time now). You might watch her for a while and see if she's developing that caution. If she doesn't, you can re-evaluate whether or not you want her to be outside.
posted by cooker girl at 1:33 PM on May 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've had some profoundly stupid cats in my life, ones who never, ever developed that natural fear of cars or fast-moving objects. Those are the ones we kept inside (though we now keep all four of ours inside full-time now). You might watch her for a while and see if she's developing that caution. If she doesn't, you can re-evaluate whether or not you want her to be outside.
posted by cooker girl at 1:33 PM on May 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Yes, "whole" means unspayed (we want her to have one litter before spaying her. Adopting two "rescue" cats is what convinced us that it's worth bringing a litter of healthy, well-adjusted kittens into world--we lost one rescue kitty to FIP, and the other I love like crazy, but he has had to struggle with PTSD like sympyoms).
I like the "invincible teenager" metaphor, and the idea of monitoring how much she starts to develop caution.
(And overall, i realize outdoor cats have shorter lifespans, but personally i'd rather give a cat 5 high-quality years of stalking, galloping, climbing etc than 15 years inside.)
posted by Jon44 at 2:29 PM on May 1, 2010
I like the "invincible teenager" metaphor, and the idea of monitoring how much she starts to develop caution.
(And overall, i realize outdoor cats have shorter lifespans, but personally i'd rather give a cat 5 high-quality years of stalking, galloping, climbing etc than 15 years inside.)
posted by Jon44 at 2:29 PM on May 1, 2010
I taught my cat to be more scared of cars by putting him in the garage with the car while I revved the engine and honked the horn. It seemed to work (and was much less torturous than getting hit by a car).
posted by ottereroticist at 3:16 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by ottereroticist at 3:16 PM on May 1, 2010
I like the idea of honking a car horn. That's what we do when the cats play chicken (you love me so you won't hit me so I'll sit here and be a pain in the ass) in the driveway.
Can you get a friend to drive by when the cat is close to the road and honk the horn. I think being startled a few times would make your cat skittish and more careful.
posted by stray thoughts at 6:20 PM on May 1, 2010
Can you get a friend to drive by when the cat is close to the road and honk the horn. I think being startled a few times would make your cat skittish and more careful.
posted by stray thoughts at 6:20 PM on May 1, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jehsom at 10:31 AM on May 1, 2010