Problem Kitty

[ksix]

I have a 1 1/2 year old male cat, Murphy, who I adore. He's generally a pretty good cat...he plays a bit too rough sometimes, but other than that, he's a sweet little cat. He's definately head strong and doesn't obey very well...like jumping on the table. But he's never been on our counters. Until about 3 days ago...suddenly it's his favorite place to be...and he knows he shouldn't be there. I caught him up there the first time, and he was squirted with water (the only punishment that has ever worked on him). Since then, we've found him up there numerous times. This morning my husband came into the kitchen to see Murphy sitting in our dish strainer licking the clean dishes. They were dry and clean so no idea why he was licking them??!! There is a window up behind the kitchen sink and I think that's the draw to him...even though there are tons of other windows throughout the house, including a large one in the kitchen with a shelf that we let him sit on. Why he feels he must look out this one little window is beyond me?!

He's also taken to puking daily. Yesterday he puked on a paper we were saving from 9/11 to have as a piece of history. I was unpacking the box the paper was in, and had set it on the floor for a moment, and he puked on it. He acts fine other than throwing up a lot more...he never was much of a puker.

Any ideas why he's suddenly insistent on being on my counter, and how I can train him to not be on it. Nothing works with him for punishment...yelling, swatting, scolding, squirting with water (unless we really douse him like I did with the facet hose).

My husband is ready to throw him outside and let him be an outdoor cat, but I'm not ready yet...Murphy is my baby, and I love him to death. I also think he's too much of a wimp to be an outdoor cat. He's always been inside. My husband has never liked indoor animals, and he's fed up with finding puke and also of Murphy being on the counter.

Any thoughts???

[Deana]

Double sticky tape! Put some double sticky tape on your counter tops for a few days -- cats hate sticky stuff. So when he jumps up there, he will learn real fast that it feels icky up there! I've also heard to put aluminum foil on the counters, but when I did that with Peepers he thought it was a toy :rolleyes:
As for the puking, (now this is really gross, but...) look to see if it looks like hair. Since cats are such groomers, they hurl up hairballs once in a while. They have drops that you can put on his food (I use Iams hairball cat food...). But if you don't suspect hairballs, and he's vomiting that often, I'd take him to the vet.
Oh, BTW, David really did NOT like Peepers at first... now he refers to him as 'his kitty' and constantly wants to hold him (although Peepers is not to keen on being held...). So maybe your man will start to like Murphy! Hey, anything's possible!

[meliz]

I feel for ya! Murphy sounds like a less neurotic version of sis's cat (my current roomcat) Tunie. He licks dishes, plastic bags, and the sink and bathtub. And he barfs, almost daily (fur balls). And he is always getting where he shouldn't... on tables, in closets. And he never listens. Fortunately he's a big baby, and easily scared. So if you stamp your feet or clap your hands, that sets him on the run. I feel like a meanie to scare him out of bad behaviour, but he's 13, so I think its too late for more humane training.

I love the sticky tape idea. And have you tried a little vinegar in the squirt gun/bottle (mixed in with the water)? I guess they hate hate hate the smell. That might be a bit more of a deterrent.

If he does have fur balls (and if he is not grossly overweight like Tunie) try giving him a taste of butter each day. That might help with the fur ball thing. Or you can buy this stuff called Tuna Lax... apparently a cat laxative (ick) which in moderation helps with fur balls. Might he also be getting at a plant or something? That makes them barf too.

Good luck!

[ksix]

I like the sticky tape thing...as for the foil, yeah, I see Murph playing with it...couldn't have anything to do with the fact that anytime we have wrapped candies (Cadbury eggs for instance :)) we wrap the foil into a ball, and it's his favorite toy!

Meliz--the vinegar is a good idea...he doesn't mind a mild solution of it, so we have in the past used really potent vinegar/water to squirt him with ok results. I guess when my husband found him on the counter yesterday morning, he doused him good (as in a huge cup of water over the head) which pissed Murphy right off. I haven't seen any signs of kitty activity on the counter since. Maybe it worked.

The puking...well, a month or so ago, I went to get him food. All they had was the huge year's supply of his food, so I got another type of the same brand, much smaller bag, and that's when he started puking...it seems to be his food that he hurls up--no hairballs. (Yes, gross as it is, we did look through it a bit to see if he'd gotten into something) A week or so ago, I went to a different store and bought his regular stuff, which has helped to ease the puking. He's still a little bit puky (well not for the last 2 days) so maybe he was still trying to get the food out of his system. The new kind seemed to have a lot of food dyes in it.

And nope--I have a total brown thumb, so I don't think he's getting into any plants! :D

Last night I was home all evening, and right when I got home I played with him and gave him some major attention...he was a peach all night long. Which tends to make us believe he was just a bit lonely--we've both been on the go a lot lately. When Chris got home later, he played some more with him...and Murphy was good all night long.

Chris does love Murphy--just not a fan of indoor animals...his family are all huge animal lovers--but they're always outdoor critters.

The butter trick is a good one for hairballs...I'll remember that, Meliz.

Thanks for your input...I'm going to invest in double sticky tape...there are a few places I would rather he didn't investigate!!