Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

Alright, I've had these cats for about a week now. Unlike my previous cats, which were adorable and almost no problem, these two monsters just do not quit. Since my other cats had no discipline problems, I'm left using what I learned from raising puppies as a child, which seems to be ineffective.

Just a summary:

Earlier tonight, Laney was under my computer desk messing around with the wires. She's been doing that a lot, and every time I grab her by the neck and give her a good pop on the hind quarter. That hasn't been working, so tonight I gave her a good kick. Possibly too hard. She made that weird guttural yelp sound and slunk away under my bed. Haven't seen her since.

Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, it's true that the tactic seems to have worked for now, but I can guarantee she'll be back at it again tomorrow with her idiotic cat brain. I've got to get her off these wires.

Her biggest problem is messing with the wires, but Karl Marx is the real nuisance. He keeps crapping and pissing on the floor. He still hasn't used the litter box. What I've been doing is rubbing his face in it and spanking him about seven times. Let me tell you, he flips out when I do that. He tries to use his back legs to get footing, which results in him scratching me up a bit.

These are just two of their most recurring problems, but they have more. Like Laney, she digs too much in the litter box after she drops a deuce. Karl Marx keeps attacking Laney for no reason, instigating fights. They both crawl all over the furniture with their grimy little paws, despite me slamming them to the ground every time they do it. I've got a laundry list.

Any ideas on how to break these animals? I'm not gonna put up with this too much longer before they're on their own, I'm afraid.

Thanks,
Q.

[Don Gately]

[wo buxihuan hanguoren]

Man, sounds like you got the Damulgun and just another day of cats. No hope with those felines - wait, wow, bennies and booze, had something better to say, off to pass out I guess.

[Leavingkorea]

A couple drops of vinegar will help that spray. Also praise the cat when it stops.

The other thing is to drop a few chilis back there. After a few times sniffing that it'll end the adventures back there.

[yingwenlaoshi]

If you have an electric razor, scare the *beep* out of your cats with it. Then anytime they start doing that same *beep*, bring out the electric razor.

Kicking and smacking cats is pretty moronic. Not the violent part so much as thinking that that would work on a cat.

Anyway, we all know your cats' names now and we're all very impressed with the names you chose.

[bejarano-korea]

[The Perfect Cup of Coffee]

You know what? After reading your post, I've gotta say quite honestly that your cats don't really like you. Kick their lame asses to the curb, and get a fresh batch and start over. And yeah, try new names this time, that might be where you went wrong.

[bejarano-korea]

[Gatsby]

Yikes.

This is not a joking matter.

You do not discipline a cat like a dog. Big, big mistake.

I had a cat who did something sorta wrong when he was young and I got mad and hit him. His feelings were badly hurt for at least a week. He was a really good cat, and I vowed never to get mad at him again. I didn't and he always behaved well, until the day he died.

You have to get cats to like and love you before you can expect them to behave well and respond to discipline. But at this stage that you are describing, the more you hit them, the more they are going to rebel and do things wrong, I think.

Positive reinforcement is far more effective with cats than negative reinforcement. If a cat loves you, he or she will want to behave. They will look for cues on what is appropriate.

No! is Ok, in limited amounts, depending on volume of voice. A light tap on the behind is the next step, and very potent, combined with No! Putting them in another room with the door closed, or balcony, is very potent with my kitten; but her feelings are badly hurt if she views this as punishment.

Cats have long memories. I have seen this with kittens who remembered a place we visited in the spring when we returned in the fall. They knew exactly where we had stayed, even though a tree was cut down in the campground there. So they remember any slights.

Korean cats are more wild than American cats, apparently. They like to semi-bite, chew, play rough. Give them things to bite and chew. Give them a cat toy scratching post. Lotte has one of the good ones with the corrugated cardboard in the middle and a ball race around the outer circle. E-Mart has a ball with feathers on it that rolls around; get several cause they get torn up.

I got some tuna jerky, keep it refrigerated, for the cat to eat. I got some real beef jerky and give it to the cat every few days, it is like tearing up an animal. EMart has some beef sticks it labels jerky for dogs and cats that are good, and a bigger 400 gram pack of the sticks that is good too. Don't give too many of them cause they probably have nitrates that give the cat headaches.

Now heres are harder one: Get good food, preferably without wheat, even better, without corn or soy. The wheat could be causing behavioral problems in some cats. I have some food that has potato and tomato in it, which could be causing problems, but it is otherwise good, and the kitten is growing well. Good food helps. canned mackeral is good.

Korean cats like being outside. Mine likes to run from one end of the apartment to the other as fast as she can. Going out alone is dangerous here, of course. Get a good cat harness and take them for walks.

Make a eye contact. Close your eyes halfway and smile. This is cat talk for I love you. Make a purring sound and raise the tone of your purr like a question. This is a chudder. It is cat for hello.

Pet you cats. Pet lightly and slowly at first. If they allow it, give them a massage. Spend 15 minutes twice a day petting them and talking to them.

Spend time playing with them with a cat toy. A ribbon will do. A wad of newspaper makes a good fetch toy or soccer ball. However, strings or ribbons tied to something can be dangerous if the kitten's neck gets wrapped around with one. So supervise at first.

Give them a bath and clean the litter. Then maybe they will keep themselves cleaner. Get silica gel cat litter off the web, it is cleaner that that clumping junk.

Be patient. It takes time to adjust and learn. I had two adult feral cat I caught back in the states. One I left in the large bathroom for a week to let him just sleep and eat. That worked good. The other I let out too soon, and he had a harder time adjusting, spending all his time trying to hide.

Cats go psycho when they don't get enough sleep. They don't sleep if they are stressed. Give them lots of opportunity to sleep. A comfy cardboard box in a corner, closet, under a bed, desk, whatever, is nice. Confine them to one room where they can do the least dama23gewpl;5

That was my kitten walking across the keyboard. I just picked her up, groaned, petted her, kissed her, and put her out of the room. She likes looking at the mouse pointer move on the laptop screen and watching TV, especially flying kung fu. She also likes attention, and not being ignored.

My kitten is a bit unruly. I tried training her not to chew on me, and it worked for a while. But at this point, I've given up and figure she will grow out of it.

Kittens with a lot of energy are good; when they are two years old they start to slow down, but these are more alert when they are older.

I don't want to go into a treatise here; I'm tired and busy.

It would help if you gave the age and background on your cats.

Give any new cat a week to adjust and get lots of sleep before passing judgement. Try putting some catnip in their food to relax them. Love them; don't get angry.

Look folks, don't treat cats like dogs. I have seen some really psycho cats in neighborhoods where I lived in the States, and I think that may have been a factor. Discipline should be a last resort, used rarely.

[Qinella]

[The Perfect Cup of Coffee]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

When your cat is good, stroke it and say "Good pussy." When it's bad, spank it and say "Bad pussy!"

[PeterDragon]

Your cat that sprays, is he fixed? If not, get him fixed. Some cats just can't be houseborken until you fix 'em, and cats in heat are a pain in the ass. Once he's fixed, don't think discipline--- think conditioning. Every time he poops outisde the litterbox, pick up the cat and the poop (use gloves or a plastic bag for the poop) and put both of them in the litterbox. If he pees, wipe up the pee with a paper towel and again--- promptly carry the cat and the towel to the litterbox.

For the wire problem, smear the wires with Numzit or pepper spray. Should take care of the problem damn quick.

[MarionG]

Kicking or hitting a cat is really counter-productive, not to mention what it tells us about you.

If you want the cats to use the litter box, keeping them upset and unhappy will make sure they WON'T use the litter box. Not using the litter box is a sign, with cats, that something is seriously wrong.

Apparently you thought these cats should instantly adapt a to new home. Perhaps a mechanical cat, which wouldn't have been confused and concerned about its change in circumstances, would have been a better choice.

Having said that, yes, embrace the spray bottle.

[maeil]