# Cat Problems



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

One of my kittens, Puma, has become obsessed with my fish tanks. Despite my best efforts he pesters the fish, drinks from the tank, and recently - since I upgraded to a 20g long on my dresser - he has started jumping and smacking the tank. Not only is he stressing out the 3 bettas I have divided in there, but I'm terrified he is going to damage the tank and my dresser.

I have tried spray bottles, chasing out of my room, and am now keeping a fly swatter to give him a gentle swat when he does it. I can't keep my door closed as it's unfair to my other cats who aren't behaving badly. They'll look and watch, maybe paw now and then, but nothing like Puma does.

I know it sounds a rather silly thing to worry about, but I have anxiety and I've been under a lot of stress lately and this is only piling onto it. We've even considered finding him a home (were thinking before this anyways) but we refuse to give away to someone or go to a shelter without a no-kill policy, and the only no-kill here costs $50 to surrender a cat.

:/ I'm just exhausted and stumped.


----------



## kr1st3n (Nov 20, 2014)

Make the room a no-cat room. I keep all of my tanks in my room, and unless I'm in there to supervise, (except when I sleep), the cats are not allowed in my room. I have one that means well. She likes to drink out of the tanks, watch the fish lazily, etc... but I have one nervous Betta and two puffers that try jumping out of their tank when they see her. If she starts acting up, I kick her out. I usually just keep her out of my room, for everyone's safety. (If she eats one of the puffers, there are two dead animals on my hands.)

For your sanity, just make it cat-free, and be happy.


----------



## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

I agree^ unless you could detour him using a smell ( like vinegar) he will for the love of god, reach that delicious fountain of fresh, fish-ey goodness lol.


----------



## taquitos (Jun 27, 2013)

Cat-free room is a good idea.

Another option is to give him his own perch nearby the tank where he can watch the tank. Look up clicker training for cats. Reward him with very high reward treats for sitting on the perch. If he launches himself for the fish tank, grab him (not roughly) and kick him out of the room. Once he's back in there, then reward him once again for going on the perch (lure him if you must). Rinse and repeat. Do not let your cat go into the room unsupervised. When supervised, make it clear that that perch = good place, the place they're supposed to be at. Being in the room is a privilege that cats taken away the moment the cat misbehaves.

I don't use punishment (spray bottles, etc.) for my cats because I don't do that for my dog either. I've successfully taught my cat to not jump on the kitchen counter this way. The only thing your cat ahs learned from the above is that unpleasant things happen when they're around you. Clearly jumping for the fish = much more rewarding and worth risking being sprayed, swatted, etc. which is why it's not making a difference.


----------



## Charc14 (Aug 27, 2014)

contrary to common belief, Taquitos is Correct. You can train cats. In fact, one of my cats got sick once, and had to be cooped up in a cage for a lot of time. And while she was like that I used training as exercise and fun for her. She knows how to sit, Lay down, Jump, and even Roll over on command. 

Sooner or later he will learn that the perch is " His Spot" And he will stop pestering the fish. But, You have to have tasty treats. I know your trying to get him away from the fish, but I find that tuna works very good, Also you can try those " Temptations" Treats, Most of my cats LOVE them. 

Also, the cat free Idea is ok, But I don't know if you would want to give up snuggling with the more well behaved kittys. lol

And remember, with the training and everything, This won't happen over night, It will take a little while to get. luckily Most cats are smarter that we give them credit for.  Good luck!!!!


----------



## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

You could also try one of those plug-ins that are designed to calm cats down and reduce problem behaviour, but they can be pricey and I have heard mixed reviews. Not sure if it would deter from fish but I am guessing there are other issues if he was already facing the possibility of rehoming.

I would probably go with making it a no-cat zone, too though.


----------



## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

taquitos said:


> The only thing your cat ahs learned from the above is that unpleasant things happen when they're around you. Clearly jumping for the fish = much more rewarding and worth risking being sprayed, swatted, etc. which is why it's not making a difference.


I have terriers, not cats, but a friend has a herd of cats. Cats hate sticky things. Some 2 sided tape seems to do the trick, and more importantly does it when you're not there. For hard cases he's balled up some box tape besides the 2 sided tape, swat & stick, OMG horrible get this off of me.


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

As I pointed out already, I will not make the room cat free. My other cats don't misbehave and wander in and out of my room for attention or sleeping. Plus they sleep with me at night. 

Last night I had to cover the tank up because even in the dark Puma was still attacking the tank. It wasn't such a big deal before with the two tanks there, he would go sit by them and watch and only paw at them now and then. Eventually he got bored. So far he hasn't been as bad today so hopefully he'll start settling down.

Puma is the problem child of the bunch, no matter how you try to deter him from anything he continues to do it. Mainly because my mom undoes everything I do (lets him sleep on the table, feeds him on the table, etc). I can't even have him on my lap now because he freaks out when he sees the betta on my desk.

I'll try letting him perch on the side of the big tank after I switch the betta on that side with my older one who will flare at the cats. The little one is young and she stripes up at the drop of a hat. He's taken a special interest in her since she's the closest one to harass.

I will also try the tape thing for sure, Puma does indeed hate tape.


----------



## Charc14 (Aug 27, 2014)

Oh some more Ideas, Try getting a Big card board box for him. It doesn't have to be Huge, But Make it a " Clubhouse" just for him. Put some stringy toys in. It might make him want to hang out there instead of attacking the tank.

Also, Is there anyway to you could make the shelf that the tank is on into a " Cat-free" zone?
Like, They can go anywhere they want Except the dresser? And if puma is being bad, Kick him off the bed. or where ever he sits. If I sit on the bed its ok, but if I touch tank I get no bed. 

Also, maybe he is bored, Try some new toys. Like a fishing pole thing with a feathery birdie thing on it. I might get him away from the tank


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Once he locks on to the sight of the fish, I push him off the bed or give him a tap with the swatter. Already he is starting to take the hint. They have a whole box of toys to play with and they are constantly pulling more out to play with. The kittens and my other two girls constantly play as well. I do try to play with them with the toys a lot but I've been busy with the tanks lately.


----------



## Wallawoo (Oct 17, 2014)

+1 Tolak, double sided tape can work. Most cats also dislike the feel of aluminum foil, you can try setting that up around the edge of the tank. Or you could try a bunch of seashells around the outside of the tank they won't like the feeling of seashells under their feet either. Instead of swatting him with a swatter get close to your cat and blow a quick strong puff of air right in their face. They hate it and will stop what they are doing pretty quickly.


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I have an obese white cat who would harass a tank and drink its water if I let her, but I put almost all the tanks in non accessible areas (nowhere for her to jump on onto/next to them to reach). The 2 (now 3.. once its ready) in the office on desks we can't really keep her off while we're away.. but I've made it very clear she's not welcome in this room, and have lids on all the tanks so there is no access to water. There is another cat, an obese grey and white maincoon mix (both came to us overweight and won't tolerate dieting (meow through whole night for food x,x)) she's fairly timid so a hiss of a "FFFTT " or rapid arm movement startles her.. do it a few times when she's doing something she shouldn't and she learns not to do it... the white monster doesn't take the same training well though.. Which is why I had to anti jumping cat-ify so many areas.


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

So far the flyswatter has been working, little tap or a slap on the floor and they bolt. I'm also going to be making a velcro fabric screen above the 15g. Actually they have been busy bothering my 20g and leaving the 15g alone. Not a lot I can do to protect the 20g on my dresser, other than put stuff in the open end spots to prevent jumping up.

But I totally understand the dieting issues xD 
I have a fat cat named Annie, she came to us very overweight. I tried dieting but as soon as she could see the bottom of the bowl, she would harass me. Meowing, rubbing against me, following me, running to the food bowl everytime I got up. I gave up and as we got more cats she learned to take what she gets. With 4 other mouths to compete for food, and two "exercise trainers" aka two pesty cats who antagonize her, her weight stays in check.


----------



## starlight910 (Jul 25, 2014)

I'm sorry to hear you were having trouble with your cat. Cats are always getting into mischief. I hope everything gets well.


----------



## Bettaz (Oct 6, 2014)

I've heard placing double sided sticky tape around the tank or area they walk to get to the tank helps. They don't like the feeling of it on their paws. Also aluminum foil on the lid I've heard helps.

Covering or sticky tape is what people do with cats to keep them away from cages on parrot forums. Cats are just so curious about their other companions.


----------



## swampdiamonds (Jan 10, 2015)

My cats will frequently repeat a behavior if it gets my attention--it doesn't matter if the attention is negative or positive. If I squirt them with water, scold them, clap my hands, etc. they'll frequently just interpret it as, "Oh, she's responding! This is a hilarious game! I'm going to repeat it as often as possible!" Sometimes I find that no reaction at all works best. Cats are observant, and mine are constantly gauging my reactions. Therefore, no reaction = boring. If the behavior is particularly bad and I need to stop it before it escalates too much, I'll try calmly and quietly just removing them from whatever it is they're doing. No talking, no petting, just a quick and silent transfer to another room and then I'll ignore them. 

In this scenario, I'd be tempted to only let the cats in the room when I was in the room with them. (Temporarily, since I know you want the cats to be free to come and go.) The second the kitty started misbehaving, I'd remove him quietly and not let him back in for a while. Repeat. Ideally, eventually the cat will get bored instead of fixating on a behavior that is guaranteed to elicit an "exciting" response (like water squirting!).

And, as others have said, double-sided tape does frequently work. ;-)


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

If you want to make water squirting work, add a touch of white vinegar to the water - dilute it well, you want just a splash, enough to make it stinky. It will not hurt or cause the cat any harm whatsoever, but they hate the smell and will have to stop whatever it is they were doing in order to clean it off, which is about as good as a "distraction" type correction can get. It worked with the one cat I had that didn't react to squirting straight water, an incorrigible brat that took years to grow up to be a nice, respectable feline.


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Well I've caught them doing it even when I'm not in the room, so I know it's the fish, not the attention they get from me (trust me, they get plenty of attention).

I have tried vinegar in the water before but once I accidentally got them in the face and though they didn't get hurt I kinda scared myself there. I do use it to spray areas where they've scratched things up and stuff and it helps a bit. 

Both me and the fish have gotten used to it. He does it spurts now so it's not as bad.


----------



## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Try placing orange peels or orange oil. Cats really HATE the smell of oranges. It always worked for me and my little hunters from jumping on my counters and anywhere else I didn't want them to go.


----------



## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

Hiss when Puma does something you're trying to break him of. Hiss loudly, bare your teeth. They'll stop *fast.*

Swatting gently isn't as bad as people make it out to be; cats' own mothers will do that as a correction. Don't slap to hurt, but tapping or swatting can work--use your cat's reaction as a tell to find out whether it'll work on your particular cat. If they look offended and march off in a huff, you're probably getting somewhere.

Vinegar-scented water's a good idea. Orange peel/oil might work too, it's too bitter-smelling for them to like it, just make sure it doesn't get in the tank.


----------



## Sowa (May 28, 2014)

My cat will drink from the tanks/paw at them etc. I have lids on anything he can reach, anything small he can knock over or drink from are up on a shelf he can't get to. He's pretty much given up with it now since he knows he can't get them.


----------



## Starburst44 (Feb 24, 2015)

I have caught my cat several times just sitting across from the tanks, staring at them creepily. 
Usually a snap and a "Quit makin' it weird!" will get her to bolt away.
They all have lids and everything, though, so I'm not too worried about it.


----------



## atb224155 (Mar 10, 2014)

Have you tried desensitizing your problem kitty from the bettas? Like treating him for every time he enters the room and doesn't go for the fish? If that doesn't work, then I would provide some type of stimulation when the cat is in the room that will distract the kitty from the fish.


----------



## Vireo (Mar 5, 2015)

My cats leave my fish alone thankfully... But I have three weirdly docile kitties. lol My one more curious cat will sit beside the tank and watch, but knows better than to do anything else. 

Try using some pure lemon or grapefruit extract around where your tank is (being mindful of not putting it where you may place tank instruments during cleaning, etc). Cats hate citrus.


----------

