Kitten Temper Tantrum

I recently adopted a 6 month old female, spayed.  We have been having difficulty training her and I read to gently pop her on the top of her head with one finger, like her mother would do, and firmly say No.  If that doesn't work, they said to hold her by the scruff of her neck and say No firmly.  After holding her by her neck, she threw a while temper tantrum and started attacking herself, and became violent towards me.  Of course, I won't be using this method of discipline, but what CAN I do to help?

[rockinhippy]

I've read that the Scruff of the neck is a very bad idea, as only their own Mums can do that comfortably, so it probably hurt her, hence why she threw a fit.

Personally I've always found  the VERY firm NO, & then picking them up & blowing in their faces &works best, an old Vet once told me that, & I've seen animal behaviour show on it too...........by blowing towards their nostrils, you over ride their scent with your own, which tells them that YOU are boss, they hate it & a dominant natured Cat may lash back, so make sure you restrain his paws so he can't scratch you...... that has been enough to train our new Cat off tables & kitchen work surfaces within a week of her arriving

Also if they persist, you can add gently flicking the tip of his ear, just enough to sting slightly, but not hurt can help tlet him know whose boss too

Not that we ever can be Boss with a Cat of course,...lol....but to get him to play by the house rules

[rockinhippy]

I've read that the Scruff of the neck is a very bad idea, as only their own Mums can do that comfortably, so it probably hurt her, hence why she threw a fit.

Personally I've always found  the VERY firm NO, & then picking them up & blowing in their faces &works best, an old Vet once told me that, & I've seen animal behaviour show on it too...........by blowing towards their nostrils, you over ride their scent with your own, which tells them that YOU are boss, they hate it & a dominant natured Cat may lash back, so make sure you restrain his paws so he can't scratch you...... that has been enough to train our new Cat off tables & kitchen work surfaces within a week of her arriving

Also if they persist, you can add gently flicking the tip of his ear, just enough to sting slightly, but not hurt can help tlet him know whose boss too

Not that we ever can be Boss with a Cat of course,...lol....but to get him to play by the house rules

[rockinhippy]

Sorry, appologies, I just realised I got myself into a bit of muddle there....went from she to he...lol

[PrettyKitty1]

It  depends greatly on the situation. Why are you having the need to use this method; which, by the way, seems you are doing it right. But is she having difficulty behaving? How is she not behaving properly? What is going on with her behavior? I'd like to define that before giving you other suggestions.

Some cats are more dominant than others. Even so....they can still learn to respect their humans. It all depends on when and how you use the proper training.

[kaygelinas]

She isn't doing anything out of line, we just got her and trying to teach her the do's and don'ts of the house.  Mostly not getting on tables that we eat on.  Since I've posted the question, whenever she gets on a table or does something she's not supposed to to(i.e. scratching a chair) I tell her NO and set her in a certain spot (beside the couch) and if she persists, I move her to "time out" in the bathroom.  She is responding well and only gets on the table to get to somewhere else. Not too sure how to handle that.

[Jade59]

Congrats on your new kitten!  How exciting!!

I would continue with your firm NO and timeouts whenever she gets on the table for ANY reason.  Kitty doesn't have the reasoning ability to differentiate between when the proper time is to be on the table and when it's not.  She will just get confused.  See what I mean?  So NEVER let her get away with that.  

Good luck and have fun! :)