How do you persuade the family cat to stop taunting family members?

Wow, that’s not common for cats. Usually they are the opposite like mine. Just simply lock her up in a place where she has all of her amenities. Check in with her every once and a while to keep her company. I feel like if you train her to not be so outgoing, you may regret it eventually. I wish my cat was like that, I just may need to be careful of what I wish for…

@dxs Our previous cat (R.I.P.) was far less affectionate. He’d allow you to pet him but he wouldn’t sit in your lap or allow you to hold him for any length of time. We used to wish for a “lap cat”.

We have one.

There’s really no place to confine her. More accurately, they do confine her…

…in the basement with me.

If they would give her 15–20 minutes in the morning and evening to play/pet and interact, it might be less demanding of attention from them at other times.

Maybe the cat was neglected (at least attention wise) in her last household. She may be reacting to being able to be around more people who are relatively understanding of her…

From your question, I had this mental picture of your cat going around, sticking her tongue out and being like “Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah…” Lol!

It’s just her personality. Sounds like she’s just messing with them since they shoo her away. I think it is sorta funny. You’ve spoiled her and she expects everyone to be her moving tree.

@WestRiverrat I agree, but the women in my house (wife and 4 daughters) are loathed to give Missy any attention at all. They either don’t understand that they influence the cat’s behavior through their indifference or they understand but don’t want to hear me telling them what to do.

It’s very true that with cats, the more you ignore them, the more they want to pay attention to them-they’re very ornery that way, like some guys I know, lol!

@yankeetooter, @bkcunningham You’ve both nailed it on the head.

If they don’t want to play her game, @SABOTEUR, I bet she’ll grow tired of them shortly. Ask them to just ignore her if they don’t want her to sit on their laps. She’ll eventually get bored with them.

@yankeetooter It’s almost like you’re here watching this unfold. Missy will stealthily “stalk” them (me too, actually) until an opportunity presents itself, then pounce.

(She cuts me some slack though.)

Sometimes she’ll sit in my lap after “playing tag” and look at the women as if she dares them to do something about it.

@bkcunningham. Quite the contrary. They have been ignoring her and the situation gets progressively worse.

She’s by not means violent, just persistent at getting what she wants…which seems to be their attention.

And, she’s getting it, whether they like it or not.

That is why I figure if they ignore her totally, she’ll grow weary of these silly humans. LOL

Well, there’s not much for the cat to do around here beside eat and sleep. I imagine we’re the cat’s entertainment.

I think I’d love that. I have a calico patterned cat that loves to be where things are going on. She supervises. If your famaily would pet her when she shows up, wouldn’t she feel like the fun’s over?

Yeah @faye…she does seem to be enjoying herself.

Maybe get her extra toys or get her stoned on catnip? XD
One of my cats is very pushy that way too.It’s kind of charming but at 16 pounds on my arm,it can really get tiring when I am trying to type.
Good luck:)

@lucillelucillelucille You know, that’s not a bad suggestion. I dish out the catnip sparingly…perhaps I should be a bit more generous.

No more toys, though. I’ve spent a small fortune on toys; each time I get something new, she looks at me like,

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

@SABOTEUR They need to train her to stay off from them. Whatever treats she likes (freeze dried meat/salmon works well for this), they need to give her when she sits off from them.

@lucillelucillelucille has a great distraction tip. It’s easy to distract a young cat with a toy or catnip. If they would be deliberate about it, then she might become trained to stay off from them. If they each find her fav toy when they want her to stay away from them, she should leave them alone.

We have some toys that the cats can play on their own. This is our youngest cat’s favorite right now (has been since she moved in last autumn).

I have very affectionate cats. The most affectionate now knows he’ll get the most attention on my lap and leaves the other laps (mostly) alone. Unfortunately he’s stubborn and it took him about a year to get to that point.

I’m sure your sweety was neglected @SABOTEUR. She’s just craving any and all of the attention she can get from her new family.

@SpatzieLover Several excellent suggestions! Thank you. Where do you purchase those freeze dry treats? I’m sure I’ve seen something like it at Petco, but I’m not sure.

Petco definitely has them. They’ll have pouches or little tubs.

Your lucky no one goes pantsless…my dad used to incite our cats just by walking around in his tidy whities. It was like catnip to them ;D…he’d get attacked regularly…and our cats at the time had all their claws.

I chuckle as I type this…Man I wish computers & youtube had existed in those days ;)

Does she have scratching posts, boxes, etc. to play with? Bird video? Fishing pole? Laser pointer? Ball-o-yarn? Getting a second cat may keep her busy and keep her company.

At three years old she’s still quite a young cat with plenty of energy and very playful. Plus Callies have a reputation for being real little clowns.

Many cats turn up their noses at toys requiring them to play by themselves but very very few can resist cat teasers. These look kind of like long fishing poles usually with nylon line attached to feathers or other enticing things.

Something like this may be especially good for the other members of your family because they can play with the cat without having to hold it or pet her.

She obviously craves affection and interaction and most people would love to have a cat more like that since many cats can be rather aloof.

But several play periods a day with the cat teaser should mellow her out a little.

She has obviously picked up on the fact that your other family members aren’t to keen on cats or having one in their laps so she’s just teasing them to get a little funny “revenge”.

I think she’s too smart to be “persuaded” otherwise. But maybe the cat teaser could provide a level of interaction that would be satisfactory for the other humans.

Or else you’ll be the designated playmate for kitty.

But give the cat teaser a try. I’ve yet to encounter a cat who doesn’t respond to it being dangled in front of them or dragged along the floor to be chased. It gets their prey drive to kick in and they usually love it. I can get mine leaping several feet in the air.

Hint: you do have to allow them to catch it frequently enough so they dont give up in total frustration.

As the years go on, shell be more of a docile sleeper/lap cat but she’s in her prime now, full of energy and delighted to be in a home with people to love her.

The cat teaser works (though I get more of a workout than she does…). The only other things she’ll play with are my earbuds, my cell phone or my electronic cigarette.

Figures I would be owned by a cat that loves electronic equipment.

I know what you mean. Mine is the same way. Plus she loves chewing the ends of my reading glasses, so I have to remember to fold them up and put them where she can’t get them :)

Those Callies get into everything. Here’s my fresh little one.

www.buttonstc.posterous.com

@Buttonstc She’s precious.

(And you’re right about the glasses.)

Those girls seem like bitches. I hope the cat nails ‘em, literally.

The A, #1 cat training tool: ignore, ignore, ignore.

@tinyfaery

:) GA

@Buttonstc Yours looks just like my 1yr old does @Buttonstc…My pics are on my husband’s laptop :(