BRATLEY THE BRAT CAT

Question
Hi Jessica.  My mother and I are worried about her 2 1/2 year old male desexed mixed breed cat.  His name is Bratley because of his nature.  I don't know at this stage if he is getting worse or if we are just getting fed up.  He seems to know no boundaries, we have other cats who are perfectly behaved and would never dream of jumping on the kitchen benches and stealing food but Bratley cannot help himself.  If a cup of coffee or tea is left unattended even for 5 seconds it's like he is spring loaded to dive up to wherever it is, knock it over and start drinking like he's a poor starved orphan cat.  Yesterday he knocked a coffee all over my handwritten assignment which had taken me 5 months to complete.  I was ready to have a breakdown.  His behaviour seems compulsive, if we say 'NO' and take him outside, he springs straight back to where he was faster than we can follow him back in.  We've tried a water spray bottle, consistently saying 'NO' and putting him outside etc.  Nowadays he just crouches where he is, squints his eyes and swishes his tail rapidly rather than run away when he is caught doing something naughty.  He also climbs my mother like a tree when she opens the fridge door (he doesn't do it to me) and meows 'back' at her if she tells him not to do something.  I hate that he's always in trouble and it can't be much fun for him to be snapped at all the time.  Do you think he has mental problems?  We are a very loving cat home and none of our other cats are in any way like this.
Thanks in advance.  Anne.

Answer
Hi Anne.  Cats do have their own personalities!  Some are very hard-headed.  I doubt Bratley has mental problems.  Just sounds like he's stubborn.  An adult cat is similar in mental maturity to a two-year-old child.  Essentially, you have a toddler stuck in his terrible twos!  I have a cat this way the exact same age.  Unfortunately, we can't change their personalities, and sometimes the best we can do is to work around them.  My cat seems to pick out breakables wherever they are and...break them.  So everything I have that's breakable is double-secured.  Some things get glued down, literally, some things go inside cabinets.  No, it's no fun having to take the extra effort to put my coffee cup in the microwave to hide it if I need to leave it for a moment.  But it's better than a spill and a shattered glass.

I wonder if putting him on a time-out in the bathroom would be better than putting him outside.  I think there may be too much entertainment for him outside for him to realize it's punishment.  The bathroom is safer, too!  When my cats act up, they always go in either the bathroom or a travel crate for 1/2 hour.  It does help.

The only other thing I could suggest is to use a deterrent to keep him off the table.  Spray repellants don't usually work very well.  Sticky Paws, which is similar to double-sided tape, is one of the most effective deterrents on the market according to a recent test.  You can learn more at www.stickpaws.com or at a pet store that carries it.  If you want to go high-tech, you might consider an ultrasonice barrier, like this one: http://www.hitecpet.com/soundbarrier.html

As for his climbing your mother, this is another bad habit I've fallen victim to.  Only thing that will stop this is trimming Bratley's nails so that they're flat.  He won't be able to climb her clothes that way.  You could also use Soft Claws, a product I use and highly recommend.  They're rounded caps that get glued over the cat's claws.  You can order or find a retailer at www.softclaws.com.  However, if you trim his nails or use Soft Claws, he's going to need to be an inside-only kitty.  If he goes outdoors at all, he'll needs his nails for defense.