Catfight
05.07.2003I didn't get much sleep today. I argued w/ my cats. They won.
They've gotten used to expecting their breakfast sometime around 8am. But sometimes they start demanding it sooner. And I mean a lot sooner. I try to ignore them, but they make quite a bit of racket.
Mostly it's Sophie. She's developed a really good technique. She finds a piece of paper — any paper — and slowly shreds it. Slowly. You'd be amazed at how loud the sound of paper tearing really is. It's unbearable. On the bright side, I've learned to keep my apartment clean of uncessary paper clutter.
I try hissing at her. I try clapping my hands loudly. I try yelling. And she knows it, too. If I just lift my head up off the pillow and stare at her — and quietly, at that — she stares right back at me. Just stares.
Usually, I give in and fill their food tray. Sometimes I try to close the bedroom door and lock them of my room. That's an utter failure. They paw at the door, causing a thundering rattle (at 7:30am any noise is "thundering").
I won a moral victory today. I held off feeding them until 10am. As punishment. Then crawled into bed and didn't wake up until almost 4pm. Some victory, eh?
I love my cats. Most of the time they're great. Just not in the morning. I have two options: 1) Go to bed at a "reasonable" hour (as if 4am wasn't a reasonable hour) and get used to waking up early every morning. Or. 2) Learn to discipline my cats. Now, I don't want to wake up at 7am on Saturdays. So "discipline" it is. Dave gave me a water spray bottle today. I guess I'll learn to use it. Let's see if it works.
Posted by Miguel at 10:40 PM
Comments
Remember what I said about getting a slingshot? Kidding. You will find that the spraybottles work. Interestingly, they don't on rabbits. I have had cats for years and the ole' spray bottle technique has always worked great for me. Rabbits on the other hand will sit motionless while you spray them thinking, "Hey...I'm getting wet...oh well...guess it's me being wet time (destroy destroy destroy).
Good luck.
Love,
Micah
Posted by: Micah at May 8, 2003 03:25 AM
LOL, I miss having cats. I really want to get one but I don't know what I would do with it when I move.... MEOW
Posted by: Andres at May 8, 2003 07:44 AM
We have the exact same problem, my friend. The boys (Bug & Puppycat) start going crazy about 5am, an hour before I usually feed them. It's as if someone let open all the cages at the zoo and all the animals came tearing out towards freedom. Except they're not caged here, they just sound like a heard of horses roaring through the place. Our poor neighbors. If we shut the bedroom door Bug paws and paws loudly.
Posted by: vanessa at May 8, 2003 09:30 AM
Miguel, there is a third option that you are overlooking...defenstration!
It is a simple, cheap, and effective procedure that can solve virtually all of your cat problems!
Posted by: Josh at May 8, 2003 04:14 PM