# How to say "No" to a kitten?



## starmanwarz (Sep 6, 2020)

Sometimes my kitten likes to attack my curtains or my bed in the middle of the night. I said "No" to him, made some weird noises with my mouth, even hissed at him but he doesn't seem to care, he just goes on with his business.

What's the best way to verbally stop him from doing something inappropriate?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

starmanwarz said:


> Sometimes my kitten likes to attack my curtains or my bed in the middle of the night. I said "No" to him, made some weird noises with my mouth, even hissed at him but he doesn't seem to care, he just goes on with his business.
> 
> What's the best way to verbally stop him from doing something inappropriate?


Verbal commands are not going to work with a kitten, all you would do is frighten him if you were to shout at him.

This is what to do:

1/ Completely ignore him when he wakes you in the night and pretend to be asleep. He will soon get bored of trying to wake you.

2/ Tire your kitten out before bedtime with an hour's lively interactive play so he will sleep through the night.

3/ Fit blackout blinds or blackout curtains at all your windows so kitty is not woken at dawn

4/ If he is swinging on the curtains tie them back for now and put (blackout) blinds up instead

5/ Leave him a snack of wet food in a timed autofeeder set to open at around 3.30 am, in case he is wakeful due to hunger.


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## starmanwarz (Sep 6, 2020)

What if he's doing this and other inappropriate things during daytime though? How do I make him understand that it's wrong?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

starmanwarz said:


> What if he's doing this and other inappropriate things during daytime though? How do I make him understand that it's wrong?


Kittens are exuberant, mischievous, adventurous, risk takers. It is their natural behaviour. The world is all new and exciting to them, so they want to explore it. To your kitten his behaviour is normal, it is not wrong. He will calm down by the time he is 6 to 8 months old.

All young kittens are a lot of work. If you don't want to put the time and effort into raising a happy well-adjusted kitten, it'd be better to adopt a young adult cat. But kittens are such a joy to have around, so life enhancing, it is why we cheerfully put up with their lively behaviour.  All too soon it has passed.

Adopting a pair of kittens together is always a good idea so they could be playmates. This would take pressure off you to constantly entertain your kitten. Can you still get one of his litter mates as a pal for him, or is it too late?

How old is your kitten ? If he is over 4 months old, it's time to get him neutered. If the behaviour you dislike is sexually driven (e.g. he is spraying urine around your home) then neutering should be done a.s.a.p to put a stop to it.

Buy lots of cat scratch posts and scratch pads - cheap ones are fine. Put 3 or 4 in every room. Buy a tall cat tree.

If he is climbing on work tops in the kitchen, lift him gently to the floor. Keep doing this for as long as it takes. Do not leave any food (yours or his) on the worktops. Do not leave dirty crockery or pans in the sink or on the draining board.

Some of his behaviour may be due to boredom. Direct his energy into suitable play so he is less likely to cause damage. Put aside 3 hours of your day for interactive play with him, in 40 minute sessions. Aim to tire him out so he sleeps.

Buy him toys to play with when you are not at home:

e.g.
1/ 2 play tunnels and tie them together to make one long tunnel

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LeerKing-Tunnel-Collapsible-Kitten-Holes/dp/B07H9P3BHR/ref=sr_1_17?crid=WSNOFAEGEK9R&dchild=1&keywords=play+tunnel+for+cats&qid=1600518640&sprefix=play+tunnel+,aps,151&sr=8-17

2/ games he can play on his own

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catit-50730A1-CatIt-Senses-Circuit/dp/B001LWRFW2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=189SWCERIC0V7&dchild=1&keywords=catit+design+senses+play+circuit&qid=1600518742&sprefix=catit+design,aps,143&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catit-4298...s=puzzle+games+for+cats&qid=1600518881&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ALL-PAWS-I...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

3/ toys he can bite and kick

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kong-Kickeroo-Basket-Random-color/dp/B01L1B6GUY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2KCAK0M820S7R&dchild=1&keywords=cat+kicker+toy&qid=1600519099&sprefix=kicker+toys+for+cats+,aps,156&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jackson-Galaxy-Hunting-Instincts-Kicker/dp/B07DHT6PRG/ref=sr_1_14?crid=2KCAK0M820S7R&dchild=1&keywords=cat+kicker+toy&qid=1600519124&sprefix=kicker+toys+for+cats+,aps,156&sr=8-14

4/ Ping pong balls to chase - you can throw them for him.

5/ Boinks for him to play with (my cats loved these when they were kittens!)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/cats-boinks-interactive-jumping-rolling/dp/B07SRM9P6K/ref=sr_1_5?crid=BTJB8DK5T5MB&dchild=1&keywords=boinks+cat+toy&qid=1600520101&sprefix=boinks+,aps,149&sr=8-5

Be imaginative, invent safe games for you both to play together.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@starmanwarz -

Just to add - provide him with at least 2 litter trays/litter boxes. Open trays are best. Provide a fine grain litter that clumps - Cats Best Oko Plus is a good one for kittens.

Feed him a good quality wet food diet. If you use a small amount of dry food as treats, put it in puzzle games.

A wet food diet high in meat protein and low in carbs is healthier for his digestion and will encourage calmer behaviour.

Ensure you are feeding him enough - a hungry kitten may be destructive. Feed him as much wet food as he wants. Give him 4 or 5 meals a day.

A kitten of 4 to 5 months old may eat 250 - 300 grams of wet food a day, possibly more if he is one the larger pedigree breeds.


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## starmanwarz (Sep 6, 2020)

I never shout at him and his behavior doesn't upset me. He is a 4 month old kitten who is treated like a god and everything that he does I can deal with. 

He has plenty of toys, scratchers, and a cat tree and I spend several hours playing with him. 2 litter trays as well, one open, one closed. I tried Cats Best but he didn't seem to like it. I am using EverClean Unscented for now and it works well, we both like it.

I'm trying very hard to make him like wet food but I'm not having much success so far. Still experimenting on that.

I just wondered if there was a way to train him to understand "No". He's pretty calm and smart, so I thought it could be done, somehow.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

starmanwarz said:


> I just wondered if there was a way to train him to understand "No". He's pretty calm and smart, so I thought it could be done, somehow.


Kittens and cats can easily understand verbal commands.
Clicker training can also be a fun way to teach them commands.

We tend to say uh uh instead of no, and it's as simple as removing the kittens onto the floor. Repeat a few times and they cotton on, such as not to jump on the dining table while we are eating.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

starmanwarz said:


> I never shout at him and his behavior doesn't upset me. He is a 4 month old kitten who is treated like a god and everything that he does I can deal with.
> 
> He has plenty of toys, scratchers, and a cat tree and I spend several hours playing with him. 2 litter trays as well, one open, one closed. I tried Cats Best but he didn't seem to like it. I am using EverClean Unscented for now and it works well, we both like it.wn up
> 
> ...


"

I never use "No" or any other verbal command to my kittens, as I find it pointless.

Instead I move things out of their way or I move the kitten off things by gently placing them on the floor. And if necessary, [as I said earlier] I repeatedly place the kitten on the floor every time they climb somewhere I don't think they should be. They learn very quickly, and I have never yet had a problem with any kitten jumping on the dining table or the coffee table while we are eating!! This method of training is known as "redirection".

My kittens have all grown up to be well adjusted, calm, respectful and gentle adult cats. If one of the adult cats occasionally does something I don't like I say "No" to them in a low, firm voice and they look at me and stop immediately. My cats also come to me immediately I call them by name, whether they are outdoors or in the house, so they are very obedient cats.

Cats are clever creatures and they are capable of learning quite a number of human words. And they certainly understand even the mildest sign of disapproval from me. As I say this is adult cats I am speaking of, not kittens.

It is the time I spend with kittens building a close bond with them for the first 9 or 10 months of their lives, that enables me to train them successfully by 'command' as they become young adults. .


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## 1507601 (Jun 26, 2020)

chillminx said:


> 3/ Fit blackout blinds or blackout curtains at all your windows so kitty is not woken at dawn


I've uploaded a picture of our blackout fabric in response to this...  (They did it)
(Your advice is very helpful by the way, just thought this was funny)


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Lucy2020 said:


> I've uploaded a picture of our blackout fabric in response to this...  (They did it)
> (Your advice is very helpful by the way, just thought this was funny)


It looks as though they have been having a whale of a time climbing your blinds, LOL  x


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

starmanwarz said:


> What if he's doing this and other inappropriate things during daytime though? How do I make him understand that it's wrong?


Could you elaborate on what you mean by "inappropriate" ?


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## starmanwarz (Sep 6, 2020)

Scratching furniture, swinging from the curtains, digging the dirt of my plants. 

Nothing happens too often though.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

starmanwarz said:


> Scratching furniture, swinging from the curtains, digging the dirt of my plants.
> 
> Nothing happens too often though.


Those are things I would not want my kittens to do and I understand you wanting the behaviour to stop. But bear in mind it is not naughtiness, it just natural behaviour for kittens, so it is very unlikely you would get him to stop by saying "no" to him while he is such a young kitten.

He is still a baby right now and until he is a bit older and understands what you want him to do you need to protect your furniture with throws. Tie back your curtains to stop him swinging on them and either put your plants on high shelves out of reach of him or keep them in a room to which kitty has no access.

Many houseplants are toxic to cats anyway, some are very toxic. It is best not to have any plants in the house unless they are safe for kittens to nibble. e.g. cat nip and cat thyme.


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## Cully (May 16, 2018)

Lucy2020 said:


> I've uploaded a picture of our blackout fabric in response to this...  (They did it)
> (Your advice is very helpful by the way, just thought this was funny)


Ooh, lovely sprinkles of starlight. Very attractive.


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