How do you discipline a cat, is it even possible? Our cat is about 1.5 years old and she's now taken to ripping the wallpaper. She got an awful habit of ruining the woollen carpet She goes mental if you don't pick her poo up after she's visited her litter tray. If she doesn't get her way she sulks and scowls. She has always gotten her way since she was a kitten and she rules over us. If you don't let her in to the room, she yowls loudly and shreds the carpet and scratches the door. Is it too late to teach her she can't have her own way when she demands milk, tuna, food or wanting us to let her in and out. Why oh why did I spoil her so much

I don't know much about changing the cat's behaviour, despite having 5 cats over the years and currently spoiling rotten the new one! However, my Mum's cat used to shred the wallpaper, usually in one particular area, this paper was lovely and bumpy. She attached a square of carpet to the area the cat scratched most and he was then happy to claw away and no more damage done. The cat obviously liked this area as a scratching post, so she made it into one.

I hope someone can come along with advice about the rest of your kitty problems.

She sounds like my cat, except for the wallpaper thing, I have painted walls, she's five now and she's never improved, in fact she's an even bigger diva now, love her to bits though.

Too late to teach her now, I'm afraid, and it's virtually impossible to discipline a cat anyway, especially if she has several difficult behaviours. The wallpaper thing might be fixed by spraying her with a water spray when she starts doing it, since that's a new one. Keep her claws clipped as short as they can go (get the vet or an experienced cat groomer to do it), that will also help. Get earplugs for the yowling!

When it yowls for food, ignore it.
My cat is like that, it good eat non-stop!
Wired, he doesn't like Whiskers any more...?
Plus he takes my other cats food!

Does she get to be outside much and does she have a scratch post in the house? If the answer to both those questions is no, then wallpaper or furniture scratching was always going to be more likely - cats need to scratch not only to condition their claws but to spread their scent around the house. There are several ways a cat with mark your house with its scent, rubbing against you is one way, scratching is another. Like someone else has said, put a piece of carpet or a scratch post on/near the area of wallpaper where you cat is scratching. Many cats also dislike kitchen foil, so if the first idea fails, put some foil over the marked area.

As for the litter tray, you're right that you shouldn't be 'forced' to clean it straight away, as long as you do clean it within a reasonable length of time. Both the RSPCA and cat behaviourists will tell you, that not only are dirty litter trays revolting and unhygienic, some cats don't like treading on their own poo during their next visit anymore than we would. Cats do have 'some' sense of hygiene.

You're right not to give in to food demands and you need to be consistent about never giving in - just like with small children. Do make sure there's water available in the house at all times, preferably away from the food dish, as many cats follow a natural instinct not to drink water next to a source of food.

Good luck.

She sounds like she might be a little bored to me, which can make cats come across as neurotic. Is it safe to let her out, or would it be feasible to get her a playmate?

We do let her out whenever she wants except in the evening and night time but she's a timid scardy cat and meiows loudly to be let in again after a few minutes. Trying to encourage her to go outside is a total failure, she prefers to run upstairs and hide. When it's slightly raining she won't go out or when the wind howls she won't go out or when she hears the neighbours children. Even other cats scare her. She's wuss. We do have scratching posts and toys for her.

Of course she rules - dogs have owners, cats have staff / slaves!

Does she have a scratching post? If not get a good tall one and if possible put it where the favourite wall paper ripping spot is. When the wallpaper gets replaced put up a smooth one.

Is a cat flap possible? So she can get in an out without you?

Milk - unless it's cat milk she shouldn't have it. Tuna should be an occasional treat, not a regular thing.

Finally, could she be bored? Bored cats do more things that annoy us. I never realised how much two cats can entertain each other until I got two kittens.

That is so true. I remember this time last year my kitten Woody was being destructive, chewing the corners of wooden furniture, scratching the bed legs, ripping the carpet etc. It was suggested on this forum that he might be bored, so I got him a little friend (Archie) and his behaviour improved almost overnight.

I also changed his scratching post to an upright one, as I found out that cats can have preferences. Shadow, the geriatric, likes a scratch mat, but this clearly didn't suit Woody. I got him an upright post and straight away he used it.

I have introduced her to my sister's cat and my partner's dog. She hates the dog and naturally hisses at him. She does the same to my sisters cat. You could be right and she may well be bored. I'm afraid if we buy a new kitten and Snowy hates her what do we do then? Tough decision.

Spraying your pet does work, one of are dogs will not come in when in the garden so i spray him with a plastic cooking syringe it does spray far.

She is less likely to hate a tiny kitten. Most cats, given time learn to get get on and do become friends, but you're right - some just hate each other. I'm not sure how you would go about finding a compatible cat, but i'm sure there is a way. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me can advise you on that.

Not too tiny a kitten - at very very least 9 weeks, preferably a bit older. I would try a rescue, and see how they will be about the kitten coming back. So long as there isn't open warfare and fights the kitten will at the very least stop her being bored simply by being there.

You can tell cats off. Next time she goes to scratch the carpet or wallpaper make a loud vocal noise at her and give her a squirt with a water pistol. If she's responsive to cat nip then rub some on her toys and scratching post and see if that deters her at all.

You can get cat deterrent pellets which you could try putting down on problem areas. Plus maybe cut up some lemons and put them down near the regular areas where she scratches? They usually hate the smell of citrus.

You could also try investing in a cat tree to keep the boredom at bay. Plus do you regularly groom her and play with her? It does sound like she's attention seeking.

I think having a cat flap is a really good idea too because then she can choose to go in and out on her own terms. Our cat pokes only the top of her head out of the cat flap two or three times before going out as she is very much a scaredy cat too! She often runs in through the cat flap when something outside scares her, so a cat flap may reduce any anxiety your cat may have about being left outside and not being able to get back in.

Also, when you say that your cat yowls loudly to get into the room, are you talking about your bedroom? Our cat used to be awful at yowling to get into the bedroom very early in the mornings, simply because she wanted some attention. She gets shut in a room downstairs at night now with everything she needs. It had to be done because it got to the point where she was waking me up in the middle of the night playing with things and she would pee on the bed when something spooked her. Your cat may be yowling to get in because she knows there's a comfortable bed waiting for her. If you make the bed as uncomfortable as possible for her and clap her off it every time she tries to jump up then she may get the message that it's not her territory and it should become less appealing for her to yowl about. Don't feel guilty about it, cats can sleep anywhere...they're just opportunitists when it comes to big, comfy, human beds!

I don't think getting another cat is necessarily going to help her behaviour at all. Cats are loners by nature and it's quite a gamble in my opinion.

I got my two from the cat protection league, a mum & her kitten son, I do shift work, which involves 1-2 sleep ins aweek. I had to splash out on an electronic cat-flap which recognises their tags. I had a cat flap which recognised their magnetic collars b4, but the noise the cat flap scared them!
Shes a lap cat, while he now towers over her & he dissapears sometimes for a day at a time (whilst I bite my nails!). Sorry, back to my main point! If I just had the mother, it wouldnt work, she prefers company, and when Im not there, he gives her that. Infact, his prescence brings out the 'kitten' in her, and she oftn instigates the play fights round the garden & back into the flat!