[Etoille]

i have to echo what Phelps says about crate training. the number one problem with animals arent really problems with animals - its the lack of boundaries set by their human owners.

and its SO easy to fall into. "oh we just got a new kitten i want it to sleep with me" or "oh we can give fido a few pieces of steak a few times a week".

i actually JUST did this. two nites after pav came home i was like well time for him to have the run of the house. i was curtly reminded that being a pet owner requires responsibility like parenting. (to be fair it wasnt that he had an accident some where in the house outside his box he just got really really excited while playing and lost control we think - but it was a reminder that i needed to be responsible. went back to boundary setting etc and theres been nothing to note ever since well 2 weeks so we'll see.)

"fussiness", excessive scratching/biting, lack of bathroom control - typically a lot of these are caused/encouraged by owners.

you feed your cat/dog people food regularly as treats (even a few times a week) they learn that people food is also their food. it leads to begging or fussiness. animals are not by nature 'fussy'. they do not get peeled shrimp in the wild. nor would they in most homes. they may prefer certain things they may crave certain things as result of a deficiency but the fact is that no animal is going to starve itself because its family is serving it iams. never mind that if the pet owner lets it eat table scraps this results often in an overweight animal which can cause significant health problems. or if the animal has to go on a restricted diet when older, which happens often, the fussiness can be a MAJOR problem (please feel free to read this as at that stage in life the animal starving itself becomes a concern so your choice might be kill cat by continuing to feed it its normal diet or kill cat by having it starve itself).

excessive biting/scratching - the result of over stimulation (which will happen) but improper response to such (anger or 'punishment'/intimidation)

potty problems - improper boundary setting (once out of the kitten/puppy phase this can be really hard to retrain but it can be done).


right now my kitten has to be the center of attention. if im doing something he wants to do it. i was boiling water the other nite and he wanted to be up on the stove. if im clipping coupons he wants to shred them. if im reading he wants to chew on the book.

its a behavior im closely monitoring. it could be that hes just a kitten and he wants to play with me and if thats the case its fine. hes extremely social and outgoing (which is why we got him) but if when hes a bit older/more settled in (again ive had him for only 2 weeks) and he absolutely needs to be the center of attention well thats an issue ill have to address.

being a responsible pet owner is like being a parent. boundaries are SO important and often if there is a 'problem' its started or been exaggerated by the pet owner themselves not doing the right kinds of things to establish boundaries and who is in control.

( i say this knowing that one of my 'ticks' is i hate losing things. when the cat loses something under a piece of furniture like a toy i tear the house apart til i find it. i fear im teaching my cat a new game so im trying to break myself of my neurosis ).