Retraining spraying cats

**catnapper** · 04-15-2009, 07:58 AM

I was reading freecycle yesterday and someone was asking for a cage to retrain their cat to use the litterbox per their vet's advice. I heard of it before but rolled my eyes thinking it was a waste of time. I can see Allen getting madder at us and spraying more once he got out.

And poor Pouncer pees inappropriately due to health issues -- why cage a boy just because he's sick? That would only stress him out more, and thereby make him even sicker (since his illness is always linked to stress)

Anyone ever hear of it actually working?

**catmandu** · 04-15-2009, 08:32 AM

I am with you Catnapper.
A cat does not like being caged

and would have no inkling of why suddenly he is confined and has no freedom.
Thats a bad idea IMHO as well.

**Laura's Babies** · 04-15-2009, 08:38 AM

I wouldn't cage them but putting them in a small room has worked for me.

**katladyd** · 04-15-2009, 12:41 PM

The bathroom or a spare bedroom confinement is much kinder than a cage. My friends who own dogs do caging frequently and I think this is inhumane

They say the dogs like it, I don't believe that for a second!

**wolf_Q** · 04-15-2009, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by katladyd

The bathroom or a spare bedroom confinement is much kinder than a cage. My friends who own dogs do caging frequently and I think this is inhumane

They say the dogs like it, I don't believe that for a second!

There's a lot of people who crate their dogs, myself included. Please do some research on crate training before you call anyone who crates their dogs inhumane.

**lvpets2002** · 04-15-2009, 02:57 PM

Now Do you only Crate your pups at night?? I had a boyfriend that Crated his dog at night & every time the dog would potty in the Crate due could not wait till he got out..

Now for me I do not beleive in it & would not do it to my dogs or cats.. And no I have never heard of the cat caging for potty issues before.. I think it would just make my babies even madder..

Originally Posted by wolf_Q

There's a lot of people who crate their dogs, myself included. Please do some research on crate training before you call anyone who crates their dogs inhumane.

**Medusa** · 04-15-2009, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by katladyd

The bathroom or a spare bedroom confinement is much kinder than a cage. My friends who own dogs do caging frequently and I think this is inhumane

They say the dogs like it, I don't believe that for a second!

I don't know that I would go so far as to say crating is inhumane. I've never done it w/my dogs but I never felt the need. My cats, on the other hand, love sleeping in their carriers, which are smaller than crates and, of course, they have access to their litter boxes because the carrier doors are open. I think crating for some animals instills in them a sense of security. The people that I know firsthand who crate their dogs are very kind hearted and their dogs don't seem to mind a bit. When I was cleaning houses, I had a client who got a new dog and as soon as he saw me for the first time, he went running to his crate and stayed there. So I talked to him through the crate and eventually he trusted me enough to come out after that. This woman was on the board of the Humane Society in Akron then, so I trusted her judgment.

**katladyd** · 04-15-2009, 04:20 PM

Crating with an open door is not cruel or inhumane in any way whatsoever. But....how would YOU like to be locked up for hours with no bathroom access?

I don't think anyone with a heart can condone that. I'll never understand crating or dogs, so this is just my opinion.

**catnapper** · 04-15-2009, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by katladyd

The bathroom or a spare bedroom confinement is much kinder than a cage. My friends who own dogs do caging frequently and I think this is inhumane

They say the dogs like it, I don't believe that for a second!

Actually dogs DO like crating. In the wild, they sleep in dens -- tight confined places. They feel safe and secure in conifined places. Crating dogs is beneficial on many counts. I do not crate my dog, but I do understand the whys and hows of crating. Just because we humans wouldn't like to be crated doesn't mean dogs feel the same way. Humans have the tendency to think like humans, and insist our furry pals feel the same way we do. How would we like it if dogs insist we think like them.... I'm not about to go around greeting everyone by smelling their butt!

The key is to understand canine behavior in order to understand why crating would be beneficial.

However, crating dogs and cats are totally different stories. There have been no studies to show crating cats leads to happier cats. I just can't see how crating cats could/would retrain the,. Hence, my original post

**Medusa** · 04-15-2009, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by catnapper

Humans have the tendency to think like humans, and insist our furry pals feel the same way we do. How would we like it if dogs insist we think like them.... I'm not about to go around greeting everyone by smelling their butt!

LMAO!

This is also why I was in such a quandary when my Puddy was suffering from dementia toward the end of her life. She wanted to stay in my bath tub and nowhere else. Ok, that would not be the quality of life I would want but who is to say that a cat would object? We really can't think like our furkids on some issues. We have to realize that we're made differently and do our best.