My cat HATES NDT

[Chris]

I don't think my cat is very impressed with NDT.

At home we have 4 ex-wild cats so they are the sort of cats that always act real prey like around Ty. They can't help themselves but come through the cat door in slow motion and then race across the room and set Ty's prey drive off big time.

Anyway Sooty the big black cat is the evil one, he's always causing trouble. Sooty loves dogs, him and my old Bear were the best of mates where Sooty would bite Bears feet to make him dance.

Ty and Sooty and good mates too but man they play rough, Ty is forever lying on Sooty and mouthing him but Sooty loves it and comes looking for more.

Another mean trick of Sooty's is when I take the dogs out for a pee at night Sooty follows and being black you wouldn't see him until he races past us and of course off would go Ty after him (as Sooty planned). Many a night it was frustrating losing Ty's attention to this evil black cat.

So now days we go out at night and do some pushing and along comes Sooty to try and win Ty's attention and guess WHAT it doesn't work now. Time after time Sooty will race past to get Ty to chase him and Ty may take a step or two but I just say Ready and he's back for pushing. After 3-4 tries Sooty then goes and give Zeke a hard time but even that doesn't get Ty's attention.

The other morning Sooty followed us into the paddocks where we were playing tug fetch and Sooty raced across in front of Ty. Ty took the bait this time but I called Ready and back he came, Sooty was NOT impressed he thought he had control.

Thank you NDT we're one up on the evil cat

[Angelique]

Chris, are all evil black cats related? Our black (with white mustache) former stray "Henry" routinely stalks us when we're out training, has accompanied us on 1.5 mile walks, and most certainly enjoys toying with every canine beast that crosses our gate.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Chris, are all evil black cats related? Our black (with white mustache) former stray "Henry" routinely stalks us when we're out training, has accompanied us on 1.5 mile walks, and most certainly enjoys toying with every canine beast that crosses our gate.

Maybe not all of them as we have 3 other black cats that are lovely but we did have a big black one for 18 years called TomTom. He was all panther, trained 3 GSD for me, had warnings across every vets computer that they didn't handle him unless we were there and he sorted out every black dog that clients brought to work. Oh the stories I could tell about him so maybe a little evil is in all of them They do make great distractions though when training.

[Margot]

I have one of those too, but she is not black, but grey with black stripes and she is a killer.

Stan actually likes natural dog training and wants to be a natural dog herself. She gets on the box and sits next to Buters. She takes the treats but is not fond of cheese so always drops it on the ground.

Actually it is a bit annoying,

She also comes on walks and buzzes Butters on a regular basis, who has never responded to this. She still buzzes him though. I put her inside when we go on longer walks otherwise she will just come. She also likes to play Stan the leopard hunts Butters the wilderbeast. It gets like National Geographic in here.

My neighbour compared her to Inspector Clouseau's Kato when she fed her while I was away for a few days. She also still attacks me, but I have found it helps these cats to be very nice to them, you know, do the funny voice thing and greet them by touching noses. Have done that all week and not one attack.

Have thought about trying NDT on her more seriously but something tells me it might make her worse.

Any thoughts on that are welcome. She certainly seems keen to try it.

[Angelique]

I think you should get her a REAL wildebeast and call it a day ;-)

[Margot]

An excellent idea Angelique Almost as good as a result from a recent workshop I attended which outlined a plan to herd some Yaks through Copenhagen.

Stan really is better right now. I talk to her a lot more. She is much less evil and only attacks me on the stairs (likes to suspend herself from the railing and swipe at me). A tip for you Chris, be nicer to your evil cat, s/he may become less evil.

Colleagues used to look at the bite marks ad scratches on my hands and arms and say: That is one evil cat you are having. I hope those days are over

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Margot

A tip for you Chris, be nicer to your evil cat, s/he may become less evil.

Mmmmm somedays that would be hard with some of the stuff he does that causes trouble but he does make life interesting around here At least he does have a few 'nice' days now and then!

[donnieo]

I've been trying to use what I've been learning from NDT on my cats. Though they have a lower emotional intelligence than dogs and hunt prey smaller than them alone as opposed to in groups. However I do find that using praise as a correction and playing with them to satisfy their prey drive has really helped them relax indoors. One of my cats was having, er, "issues" with using his litterbox for quite some time and I used to do things like chase him away from the spot he was using instead. Needless to say this didn't really work, so I started using more praise and relaxation techniques along with a dose of rescue remedy in his water dish, plus playing with him when he's obviously in high drive. This has helped immensely.

[Margot]

A cat breeder has now told me that Stan was not socialised with people properly, which makes sense considering her history. The gentle approach definitely works best. The main issue I have with her is that she loves to bite and lick my fingers. Problem is she gets in such a state about it that her nails come out and I end up with shredded arms. Tried scolding and time outs, but this just results in revenge attacks.

I am now consistently remove my hand or whatever other part of me she is trying to tear to pieces and ignore her. It is helping.

I also find it helps to play with her wildly and to have her spend a large part of the day outside, though she is not keen on this now it is becoming colder.

Something tells me though that the last thing you want is for your cat to see you as prey. Cats take prey very seriously. I have discovered that mouse cheeks are a cat delicacy, in any case they are for Stan.

[donnieo]

The point I was trying to make (worded very poorly, however. I should not post things first thing in the morning!) is that I don't think you can't build a relationship built on trust and mutual respect with one of your animals and not with another one. Saying that your cat is "evil" or carries out "revenge attacks" only serves to create mistrust and tension. It's the "fear of wild" that Kevin talks about, I think.