my black cat

by sargi
(vic australia)

Hello

We have a pesty black cat, Puffie who is 11 months old. He thinks he is the boss of everthing and is always fighting with our other cat Tooty (he is a very good cat) he is 4 years and 7 months old (we got Tooty a few years before Puffie). Puffie also often is climbing our screen door and putting holes in it. Please help us put a stop to this!

From Sargi


Hi, Sargi,

Puffie is just doing what Puffie is expected to be doing -- behaving like the young kitten he is.

Don't be angry at him. Don't show anger. Don't punish him. That makes things worse. If he is not neutered, neutering will help enormously.

Praise him when he is being "good". Don't do anything when he is doing things that bother you except to calmly remove him from the situation. A firm but friendly "No" sometimes works and is acceptable and a spray bottle of water sprayed at him is a harmless way to discourage a cat from doing something.

Beyond that, give him time to grow up!

Best,
Dr. Neely