Mini soda pop cans are the perfect objects to throw at Very Naughty Cats.

[Dangerously Amused]

Empty cans, that is:

They fit well in the hand for enhanced precision.

They have just enough heft to give a decent projectile and range, yet are light enough to not cause damage to anything they may strike. Including said Very Naughty Cat.

With hard floors they are bonusly good as the clatter upon impact adds valuable audio reinforcement.


Yes indeed, when verbal corrections alone are no longer effective -- or even noticed -- mini soda pop cans are the perfect objects to throw at Very Naughty Cats. Especially repeat offenders named Ralph.


Just sayin.'

[Ohio Joe]

1. I use a water pistol

um... by shooting water at them, not throwing the pistol :) It seems to get their attention.

[Dangerously Amused]

4. Good idea.

Though I'm afraid the likes of Ralph may require a super soaker. :eyes:

[LostinVA]

24. WE use a squirt bottle -- like for plant misting, but adjustable spray

[Dangerously Amused]

30. Hmm.

Wonder if I can find one with a really long range...

[Patiod]

45. I tried, and it just resulted in a WET angry cat

running across my head at 4:30 in the morning. Plus I got the idea she found the squirt gun "fun".

[REP]

2. Empty Water Bottles Work Well Too

Except I have one Very Bad Cat who thinks he's a wild beast and he plays with gallon jugs - full of water. At least they are until he gets through dragging them around. He's Very Bad and very strong. Good thing he likes me!

[KitchenWitch]

3. Is this cat's name Hercules

if not, it should be!

[REP]

6. No - He's a Maine Coon, Though

His name is Stewart (named for Jon Stewart, of course!)

[fizzgig]

28. i so want a maine coon!

first time i ever came across one was at a cat show a few years ago and have been in love ever since

:loveya:

lamentably, i have four cats already and the house is just too small

maybe someday

[Dangerously Amused]

7. Hee hee!

:rofl:

That's funny! Lord, he must be part mountain lion.


He's just, um... helping you wash the floor? :shrug:

[REP]

11. No Idea What's In That Cat's Head

He carries them around until the carpet is wet, and then he chews them to pieces. I have to hide them if I want to have and distilled water to use.

That picture of him is a KITTEN picture - 7 months in that one. He's bigger now (about 22 pounds). And he is very, very sweet.

[Dangerously Amused]

14. I hope you have him doing that on tape somewhere.

That is so funny. And 22 lbs, my that is a big boy. But he's a handsome fella, too.


I know about the sweetness, he's the same a Ralph. One minute so naughty I want to rip my hair out, the next so sweet and affectionate that I forget he was ever naughty.


God, he plays me like a fiddle. :eyes:

[REP]

17. His Daddy's Bigger

Thomas doesn't eat jugs, though; he just washes all the other cats.

[Dangerously Amused]

23. Wow, that's a BIG gorgeous kitty!

How much does Thomas weigh?


It must be fun to watch them wrestle. :7

[LisaL]

5. All I have to do to scare my cat to death is to say "boo".

[Dangerously Amused]

13. Must be the WAY you say it.

Got that "mad mommy mojo" goin' on.


:7

[LisaL]

29. No, my cat is nuts.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

8. I prefer baseballs.

:hide:

[Dangerously Amused]

9. Yeah, you BETTER hide, mister!

There's a whole lotta cat lovers in these here parts. :)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. Are grenades out of the question as well?

:hide: :evilgrin:

[Dangerously Amused]

15. Keep teasing the cat gods

...and in your next life you will come back as a mouse. I swear.

But for now,


:spank:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

18. If I was a mouse, I'd finally be able to make women scream.

;)

[Dangerously Amused]

21. And see up their skirts all the time!

:)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

59. Oh, I do that already.

:hide:

[Dangerously Amused]

61. So YOU'RE the perv walking downtown with the mirrors on his shoes!

I knew it!


:spank:

[REP]

12. See Above About My Cat - He'll Take Your Balls

Baseballs, that is.

[texas1928]

16. We started out with just your garden variety squirt bottle.

Then moved up to a bigger one. I had to get a super soaker, so that I could hit them from across the house. Plus they would be wet enough they would stop what they were doing to have to go and dry themselves.

[Dangerously Amused]

20. My only concern with a squirt gun

...is that when he is naughty in my home office, I'm afraid I would get some of my business papers wet. But for the rest of the house, yeah!

[texas1928]

25. We don't let them near the PCs.

One of ours unplugged the router one time, when I was in the middle of a heavy online fire fight in Star Wars Battlefront. Oh I was pissed.

[Pithlet]

41. We only had to actually squirt our cat the first couple of times.

After that, all we had to do was say "Get the gun!" and pick it up and shake it, and he would stop whatever he was doing.

[Dangerously Amused]

48. Huh. Maybe Pavlov was onto something.

[texas1928]

57. Not ours

They would sit and take it. Plus they figured if they were out of range of the water then they were not in trouble.

[jrandom421]

62. My 36 lb Maine Coon likes the water

On hot days, he'd do something just to get me to chase him down and drench him with the super soaker. He'd just casually sit up on his hind legs and try to get the stream in his mouth. Once the super soaker was empty, he'd jump on the bed, shake hard, spattering water everywhere on the bed, and then saunter outside to lie down and enjoy the cool evaporation.

Adding vinager didn't help, because he loves the taste. Only cat I know that will drink pickle juice straight from the dill pickle jar.

[Dangerously Amused]

64. No way!

:rofl:


That is too funny! Do you have a photo of this great big character?

[jrandom421]

74. Here he is

[Dangerously Amused]

76. Hmm. He looks remarkably like a small blue box.

With a question mark in it.


Shoot! I wish I could see him! :(

[jrandom421]

79. One more time

Here is the big lug.

[Dangerously Amused]

83. I see him now! Thank you.

Ooohhhhh my. He is gorgeous. I love it when kitties have those tufts of hair around their ears, and I love little orange noses, too. But he does look...BIG. I mean, even without his body in the picture, or anything nearby for a size comparison. I think his face has some of the same bone structure of the other bigger kitties I've seen.

Big kitties are great. More kitty to love! :)


Thanks for sharing his photo.

[jrandom421]

87. He's mostly Maine Coon

The descendant of a rescue kitty. We figured he's mostly Maine Coon because:

1) The hugely bushy tail
2) The LONG hair, longer on his tummy than his back
3) Tufts of fur between the toes of his BIG paws
4) The broad wide muzzle and big independently rotatable ears. I swear I've seen him rotate each ear completely independent of the other. Looks like a couple of old style radar antennas.
5) The fact that he's BIG, but not fat. He was 24 lbs by the time he was 9 months old.
6) The real give away: Cats can make up to over 100 different sounds, and I swear I've heard almost all of them from him. He chirps, trills, squeaks, squawks, cheeps, chitters, whines, complains, and of course purrs. But in the 9 years he's been around, I've NEVER heard him meow, ever.

[Dangerously Amused]

89. Wow. 24 lbs by 9 mo?!

That's amazing.


Come to think of it, I had a kitty a while ago that the vet thought was at least part Maine Coon, and she had a pretty good repertoire of sounds, too. Nothing like your big guy, but pretty impressive nonetheless.

[Coyote_Bandit]

19. Put some pennies inside that pop can

and use duck tape to seal it closed. Great noisemaker and still light enough to throw as needed.

[Dangerously Amused]

22. Hey, that's a good idea!

Thanks!


(I always wondered what duct tape was for!)

[China_cat]

26. Put a couple of pennies in it

and tape the opening. You'd be surprised at what just shaking it can do.

[Dangerously Amused]

31. Good idea.

Sometimes I hiss at them, too.


:7

[Love Bug]

27. Heh. I use the "Avenging Squirt Bottle of Justice"

or the occasional slipper hocked in their direction.

[Dangerously Amused]

32. Yep.

Ralph has seen an incoming slipper or two in his day. :)

[Shine]

33. We use a spray bottle filled with vinegar water.

sometimes they get so mischievous we have to spray them a LOT and then they smell like PICKLED CATS. :rofl:

Mmmmmm.....

[Beall]

34. HAHA THATS GREAT

I hate cats and will have to remember that!

[In_The_Wind]

35. Welcome to DU ~ Beall.

*warning* DU is full of Cat Lovers!

[Shine]

36. It's what our vet recommended.

Welcome to DU, Beall!! :toast:

A tip for the lounge: 'round here, you'll have to get used to a LOT of threads about cats and the people who love them... heheh. they come with the territory.

:hi:

[Dangerously Amused]

40. Ooh, scary visual!

Pickled cats... Wasn't there a nasty urban legend like that going around a while ago? Bonsai kittens in jars or something...? :scared:


Interesting solution, though. I wonder what the vinegar did? I mean, besides smell bad.





Edit: Bad spelling.

[Shine]

75. Our vet suggested it, actually. Apparently, cats HATE the vinegar

smell, so it's good deterrent. We don't spray straight vinegar, just a diluted version of it.

and yes, i've heard of the bonsai kitties thing. It was started as a joke, never real, but still disturbing to look at...

[In_The_Wind]

37. Socks rolled into a ball will work sometimes.

[Dangerously Amused]

44. Ha ha!

Hey Joanie!



I tried that. But he thinks it's a toy and he'll pounce on it and start to wrestle it. :7


Which makes me madder. Hee hee!

[In_The_Wind]

50. Ah Hell ~ I love cats! I just laugh at their silliness!

Wrap a piece of scotched tape around his back foot.
He'll be too busy getting it off to bother you.




:hi: Dangerously Amused

[Dangerously Amused]

53. Joanie!

:loveya:


That's a great idea. :) Oh! And it reminds me of another trick I used long ago with another cat. I used to take a length of a hair ribbon and tie it simply (just one overhand loop, like the very first part of tying shoes) around the base of her tail. That would keep her occupied for at least five minutes chasing it. Hee hee!

[XemaSab]

38. What about very naughty puppies?

Especially very naughty puppies named Bailey?

[Dangerously Amused]

47. Uh oh. What did Bailey do?

Not sure if the projectile can would work. It might... :shrug: It's worth a try anyway.

I guess I've been lucky with my dogs, usually a heart-to-heart conversation with them and positive reinforcement for good behavior is enough to get them to change their ways. It's that whole hierarchy within the pack concept, I think.

But cats... there's just no reasoning with them, you know? They outright laugh at the concept of having a "master." With them sometimes you need to wage a campaign of "shock and awe" just to get them to take you seriously.

[XemaSab]

52. I've got a thread about it floating around.

:cry:

[Dangerously Amused]

55. Oh! You're sad! I'm sorry hon, I didn't see your other thread...

I hope everything is okay. I'm sure sorry if I said something to upset you. Now I'm worried...


:-(

[XemaSab]

56. Oh you didn't upset me at all

I'm just cranky from lack of sleep for the last three nights. :P

[Dangerously Amused]

58. Oh. Thank goodness!

...I mean, not about the lack of sleep... :)


:pals:

[Sanity Claws]

39. I need to see Ralph

Once I see a photo of Ralph, I'm sure I could come up with suggestions of punishments to fit his misdeeds.
If not, it gives me a chance to say, "Ahhh."

[Dangerously Amused]

43. My pleasure. I present Ralph, the Very Naughty Cat:

A little background on Ralphie. My kitty Rosemary needed a playmate, so I went to the Humane Society looking for a playful kitty. I first saw Ralph in his cage just above the front desk area. He was laying on his back and playing with his toys. Very cute. Then as I watched, he got up, looked around and spied a Humane Society worker doing some paperwork about three feet away. So he went over to his water dish and started slapping water at her. When she came over to him (laughing) he fell over onto his back again (play posture). So, yeah... I should have seen his naughty streak coming. :eyes:


:)


He also loves to be carried around the house upside down. If I hook an arm under his haunches and carry him next to my body that way, he's just relax and look around and start to purr. What a nut!

[Sanity Claws]

46. Aaaah!

I say no punishment for him! He sounds like he's full of personality. I can tell you're a loving parent.

[Dangerously Amused]

51. You're right, he does have a great personality.

When he's not being naughty. So maybe I should reframe the issue. Alrighty then:

Ralphie isn't "naughty," per se. Why, he's just... misunderstood, is all. Yes, that's it. Poor misunderstood Ralphie.


:rofl:


And thanks, yesI do love them to bits. Do you have a kitty?

[Sanity Claws]

54. Two

Oliver, a red tabby with white markings. He was about 4 months old when I adopted him. Oliver loves me to pieces but he is an Alpha cat and expects other cats to bow down to him. If I ever hear cat hisses or cries in my backyard, I'm sure Oliver is involved. BTW, he's a terrible mouser.
Sebastian, a fluffy brown tabby. He was an adult when I adopted him, about two weeks after Oliver came here. It was Sebastian's job to teach manners to Oliver. I think he understood he was a companion to Oliver and has always been very nice to him, even when Oliver would fling himself at Sebastian in a rage of jealousy. Sebastian is very wise and calm. He comforts me when I get upset or cry. He is an excellent mouser.
I don't have any photos to post but I assure you that they're both very loved.

[Dangerously Amused]

60. I love their names, Oliver and Sebastian.

And I'm certain they both are verrry loved.

Sebastian was a finalist name for my cat eventually named Henri. Who is also a brown Tabby, and seems to share much of Sebastian's personality. Oliver sounds a bit more like Ralphie.

Oh, I hope you get pictures one of these days. I would love to see them! :bounce:

[redqueen]

86. He's gorgeous!

And what a personality. :)

Thanks for sharing!

[Dangerously Amused]

90. Hey redqueen!

Thank you for the compliment (on Ralphie's behalf), I'll pass it along. I tell him he's handsome all the time, but you know how that goes... a compliment doesn't mean anything at all if it comes from Mom. :eyes:


:)

[huskerlaw]

42. I bought a Super Soaker

one of the smaller ones, but the range is fabulous. I think I had to use it about 5 times (and only aimed NEAR the cat, not actually AT the cat) and now the mere sight of it sends him running.

[Dangerously Amused]

63. Sounds like a good investment.

Do you find that it also works on, say... teenagers?

[huskerlaw]

72. Hmmm.

I dunno, I don't have any of those :shrug:

[bertha katzenengel]

49. Good advice, D.A. We also use Can Of Air.

Works like a charm. Just beware: do not spray Can Of Air at bad cat while good cat is sleeping in your lap. Unless you like going to the emergency room for stitches.

:hi: D.A.

[Dangerously Amused]

65. Hey Bertha!

Ouchie! Lesson taken. How many stitches did you get?

[bertha katzenengel]

66. *blink*

OMG :rofl: I love that smiley! :rofl:



:rofl:

Okay: no stitches. We've just learned that that hissing sound (note: the air doesn't have to come anywhere near the cat) is enough to send every cat within 100 yards scrambling for cover.

But we do get our laps scratched when the pizza man knocks. OUCH!

[Dangerously Amused]

68. I love that smilie too!

Whew, glad to hear there were no stitches. (Yet.) Re: the pizza guy, though. Now that I can understand. I mean, come on... we're talkin' pizza!

[Oeditpus Rex]

67. You named your cat Ralph?

Marry me. Now.

[Dangerously Amused]

69. Ralph Edward, to be exact.

Can we still get married?


Ooohhhh, I've never been a bride before!

[Oeditpus Rex]

70. What's his last name?

Cool acronyms in pets' names are vital to wedded bliss.



But Ralph is like the all-time goober name. :thumbsup:

Lois Lane, interviewing Superman in the first film:

"Do you have a first name?"

"What, you mean like Ralph or something?"

:rofl:

[Dangerously Amused]

71. Well if we get married...

...I'll probably have him change his last name to yours when I do. Just to avoid confusion and all.


So he'll be Ralph Edward Rex and I'll be Dangerously Amused Rex. :7

[Oeditpus Rex]

73. We can't have that

RER would be cool, especially vocally.

But you cannot be a Daughter of the American Revolution.

Besides, "DA" fits with your profession.

Anyway, I don't go for all that sexist name-changin' bit. I think it'd be cool if both people hyphenated their names, though.

[Dangerously Amused]

77. What do you mean, "We can't have that"?

Now you don't want to marry me because of the way our initials would fit together?


:cry:

[Oeditpus Rex]

80. Not if they spell an asshat organization

Guy's gotta have standards.

[Dangerously Amused]

81. Hey, it's YOUR last name causing THAT problem!

If initials are a deal-breaker for you, then why didn't you figure out our initials BEFORE you asked me to marry you?

Geez. Break hearts much? :cry:

[Oeditpus Rex]

82. Hey, I told'ja I'd co-hyphenate with ya

Y'want an egg in it too? :shrug:

[Dangerously Amused]

84. Yeah, but...

...even if we both hyphenate, I'll STILL be DAR.

And you'll be ORA.


Why don't you change your name to Oeditpus Mex? Then I can be DAM.

[Oeditpus Rex]

85. I could do that

It'd give me an excuse to put shorter springs on my El Camino to give it that "low and slow" look. :thumbsup:



"I need a ride in your truck-o to the next town-o."

[Dangerously Amused]

88. Okay so then...

... I would be DAM, as in Hot Dam, which is awesome.

Ralphie would be REM, which is pretty cool.


But then you would be OMA. (grannie?)

[Oeditpus Rex]

92. Or OMA as in

And, yup — I had one. :thumbsup:

[Dangerously Amused]

93. Wow, that's one crazy weapon.

Don't let Rummy get ahold of the idea or he'll give Halliburton a no-bid contract to manufacture a brazillion of them. For when we invade Iran. Then when the soldiers complain that their guns are cheap plastic toys, he'll tell them to quit whining, that you don't fight a war with the weapons you want, you fight a war with the weapons you have.


:mad:

[Oeditpus Rex]

95. Cheap plastic toys my bum!

I trashed my entire neighborhood with that sucka.



Then we had to move. :cry:

[Dangerously Amused]

97. No, no NO!

You have NOT been drinking the Kool Aid!

You liberated an entire neighborhood with that sucka. See? You were spreading freedom and democracy to those heathens. And they loved you for destroying their homes and killing their children. Because that's exactly what Jesus would do. Get it?

Sheesh. What are you, some kind of violent liberal? :eyes:

[Oeditpus Rex]

98. I was nine years old

All I knew from Kool-Aid was...

Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid — tastes great!
Wish we had some — can't wait!

Of course, a few years later...

[meow2u3]

78. I just threw Boots in the shower

He tried to stick his nosy big body into the shower and one of my friends simply shoved him in there. Needless to say, this Dirty Louse needed a little lesson taught to him.

[Dangerously Amused]

94. Funny.

I had a friend whose cat would jump up on the toilet tank and watch him intently the entire time he took a bath. If he took a shower instead and closed the shower curtain, kitty would jump from the bathroom counter top to the top of the cabinet over the toilet, and look down into the shower from there.

:rofl:

Little voyeur!

[MiwSher]

91. To Squirt or Not To Squirt

My calico Bailey (now deceased) had a favorite easy chair she would claw. So I bought a water pistol. The next time I caught her in the act, I gave a squirt and got her right upside the head. She shook herself and looked around in shock. I thought "Ha! Gotcha!" Right. She gave a huffy sort of pissed off growl, looked the chair up and down and proceeded to beat the snot out of it. So much for the pistol. Ah well, I wouldn't have been able to use it again anyways. I was laughing too hard.

My longhair male Percy is your basic bully. My s.o. decided to fill a pump spray bottle with water and use that. Be darned! Now Percy just has to see my s.o. walk towards the bottle and he (Percy, that is) runs like greased lightning! Beauty! There's just one hitch. Percy whacks at the bottle when I pick it up, looking at me as if to say "You an' what army??"

I love my cats. Really. I do.

MiwSher

[Dangerously Amused]

96. Cats with attitude.

I'll bet they gave you a lot of laughs through the years. :)

[MiwSher]

99. Lots of Laughs and Lots of Love

Yep they sure did. I was blessed to have Bailey for 17 years and Pearl for 20 years before they passed. Percy and Weebles are both around 4 or 5 years old now.

MiwSher