Is it possible to train a cat to do anything?

[SparklyUnicorn]

Specifically I'd like to train my cat not to come on my bed.  I know, why not just shut the door?  Because as odd as it sounds there is no door to my bedroom (difficult to explain).  I don't mind if she sleeps at the end of my bed, but she likes to basically sleep on my face and that's not helping the allergy situation.  So surely..there must be a way to heavily discourage her from doing this (that isn't too mean).

 

 

[BarbecueMom]

Put a pile of laundry at the end of the bed for her to sleep on? Then tell her not to sleep on it (reverse psychology thing).

 

Mine does the face thing too. And the knees, where you can't move and wake up in aching agony.

[VaKim]

Is there a room with a door that you could shut her in at night with her litter box and food and water? You could also try a spray bottle and squirt her every time she gets on the bed. This will require keeping her off all the time though, and being consistent. Might also require some crazy sleepless nights for you. I had a cat that liked to sleep on my face, but thankfully, my bedroom has a door, lol.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Is there a room with a door that you could shut her in at night with her litter box and food and water? You could also try a spray bottle and squirt her every time she gets on the bed. This will require keeping her off all the time though, and being consistent. Might also require some crazy sleepless nights for you. I had a cat that liked to sleep on my face, but thankfully, my bedroom has a door, lol.

 

I could put her downstairs.  I may have to do it.  Problem is though that she will howl and hem and haw about it (and my kids are downstairs and will be driven crazy by her until she gets over it..LOL). 

I thought about the squirt bottle idea.  It sounds mean, but having to rehome her would be meaner for the both of us.

[heartlikealion]

Jackson Galaxy says that spraying them just teaches them to not do something when you are around or to be afraid of you. So, say, you aren't around. The cat will still go on the bed. Then if you have allergies they might be sleeping where you sleep and may not help with the allergy thing. Or maybe you are only disturbed if they are there by your pillow while you are in the bed.

 

http://catingtonpost.com/jackson-galaxy-says-stop-using-a-squirt-bottle-to-discipline-your-cat

 

My kitty only did that when she was very young. I moved her to the foot of the bed and somehow she kinda just started sleeping away from my face. Sometimes, like today, she curled up beside my belly. I don't understand the rhyme or reason. I maybe just got lucky. And now sometimes I miss her being near lol. But when we first got her having her near my face made my throat itchy so I think I had some type of allergic reaction. Really not sure if there's a good way to train her.

[Word Nerd]

We apparently trained ours to stand at the door meowing to go out, then change his mind when the door is open. Then change his mind again a few minutes later and go out. Grr.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Does she sleep there when you're not in bed?

If so, I'd try putting down a long sheet of tin foil. It will probably deter her. Or maybe not. Cats are crazy.

 

Nope.

 

I thought about the foil.  Maybe I could tolerate foil on my pillow.  LOL 

 

She follows me around all day and night.  No joke.  She is super attached to me.  So it's rather heartbreaking that I have to possibly do something not so nice to get her to not sleep on my pillow.  I have to come up with something though!

 

Maybe I'll just have to keep putting her at the end of the bed time after time.  For about a week now she hasn't been on my pillow, but then this morning I woke up with her on my face. *sigh* 

[SparklyUnicorn]

We apparently trained ours to stand at the door meowing to go out, then change his mind when the door is open. Then change his mind again a few minutes later and go out. Grr.

 

Haha.  Yeah in winter we shut the doors between the two floors so sometimes she wants to go and hang out in the hallway between floors (we live in an entire two family).  So there is this piece of door seal that kinda broke off and is hanging there.  She pulls at it with her teeth and it makes a snapping sound.  She does this when she wants us to let her back in.  So we hear snap snap snap.  So we open the door and she comes in, but sometimes she just stands there looking at me.  So I say come on..come in.  Nope.  She just stands there.  So I shut the door and two seconds later...snap snap....and I open the door again.  LOL  This can go on several times.  It's like a sort of game she plays. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Do cats hate some type of oil, like mint or lavender? Maybe you could put a tiny dot of something on your pillow? Of course, that may make your allergies worse...

 

I'll have to see if there is something they don't like that I don't mind.  Lavender is a no go for me, but maybe there is something else. 

 

As I type this she is on my desk and I've got my keyboard on top of her body because she decided to just sprawl out all over my desk.  LOL

[Elizabeth86]

Does she sleep there when you're not in bed?

If so, I'd try putting down a long sheet of tin foil. It will probably deter her. Or maybe not. Cats are crazy.

I had heard this, but never tried it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

She's nuts.  This is what she is doing right now.

 

[creekland]

It's totally possible to teach them to DO things.  It's rather difficult to teach them NOT to do things.  They are, after all, rather independent critters quite akin to many human personalities.  ;)

 

I'd be passive aggressive and do something "nice" that annoyed her so much she'd choose to sleep elsewhere - along with putting treats in the area I wanted her to sleep in.  Discourage one and encourage the other to get them to make the decision.  What annoys a cat depends upon the cat, but playing with their tail and or paws are common things they dislike.  It's "nice" because it isn't actually hurting them like a swat would, but...

 

Another option is a scent they don't like (citrus is common), but I don't know how that would affect you.  Peeling an orange nightly and keeping the fresh peels where she sleeps could also easily do the trick and would be worth a try.  Most humans aren't affected by real citrus AFAIK.

[heartlikealion]

careful, some oils are toxic to cats. I don't know how much would be an issue, but I just try to be mindful of that.

[MotherGoose]

Baby gate in the doorway?

[trulycrabby]

I trained one of my verbal cats to do talk back. Here's the banter:

 

Me: "I say meow and you say..."

 

Cat: "Meow!"

 

So far, my husband and son will answer back 100% of the time; cat 85%. ;)

[trulycrabby]

She's nuts. This is what she is doing right now.

 

 

So sad. I cannot see your adorable kitty. :(

[Tammi K]

The best way to teach it NOT to do something is to teach it to DO something else. (I'm channeling my inner Karen Pryor)

 

So, perhaps teach it to sleep in a basket or pad on the floor.  

 

I really recommend 'Don't Shoot the Dog' for lots of suggestions on HOW to accomplish the teaching.

 

[Tanaqui]

Lots of ways, but they're hard to enforce while you're asleep.

 

You can work on training her to prefer to sleep on the foot of your bed, or on a cushion near your bed... but in the end, given this specific situation, it's just going to be more effective to hole her up somewhere else at bedtime.

[momacacia]

😂😂😂

 

(I'm not laughing at your allergies or even the specific situation, but that you mentioned training a cat. 😂😂😂 Sorry.)

[MistyMountain]

I did "train" my cat for that. He got booted off the bed any time he came too close like that when I am sleeping and he learned to sleep on the end of the bed until I wake up when he gets in my face and starts purring.

Edited September 1, 2017 by MistyMountain

[Jean in Newcastle]

My cat is trained to "speak" for his supper. He knows the word "food". He's also trained to go to his room at bedtime. We have to go down with him and shut the door though or he will come looking for us to be properly put to bed. He's the second cat that we've trained this way.

 

 

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[eternalsummer]

I think you have it backwards with cats.  You train dogs. Cats train you.

[Terabith]

The short answer:  depends on the cat.  Some are very trainable.  But even the most trainable cat is going to be tough to train while you are asleep.  I don't see a good way to enforce this.  You could try to create alternative sleeping areas that are appealing.  But it may be a long road. 

[BarbecueMom]

So I just remembered why I have a cat-face problem. She thinks she's "helping".

 

If I have a stomach ache (when don't I), she lays across it. If my back hurts, she plops herself down on my back. When I sprained my elbow, she "immobilized it".

 

Last time I had a sinus infection she tried to suffocate me. When my nose is clogged due to allergies or a cold, she tends to hover around my head more.

 

Anyway, she may have discovered your recent throat issues (how is that BTW?) and thinks Nurse Cat can fix everything the doctors can't. I can actually tell when I'm getting sick by watching the cat. It's a bit freaky.

 

One other thing you could try, which might be more annoying or allergy-inducing than it's worth, is to point a small fan toward you while you're sleeping. Mine's not really thrilled with the fan, so she sleeps out of the way, but it does cause more sinus drainage issues in me.

[SparklyUnicorn]

What the hell is wrong with photobucket.  Geesh.  I saw the pic yesterday.  I'll try to fix the picture. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

let's see if this works 

 

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/72UnqYEj2kfQFhCzzWtkotujjz8nZmdcScolqHYFxOO

[heartlikealion]

It worked. Lol @ your cat

[AmandaVT]

When I met DH, he had a cat that he had trained to fetch. His specialty was fetching quarters. That cat was awesome. 

 

Training a cat not to do something is much harder. Your kitty is cute though!