Cats tend to meow at you for a number of reasons. While some cats meow more than others, no matter which breed of cat you do have it is likely to drive you mad at some point if it is constantly meowing.

Understanding Why Your Cat is Meowing

One reason why a cat may meow more than usual is the fact that they may have realized that by meowing they will get exactly what they want. Due to this, they then start to use it to their advantage all of the time.

It could just start off with the cat wanting some attention and affection, but after the cat gets exactly what they want they start to meow more often to get other things that they want also. This is when they start to meow just because they want to. Something that can aggravate the situation, could be the fact that they are feeling bored or they are kept on their own a lot of the time. So if your cat does spend a large number of hours on their own, you may want to look at changing that by getting them a companion.

Controlling Your Cats Constant Meowing

Something that may help when you think that your cat is bored is to play some games with them and this should be done daily. Playing games with your cat will ensure that they get exercise, as well as keeping them preoccupied. To help with the demands of your cat, only attend to them when they are not meowing and when they are calm and collected. Do not let the cat intimidate you, or make you feel guilty as this is basically just giving into their demands. If you do give in you will only make the situation worse and the cat will use this against you. Your cat will need to learn that if they are quiet they will then get rewarded with what they require, whether it is food or whether it is to be stroked and played with.

Some owners enjoy nothing more than talking to their cats and they enjoy it even more when the cats respond to them. However, you may want to teach them to be quiet when you say so. To train them in this, start off by asking them to shush. This method may not work, so be a bit more forceful and tell them to be quiet. Once again this may not work, so if it doesn’t you can always squirt them with a little water and that should do the trick. However, the emphasis is on a ‘little’ water – do not soak your cat through as they tend to get the message with just a little squirt.

Overall the above tips should help you to train your cat not to meow all of the time. It may take a while but if you persist with the training it will be worthwhile.

For more tips, ideas, and articles on training your new cat please visit my blog entitled cat-training-expert.blogspot.com Cat Training.

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Dogs and Cats. Eternal enemies, right? Through proper dog home obedience training you can teach your animals to live together.

The first mistake that most pet owners make when introducing their pet dogs and cats is to allow them to make their own introductions. This is a mistake! As I stated above, these two species are eternal enemies. You can’t just set one down near the other and expect great results. (Ok, I know that can happen and does happen, but my job here is to teach you about dog home obedience training. My version of training calls for prevention with dogs and cats rather than creating a problem and then being forced to fix it. As Mom used to say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.) There is a good deal of prevention that should be used before allowing your dogs and cats to co-exist.

Whether you are introducing a new cat to a home with a dog or vice versa I want you to start out the same way. Start out by using your trusty dog crate. Put your dog in the crate and allow the cat to be in the same room. There are several possible outcomes to this action :

1. Your dog shows complete indifference. This is ideal. If your dog behaves like this you will have a quick transition.

2. Your dog shows fear. This is not ideal but it will make the transition easier than some other outcomes.

3. Your dog shows nervousness and anxiety. He whines, he paces in the crate, paws at the door of the crate, etc. This behavior tells you that he wants out. There is something about that cat that is exciting and he wants to know what it is.

4. Your dog shows overt aggression. He barks, claws at the door of the crate, and he knows exactly what he wants to do with that cat. This is going to be the toughest dog to train, but it can be done.

For the first few days don’t let your dogs and cats near each other. Keep the dog in the crate. This doesn’t mean you need to keep him in the crate 24/7. When you want him out of the crate just make sure that your cat is shut off in another bedroom to avoid contact. What you hope to accomplish with this action is to train your dog to be indifferent to the cat. You want your dog to view the cat as ‘background noise’. The cat is inconsequential, the cat doesn’t matter, there is nothing interesting or exciting about the cat. In other words, your dog is safely tucked away in the crate and casually observes the cat move around the house. For categories 1 and 2 this will be simple. It will take no more than a day or two for your dog to think of your cat as just another ‘thing’ in the house. Categories 3 and 4 will take more training and time.

For categories 3 and 4 you need to attach a negative association to showing cat aggression. To do this, get a spray bottle. Fill the bottle with either plain water, water mixed with lemon juice, or for very stubborn dogs, water with vinegar. At this point, your dog is still tucked away safely in the crate. The next part of training will be conducted while you are sitting near the crate, ready for action. The instant your dog shows aggression (barks at the cat, claws at the door, whines in frustration, etc.) toward the cat spray him in the face with your spray bottle. Every time he shows aggression spray him with the bottle. When he isn’t showing aggression give him soft praise, “Good boy”.


Make sure that your dog never gets a chance to show aggression toward the cat without having a bad experience. This means that you must always be ready with the spray bottle or make sure the cat isn’t near the dog. If you aren’t vigilant and your dog has the chance to show aggression with no adverse consequence, you are training him to show cat aggression.


If you are consistent with this exercise you will soon notice that your dog will show less and less aggression while in the crate, it just isn’t worth the squirt in the face for him. You are on your way to getting your dogs and cats to co-exist.

When your feel comfortable that your dog is indifferent to the cat move on to the next step. As I said, for categories 1 and 2 this is probably one or two days after beginning the crate training. For categories 3 and 4 get your dog to the point where he is indifferent and maintains that attitude for several days if not a week.

The next step is to get your dog out of the crate and get those dogs and cats together at last! You are going to move slowly, though. Put your

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A dog’s way of communicating is with their bark. This is perfectly normal behavior. Excessive or loud, unwanted barking is not appropriate and can be annoying to you as well as others. There are all kinds of reason why a dog barks. He may be alarming you that something is on or near his area. It could be cats, squirrels or even your neighbors. They don’t like their space to be invaded. They could be trying to tell you they want attention and feel frustrated. Maybe they are just having fun. The list goes on and on for reasons your dog barks. You wouldn’t want to train your dog to stop barking completely but they can to be taught to control unnecessary barking. It will increase your dog’s ability to communicate with you if they learn to bark at the proper time. They need to know how to act if there is a real problem. It takes patience to stop unwanted barking. Remember that different types of dogs bark more than others.

Making sure your dog gets enough exercise is one way to start getting his barking under control. Lack of exercise will cause poor conduct, including nuisance barking. Walking around your yard is not enough. They should have brisk exercise every day. Mental stimulation is also very important. When dogs are in training they actively are figuring out problems. They are learning obedience, listening to cues and putting them into action. If they are bored, they will bark more. Stimulation will curve the boredom and the barking.

Sometimes your dog will bark uncontrollably when you go away. This is called separation anxiety. Take small trips at first and let treats or toys with him. This will teach him to behave when you are away and not feel so anxious. The more his behavior improves the longer you can stay away. Crating your dog is another idea. Crates are a safe environment once he gets used to it. They actually start to view it as their hideaway or haven.

It is very common for dogs to bark when someone comes to the door. Teach him to do something different and re-enforce it when he barks. You could try using a “down” or “sit” command. This will show him what you want him to do.

Another option is to keep your dog from things that trigger his barking. Play music or turn on the television to cover outside sounds. Don’t let him have access to the windows. If this doesn’t work than allow him to bark three or four times and say quiet in a normal tone of voice. Then shake a can of marbles or money. This should make him stop. Call him over to you and ask him to sit. Offer him a treat.

If none of this works than you probably need advice from an animal or veterinary behaviorist. As a last resort you could use a bark collar. It has a vibration sensor that only picks up the dogs barking. It may squirt citronella spray, give off an ultrasonic piercing sound or mild electricity shock. The collar is effective and should correct excessive barking.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to dog-training-guided.com/ Dog Training

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Sam and I had decided to take a trip to Fishguard and he had packed his bags in next-to-no-time. He believed in travelling light, so his gear weighed somewhat less than mine. I saw that he had brought an old slipper and a large pig’s ear.

Giving him baked pig’s ears as treats went against my vegetarian beliefs, but the consumption of meat was one thing on which Sam and I disagreed and he had long since insisted on his daily diet of tripe and beef. I could hardly argue with his philosophy that we must each follow our own star. Sam’s philosophies always seemed somehow to be beyond argument.

Because he gazed at me pleadingly I relaxed a rule and let him sit beside me in the Shogun. Sam had never taken to being treated like a dog and banished to the back, despite having more room there than at the front with me. It was a question of principle, I think … along with the fact that he had always been partial to travelling with one paw on my knee!

Sitting in the front, with his seat-belt firmly fastened, Sam looked every inch a person – until passing pedestrians or motorists peered closer and discovered to their astonishment that they were in fact seeing a Samson.

It was a perfect morning for our drive to Pembrokeshire. Crossing first to north Gower, our route took us through leafy lanes beneath an azure sky. My heart felt light and Sam’s paw on my knee felt protective as well as loving. What could be better than setting off with him on another adventure?

From Llanelli we went via Burry Port and Kidwelly to Carmarthen, after which it was the A40 to Haverfordwest and on to our destination.

With Sam acting as navigator upon arrival in Fishguard (his nose being more reliable than my map-reading) we soon found the farm where we were to stay. Built of stone and set in a sheltered hollow away from sea-winds, it was a traditional farmhouse with a warm welcome waiting. Mrs Gilbert ushered us in talking nineteen-to-the-dozen and we were soon meeting some of her residents, including several donkeys and a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. Naturally Sam knew better than to mention to him the pig’s ear he had eaten on our journey.

I too had eaten en route so after being shown to our cosy room there was no need to delay before setting off for pastures new. I had seen a signpost to Strumble Head and this very definitely beckoned, especially after Mrs G mentioned the seals and dolphins in residence, along with puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and many others. I had once read how the northern fulmar defended itself against intruders – by squirting stinking oil, produced from its stomach, over them! Perhaps if Sam were subjected to this treatment his fascination with birds would cease. Perhaps, on the other hand, it would increase!

We drove onto the Head, which was as wild and rugged as any headland we had visited. Parking near the lighthouse I opened the car door, only to have it almost blown off its hinges by the wind. It might be summer elsewhere but this coast was being well and truly buffeted. How rocky it was – how spectacular! And there were staggering views across Cardigan Bay and St George’s Channel. There were also sea birds seemingly everywhere. Could I see an albatross in the far distance? No, but it was one of the few birds that I could not see!

For obvious reasons I kept Sam securely on-lead. How he longed to be free! But he made the best of things and, in between gazing skywards and wishing, found some simply delicious sniffs. We walked for miles along that incredible coastline and worked up hearty appetites that we satisfied later in an ancient inn. After such an extensive buffeting, and with so much good food inside me, once my head hit the pillow I knew nothing till morning.

Sam and I were awoken by a ‘cock-a-doodle-do’. This was a sound I often heard at home, but not from so close. We also had peacocks in Pennard and it had taken me quite a while to establish the source of their rather raucous talk. The cockerel was telling Sam and me in no uncertain terms that it was time to get up and have breakfast.

But I had forgotten to mention that I was a vegetarian. I soon saw my error when Mrs G proudly put in front of me a plate containing two eggs, fried bread, grilled tomatoes, several sizzling bacon rashers, kidneys and sausages. Too late to tell her now! I couldn’t bear to see that beaming smile fade from her face. So I’d have to think of some alternative, enlisting the help of someone sitting not too far from me – someone who might not be averse to a sausage or three.

Sam showed no aversion as I slid the kidneys under the table, quickly following these with rashers of bacon. In fact, there was considerable danger of our hostess hearing him gobbling and licking his lips. But she didn’t, so once the sausages had cooled a little I gave these to him too in quickly digestible chunks. And from beneath the tablecloth I saw him gazing soulfully at me as if in love!

Bringing me toast and more tea and clearing my commendably empty plate away, Mrs G commented how she liked a hearty appetite, adding: “I haven’t forgotten Sam, no indeed. I hope he’s fond of sausages because I’ve saved him these three!”

Copyright: Pamela Glynn

Paw note: ‘I was too gentlemanly to tell on mum so I just had to have a second breakfast. And I didn’t complain, even when I felt I might be getting tummy ache. How’s that for devoted selflessness?’

I think it was probably writing stories about Sam years ago for the Southern Counties Bearded Collie Club’s ‘Beardie Times’ that gave me the confidence to move on to novels. I’m now a published author, often exploring spirituality and/or the elusive nature of Time. I’ve recently completed two e-books, the first of which follows a baby bird along his most unusual path to maturity. This can be read on two levels – simply as an adventure, or also as a journey toward personal development – and can be accessed via the link: dustysjourney.com dustysjourney.com
(10% of proceeds from sales go to support animal charities worldwide)
The Portrait (a love story across time) can be found at: pglynn.co.uk pglynn.co.uk

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Please don’t do what I hear you say. Well I will explain.

The reason I have felt compelled to write this article is that, as a big fan of the feline, I am staggered by the number of people that have problems training their cats, despite following very good training guides. It just seems to be something built into human nature and something everybody overlooks.

I’m not going to waffle on about general cat training and kitten training methods. There are loads of great books, DVDs and, more recently, downloadable eBooks available from the internet on this subject. All I will say is that, whichever method you prefer, make sure you get hold of ‘good quality’ training materials.

But while you are training your cat, please bear this in mind;

“Do not praise or reward your cat for exhibiting behaviour you don’t want to see”.

While this sounds really obvious, people still do it! Perhaps it’s because cats are notoriously devious in their seemingly endless number of ways of manipulating humans and often catch us off guard. But more likely we just haven’t got this idea fixed strongly enough in our mindset.

Let me illustrate with an example.

You finally make it to bed after a hard day at work and you feel your eyes begin to close. Now guess whose eyes are, at that very moment, starting to do the exact opposite. Cats are naturally nocturnal and, without training, will remain so. Now when your wide awake moggy jumps on your bed, attacks your toes & nuzzles your face, there could be any number of things on its mind. What do you do as a cat loving person in this situation?

Well I’ll tell you what most people will do. They will get up and give their adorable pet some food or even treats. Or they will stroke their cat lovingly for a few minutes until it ’seems’ like they might actually leave you alone. Anything to get their cat out of their bedroom in the hope it will give them a good night’s sleep.

So now, what does your cat associate with this behaviour you really don’t want? Getting rewards! If your moggy has this state of mind, don’t even think about resorting to more extreme tactics like locking them out of the bedroom, not if you want any paint left on the door that is.

Cats have to associate unpleasant things, things that bring no satisfaction or benefit to them, with inappropriate actions. It’s the practise of being cruel to be kind. But you don’t have to be really cruel to your cat like throwing it off the bed or shouting at it (unlikely to work anyway). Just ignoring it will soon work wonders! If your cat is particularly persistent, keep something nearby the bed that you can use to remind your cat not to do this in future. How about something your cat really hates the smell of? Or something to make a sound they hate? Or my personal favourite, and much more entertaining, a small water pistol. Now I don’t mean jet-washing your moggy out of the door. I’ve yet to meet one cat that likes even a small amount of water being sprayed onto them. Just a quick squirt and they’ll be off and, very soon, won’t keep coming back expecting anything else.

And better still, you can apply these techniques to just about any ‘bad’ behaviour your cats exhibit.

I hope this advice helps some of you out there to enjoy a more ‘co-operative’ relationship with your cats.

Best Wishes,
Dave

Dave Cocker is owner and publisher of eproductselect.com eproductselect.com, reviewing and recommending top online and downloadable eProducts on a variety of subjects including training pets, aiming to find those products that offer great content and fantastic value, helping people to navigate through the minefield of sub-standard eProducts.

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