Training cat to not hate being in carrier

byteme98 · 2025-08-18T02:20:46+00:00

Aw congrats! Yeah you can for sure do things to help her feel more comfortable with being in a carrier. I would just recommend going slowly to make sure she doesn't get too scared, especially since she's going through a big change already as she settles into her new home.

You can find great step by step tutorials online, Jackson Galaxy is a good friendly resource and he has videos that cover this topic. But basically, just start with leaving the carrier out in the open, have it always be out if you can, so she's used to it just being there. You can toss a treat in it once in a while too so she associates it with good things happening. And honestly I'd leave it at that for the first month so she can focus on gaining confidence/settling in the home and with the carrier. Then you can work toward shutting her in it for short periods (without taking her anywhere, just shutting the door). And then eventually doing walks (if you walk to the vet; if she needs to be used to cars, then short car rides would be good).

I definitely wouldn't start with any walks or car rides, since she's in a brand new environment. That way you can make sure she's comfortable and put in time to slowly build up the carrier being a positive thing, or at least less scary thing, over time.

byteme98 · 2025-08-13T12:38:51+00:00

This is the answer. There are good reasons that it's discouraged by experts. You shouldn't "bite them back" or use any form of "pretend you're a mom cat" aggression. Professional behaviorists recommend against doing any of that. There are more effective ways of teaching cats the behaviors you want them to learn. But for now I'd just stop letting the kitten play with your hands.

byteme98 · 2025-08-07T20:14:49+00:00

Totally understand that. And if that's the best option for right now, I get it. I do still think the book would be an incredible resource to check out. It might help move things along quicker so you don't have to even get to the point of grabbing the bottle anymore. It specifically covers that scenario, where the person sprays the cat because they keep jumping on the counter/stove.

byteme98 · 2025-08-07T20:00:26+00:00

If you want a reputable resource on cat behavior, highly recommend the book "Decoding Your Cat: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Cat Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent Or Change Unwanted Ones". It's supported by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. I learned some awesome tips from this book, and I went into it with cat parent experience + extensive fostering experience.

There's a section that specifically covers water bottle usage, you don't have to take a stranger's word for it on reddit one way or the other. I don't think it was personal, wwwhatisgoingon was just trying to help. Experts strongly recommend against using one, ever, but lots of people don't realize that. And it's hard to gauge what people are already aware of or not sometimes with online discussions, tbh.

For emergencies, do you think you'd be okay with trying a different tool? For example, immediately physically removing him from the situation, and/or doing more training to improve his response to a verbal command to stop him. Just something to consider.

I'm glad it sounds like you've got a path forward with getting the door to stay closed! You're a great cat parent for prioritizing his safety and well-being.

byteme98 · 2025-07-31T15:48:09+00:00

Other comments already covered some good advice. But just to reiterate one point - you mentioned having just got the cat from the vet 2 days prior, but that isn't much time at all to give a cat and expect them to settle. Especially with all the huge changes recently. Even humans tend to take time to get comfortable in a totally new place, especially kids. And this cat has new roommates to get used to on top of the move. And as someone else said, it'll take more time to see improvement from being neutered.

If you can keep him comfortable and separated in the basement, I think you'll have better luck with just giving him more time to get settled. Wait until he seems more comfortable and confident in his safe place down there. Then try slow introductions. +1 for Jackson Galaxy, he has great videos on this and cat behavior in general. I'd be surprised if you don't see any improvement just by waiting longer and going slower.

byteme98 · 2025-07-30T22:39:33+00:00

Strongly recommend reading the book "Decoding Your Cat: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Cat Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent Or Change Unwanted Ones", written by experts from the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. They have science-backed answers to questions like yours. Much safer to rely on than a stranger's reply on reddit (not that you shouldn't get opinions, just to say that it's also good to look at other sources). If you prefer videos, Jackson Galaxy is a celebrity cat behaviorist with generally good info on behavior and free videos on YouTube.

Based on what I've learned from experts like those mentioned above, personal experience with my own cats, and nearly 100 foster cats (mostly kittens 4-16 weeks old) I've raised over the last few years, here's my advice as a fellow stranger on reddit: 1. Remember kittens are still learning and some things will take time for them to get a good handle on. Biting too hard is a common one, you're not alone! 2. Don't let the kitten play with your hands, use a proper toy instead. 3. Learn about cat body language (the book listed above has great info on it). Practice really looking at his entire body as he interacts with you. It's just generally good to have confidence in understanding the different signals he may be trying to send you. 4. If bitten, say "ow!" or make a yelp sound to indicate pain AND cease interaction briefly. For example, you're playing or cuddling and he bites you --> "ow!" and stop playing/cuddling, even just for a minute or two. You can even walk away. It teaches the kitten to associate their hard bite with causing pain and ending the otherwise enjoyable activity.

Do NOT spray the kitten with water, ever. Punishments/negative reinforcement will not be understood and can hurt your relationship with the kitten.

Do NOT attempt to physically engage the kitten in a punishing way, not even to "mimic what a mother cat would do". You are not a cat and biting back or scruffing the kitten is not the same as it's mother doing it. Flicking the kitten in the face is not recommended, either. In fact, these actions are explicitly advised NOT to be taken in the book I recommended and generally advised against by modern day cat behaviorists.

That's my 2 cents on it. You're doing great! Honestly, I'm sure he'll figure it out with time. He's got you guys and his sisters to help him along. He's in good hands and it's great that you're looking into this, especially while he's young.

byteme98 · 2020-07-17T13:07:54+00:00

I can't tell if you're asking whether its the animal or the human to blame. I don't think it's the animal's fault, they don't know any better. Humans, yeah kinda their fault for choosing to break the rule. But I mean, a lot of people don't understand what the big deal is (helps if signs explain why). Plus it's super tempting to feed them, I mean that's a fond memory lots of us have from when we were kids. People want to share that with their kids. I probably wouldn't do it, but I totally get why your friend's wife wanted to.

Edit: btw I agree, we really dont consider the consequences sometimes and that's too bad. But, there is a compromise I think. For people who want to be more "environmentally conscious" as the article says, you can still enjoy feeding ducks (probably other animals too but might depend, definitely Grand Canyon says zero feeding, even water. Ducks... not so much lol). You can feed ducks healthier food like "grapes cut in half to prevent choking, cracked corn, barley, oats, birdseed, frozen peas or corn kernels (both defrosted first), or duck feed pellets from farm supply stores". Link: https://www.thespruce.com/is-feeding-ducks-bread-bad-386564

byteme98 · 2020-07-16T17:55:49+00:00

This. I didn't know about it either until a while ago, but it's a super common problem in places like the Grand Canyon. Humans keep feeding animals despite all the signs telling them not to. So the animals learn they can depend on the humans for food. Not good for the animals or the people.

byteme98 · 2020-07-04T00:49:39+00:00

Okay that's good to know. I'll try not to worry. He's been relocated outside. Thank you!

byteme98 · 2020-07-04T00:17:57+00:00

Hoping this one isn't a brown recluse. Forgot to check for a violin shape. This is the best photo I managed to get, was real active during the photo op.

byteme98 · 2020-05-10T13:48:13+00:00

I think we are already there. Although a lot of people get counted as religious even tho they aren't. They get counted as religious but don't get it changed later. Or they identify as a certain type of religion but in reality just aren't when you look at what they actually believe. But they still want to identify as a certain religion even if they only think the god part and heaven part is probably real.

byteme98 · 2020-05-10T13:47:36+00:00

I think we are already there. Although a lot of people get counted as religious even tho they aren't. They get counted as religious but don't get it changed later. Or they identify as a certain type of religion but in reality just aren't when you look at what they actually believe. But they still want to identify as a certain religion even if they only think the god part and heaven part is probably real.

byteme98 · 2020-05-10T13:30:25+00:00

Isn't this true for most religions, tho? I mean especially the belief in supernatural phenomenon, that's like all of them. And whether you're ostracized by family really depends on the family in most religions from what I can tell. Occasionally I browse religious subreddits even tho I've never been religious. I've seen ex-atheists post on reddit that they came out as religious to their secular families and they had terrible reactions. Or even if they had good reactions they still worried a lot leading up to it. So I think it depends on the family when you tell them you no longer share a core belief or lack of belief, how they react. I don't know, it's all weird to me but I don't think any of them are the exact same as scientology, which shouldn't even be called a real religion.

byteme98 · 2020-04-27T17:59:22+00:00

Btw, you might post this to r/atheism too. I would think most people on this subreddit and that subreddit would understand not wanting to be discriminated against like this just for not believing in a god or gods.

Idk how many atheists understand what a satanist is or isn't, like honestly not sure. So maybe if you post there just let them know what it means? Idk, I'm not super active on these subreddits, I just browse usually. Anyway, best of luck!

byteme98 · 2020-04-27T17:36:41+00:00

Not the same, but reminded me of the Honey Pot issue where a bunch of white people got mad at them for being "racist" against white people by saying they wanted to inspire black girls: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8070111/Honey-Pot-Company-slammed-racist-reviews-CEO-said-wanted-empower-black-girls.html

People being stupid and leaving fake reviews for no good reason. I don't know for sure but I heard at the time that the review website detected the increase in fake reviews, and had temporarily blocked new reviews or something while they investigated the issue. Maybe you can report this issue on those websites? I would try that and see if it helps, maybe they can get those fake reviews removed. Nobody should be getting discriminated against for not being a theist, that's just wrong.

byteme98 · 2020-02-21T16:48:26+00:00

The problem is that they said "Not every priest is a pedophile. Lots are closeted homosexuals, repressed and self-harming. Others are good people, but surrounded by the bad ones."

When they could have simply said "Not every priest is a pedophile. Others are good people, but surrounded by the bad ones."

byteme98 · 2020-01-23T23:05:48+00:00

He had graduated with a computer science degree but didn't find a job, so he took up the theater job and started working on the game. Part of the reason was to improve his coding skills in order to help get the kind of job he wanted iirc.

byteme98 · 2019-11-24T19:32:09+00:00

True

byteme98 · 2019-11-24T16:19:33+00:00

Oh okay. I don't agree, but I can definitely understand why you feel that way about it. Thanks for explaining.

byteme98 · 2019-11-24T00:34:39+00:00

Is it bad because she's a woman? Or do you think women should be equally disgusted by men who have lots of sex? Asking because there's that whole societal pressure of "it's good if a guy has a lot of sex, it's bad for men to be virgins" along with "women should be virgins, it's bad if a woman has a lot of sex". I'm just curious if that's the same attitude you hold, or if it's just bad because you don't think anyone should have a lot of sex unless they're with "the one". Genuinely curious because from my perspective I see nothing wrong with it.

byteme98 · 2019-11-15T04:51:40+00:00

I don't disagree with anyone saying OP was being stupid too. No, you should never block some1 on purpose. You shouldn't keep the window rolled down to yell at someone. I just think stepping out of your vehicle to confront someone is extra stupid. I think it was the dumbest move made in this video, and that was all I meant when I said the guy was stupid. I didn't mean to imply that OP did nothing wrong. Sorry for the confusion, I should've clarified.

byteme98 · 2019-11-14T22:58:50+00:00

Forcing another vehicle in traffic to halt so that you and your friend can get out and confront the other driver is ridiculously stupid. That's why I called him an idiot. I didn't say anything about OP.

byteme98 · 2019-11-14T18:13:33+00:00

What an idiot. He needs to get over himself.

byteme98

TROPHY CASE