Anyone know how to deal with a bully cat?

[Mirakai]

This is a long shot, but hoping someone might have experience or some ideas for this issue. We have a cat 1 year 1/2 that my mom adopted a few months back. This cat is really two faced. Calm with people, but when another animal comes to play he is a big bully. He has bullied our other cat and dog (both a bit older females, but both sweet hearts), and now he has been trying to jump on top of my bearded dragons tank.

I'm running out of ideas on how to discipline this unruly cat. We have sprayed him with water till he was literally soaked, we bought one of those long flexible tubes that people float with in pools and whoop his ass/chase him with it when he misbehaves (its less heavy than a human hand), and of course when we need to discipline him right away sometimes he just gets an old fashion hard slap to the backside. I'm not really sure what else we can do to make him not misbehave so much. I am getting to the point of even wanting to release him outside (though he's not my cat). I knew from the first month we got him that he was a bully and I told my mom to take him back, but she thinks that we can't take it back after adopting an animal, and she wants to try to work it out.

Anyone have any ideas on how to keep him away from my bearded dragons tank? I don't think I could ban the cat from not entering a particular room. Right now my tank is about 5 feet off the ground and he still tries to jump on top of it once in a while. My dragon is very calm and passive so far, the cat doesn't scare her, but I want to make sure he doesn't break the tank. I just need to find a way to make it so my cat is completely discouraged from trying to get into the tank or to make the tank more or less impenetrable/ a hazard for him to access.

 

[Rukii]

Ever since they were kittens, my cats hated my dog. The cats live upstairs and the dog reigns the downstairs. I've tried letting them see each other through a glass door weeks at a time, but they never got used to each other up until recently. One of my cats will sometimes walk up to my dog and rub up next to her or just let her sniff him, though eventually if my dog goes for their food, she usually gets tagged on the nose a few times. My advice is just to desensitize the cat. Put the dogs/cat on a leash and just let them see each other. Don't let them get close enough to touch each other, just let them look. Let them realize that they aren't threats, nor will they hurt them. Same with your beardie. Hold your cat, and just let her watch the tank for a while. Let her get her fill of looking, and do this for days, weeks, or as long as it takes. It's a lengthy process, but it should work. I hope this straightens out your cat

 

[Buggsy]

The best way to teach a cat whats unacceptable is to put them in another room (or just away from you) and ignore them for 10 min. They soon get the idea that doing whatever it was dosnt get them anywhere.

 

[kimmie]

You can also try some Bach's Rescue Remedy. Some say to put it in their drinking water but many others have just put the drops on their heads between their ears and rub it in with just as much if not more success. There are other flower remedies you can look into for all sorts of issues and they might have one for anger issues.

One of our newer additions (Jake) is a little bit of a bully even though he's 1/3 the size of the largest cat (Kovu) that he picks on. Kovu could beat the crap out of him but doesn't, he's rather mellow. Actually Kovu could probably take on our pitbull and win but doesn't. Usually if/when Jake comes out and Kovu just looks at him wrong, Jake whines and swats at him! A can with stones or something in it to make a loud noise gets his attention though. LOL

 

[Toyguy]

One thing I've done to keep the cat off things is to put down some strips of double sided tape. She jumps up there and jumps right back off after getting her paws loose. A couple times of that and she never does it again.

 

[Rukii]

One thing I've done to keep the cat off things is to put down some strips of double sided tape. She jumps up there and jumps right back off after getting her paws loose. A couple times of that and she never does it again.

That definitely does get a reaction out of them. There was a sticky fly-catching strip over a dresser in my bedroom once, and my cat jumped up and got it stuck to his paw. He ran like a bat out of hell around the room getting things stuck to him. I eventually caught him and got it off. He was sticky for a few days, but he didn't go up on that cabinet for a while. But enough of me hi-jacking this thread. I'm sure the double-sided tape would work great for him jumping on the beardie's tank.

 

[Sadona]

Matisse is the bully cat of our house. Thankfully, he doesn't live here all the time - he visits for the summer, then leaves with my grandparents who migrate for the winter.
He likes to pick on our cats randomly. I have found that growling and hissing at him like a cat really, actually, works. Yeah, some say its weird, but that is their language and they understand it. All I have to do is hiss at him from across the room or stand up from my chair and he backs off. I always start off with a deep growl as a warning, then a hiss/snarl depending what I'm trying to tell them.
As for cats and beardies...I have a kitten who is fascinated with my guy Sol. She is persistent, oblivious and unmannerly, but she is learning. I have found repetition and persistence works well for her. Spraying water helps deter her, but only for a while. I have yet to find a method that really works...still trying with that.
Rukii is right, desensitization really works. Its a slow process, but it pays off.

 

[Mirakai]

^ That's pretty funny just imagining someone growling and hissing at a cat. I bet it would work to scare them lol.. Thanks for all the suggestions though guys. I got a few things to try out now. And I have started using the double sided tape today. He tried to jump on the tank then as his paws got stuck on the tape he jumped right back down lol. He still spends maybe 2 hours a day at least just watching the tank. But I think the tape will help take the edge off and help discourage him from jumping.

 

[Freeie]

Squirt them with a water bottle every time they do something they shouldnt. After a few squirts they tend to stop cats learn quickly when faced with water lol.

 

[kimmie]

Squirt them with a water bottle every time they do something they shouldnt. After a few squirts they tend to stop cats learn quickly when faced with water lol.

Hasn't stopped my cats yet! LOL Couple of them stand there as if they WANT to be squirted! DH even got a pellet gun (doesn't hurt I've tried it on myself) to shoot at them. What do they do - they taunt him to shoot so they can chase the little pellets! :lol:

 

[Trogdorpheus]

A friend of mine had a cat that would go under his entertainment center if the doors were open on it, and chew on wires behind it. So he tried the spray bottle. One day when I was over there, his bottle was empty, and he filled it from a clear plastic bottle on the counter we both thought was water, and sprayed the cat. Ran like hell. Turns out the cat has a very strong distaste for the smell of vodka, and has never tried to get behind it again lol.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Get out the squirt bottle and put it in the stream position. :lol: Cats hate water..

 

[BaskingBaby]

Thankfully my roommates extremely annoying 4 month old kittens HATE the spray bottle. If that doesn't work, try adding some vinegar to the water (1/2 and half maybe) and see if they don't like that. It smells horrible and they probably will hate the taste.