trying to train kitty

My name is Pat, and my Cat is a 10 month old spade female named Houdini.
I had her since 5 weeks old, and I trained her not to go on the table or counters using a squirt bottle.

Problem 1: When she goes outside on her leash, I have been trying to train her to stay out of the landlords flower garden. He hasn't planted flowers yet, but I thought if she knew from the start that it was off limits, she wouldnt go there. At first the squirt bottle seemed to be working, now she just sits there and enjoys the mist. I always have to get up and take her in the house cause she won't listen when I tell her to get out. But for the 1st month, she seemed to be listening, so I know that she knows its off limits, but chooses for whatever reason to ignore that.

Problem 2: About a week ago she started meowing really loud and annoyingly beside the door to go out. She acts like a cat that hasn't been fixed, but she definately has. I don't want her to be an outdoor cat, just a cat with maybe an hour or two outside during the day. It's got so I have to put her in the bedroom with the door closed to get any work done at home. I'm sure her meowing must be driving neighbors crazy. Do I need to totally take away her outside privileges? Or is there a way to make her stop begging 16 hours a day?

Any help would be appreciated.

Once you "allow" a cat to be outside the cat wants to be outside - period. I would suggest if possible that you build an enclosure for your cat to keep her safe. There have been so many stories of cats slipping their collars/harnesses/etc it's scary. All it takes is one very sudden backward move on their part and they are out. Personal experience here. If you can build her an enclosure so she is safe from harm then yes, continue to let her out.
A few things you can do to make your life easier indoors - make her own "kitty room". Give her lots of climbing perches - be it tall kitty condos, shelving at different levels around the room, climbing spots, etc. Give her lots of hiding spots. Cats love to hide. Make sure she has toys, scratching posts or even sisal covered poles, and catnip. She will be so busy exploring all her little nooks and crannies she won't want outside.
As for the spraying - I have never found it works for me. Then again I don't care if the cats are on the counters, tables, etc. I clean them well before using them for cooking purposes and the cats water is in the sink. If you insist your kitty can't be on the counter you need to be consistent with your training. Every single time kitty is there you need to say NO in a sharp (not loud) voice, take her down, and repeat - as often as needed. You could try to put tin foil on the counter. Some cats don't like the feel of it. You can try double sided tape on the edges. You could try the "Sssscat" http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Scat-Kit/dp/B0002IJQEQ if you feel that would work.

I have found with my kitties that having outside time on a set schedule has worked, they simply know when they are going outside and when they aren't and it seemed to work for me. It not necessarily the same "time" each day, but more geared towards our "actions"

For example:

Mon-Fri: Come home from work: cats get fed, cats go outside. That could be 3PM or 5PM, doesn't matter, the cats know when we come home from work, they go outside . They get about 1 hour outside then they come back inside for the night.

Days not at work (and the kitties do know by our actions when it's not a work day ;)): Get up, mom feeds cats, goes for shower, outside time. Mom has coffee outside while the kitties sniff :p. If we happen to go shopping for the day, when we come home, we keep the same schedule as if we were coming home from work, feed cats, cats go outside.

I have found that when the cats realize when their outside time is, they accept it and don't ask for more :shrug:. Our schedule is really based on our "actions" rather than time. The good thing is that they don't want to go out in the rain or blizzards, however, THEY do get the option to go outside, otherwise they will drive me :crazy: because their "schedule" is off and they don't know the weather is bad. Now a few of the "not so smart" kitties, think if they run to a different door, the weather will be better, but they are sadly disappointed when I open the door and it's the same bad weather :laughing:

Anyways, that works for us.

We also have a "pen" that our cats can use if we need to be doing something in the house and can't supervise them outside. Rose, who is semi feral, is only allowed in the pen as we can't pick her up to bring her inside. But she quickly learned when to run to her window to be let out.

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=69963&highlight=Rose

My cats too are perfectly happy coming outside with us and coming in with us,your problem could be she's still very young.

I,like 14+ really do not have any limit to where my cats can go,so I cannot help you there.

Maybe a companion for your kitty would be a good idea,2 cats keep each other busy.

I should mention too, that some ovary tissue can be accidentally left in during the spay, causing a cat to go into heat, and it is quite possible that this has happened to your kitty. If she continues to act as if she is in heat, you may want to have her checked by her vet.

Maybe a companion for your kitty would be a good idea,2 cats keep each other busy.

:thumbs up:D

Letting my kitties outside on a leash never worked for me. Mine slipped out of the house between peoples legs and it took forever to get them in again. Finally I had to just keep them indoors. Eventually they stopped running out and now they wouldn't go out if you pushed them out the door.

Squirting with water never worked for me either, neither did the sharp "No". When I hear them on the counter I go to the kitchen and they jump down before I get in there. They know they aren't allowed, that's why they do it. "No human will tell me what to do?" I got a mat from Doctor's Foster and Smith to lay down on the floor in front of doors, because they scratch on them and mess them up. The mat gives a static shock, it doesn't hurt, just startles them, I felt it. It's like getting shocked when touched by someone. They learn the first time not to walk on it. I have to keep it down, cats aren't dumb they know when it's off, or not there and resume the scratching on the door.