Honestly, do you think this would be consider abuse of any kind? Or is she overreacting?

Question

So, my friend came over to my house yesterday. And to say the least, she doesn't agree of how I treat my cats. And I don't get why, My cats are spoiled rotten, they get the run of hte house, have food and fresh water at all times. Their litter box is changed daily, sometimes every other day. Depends. My one cat got blocked, so we spent $1200 on him for surgery and such.

Now, this is what she saw me do. My one cat, (Shredder) he likes to chew on this basket we have. So I kind of 'hiss' at him in a sense, I make a sharp 's' sound with him. and he knows to get away from it. So MY cat sylvester, who is very respectful of people and me, he kept trying to get out on the deck while I was going in and out on it to get on my grill. So when he did get out, I picked him out, put him inside, I tapped his noise and said "No." And when I say tapped, I don't mean hit or anything, I tap his noise gently and he gets it. He also was eating something off the ground, another time that night, so I gave him a little shove with my foot. I didn't kick him or anything. Just gave him a small shove to get him away from it. And from these two things I did to Sylvester that night, she said she'd report me to the humane socitey for abuse to my animals. --;; Now honestly, am I abusing them in any way shape or form? I think they are pretty d**n spoiled actualy.

Answer 1

I'd say those things are perfectly fine

Answer 2

That is not abuse!  It would be abuse if you did not discipline your animals.  It is dangerous to not teach your animals to listen to you because they are a threat to other people and themselves.  I have a cat who loves being near the oven and he put his paw on the side of it when I was broiling fish.  Because I taught him to listen to me when I yell at him he knew not to go near it.  

Tell your friend that if she doesn't know what proper treatment of animals is that she can go to the humane society and take a class on how to take care of animals.  

Answer 3

try not to do anything physical to them..instead use a spray bottle or the  sound of newspaper or bubble wrap will help as well...

Answer 4

That is not abuse.as long as you don't hit him hard for no reason and they are cared for properly, there is nothing wrong. There is a difference between scolding and abusing. Scolding does not hurt the animal in any way and it still is teaching them proper behavior. Abusing is for doing some kind of phisical damage without any reason and on purpose. My cat learns well when i tap him on his nose or when i gently push them away from an object. You are doing nothing wrong with your cats.

Answer 5

she's totally overreacting-I sometimes nudge my cat with my foot(not hard!) if he's getting underfoot and my hands are full-the hissing thing is a well known method of getting your cat's attention to stop it doing something. I've never been a fan of tapping the nose but it's not cruel as such-it's just not something I do. i think your friend needs to go visit some cat shelters and get in touch with reality about animal cruelty!!

Answer 6

That's not abuse that's showing your cat you don't accept that behavior, sheesh that's nothing she'd totally report me.  I had a Siamese around 16 y/o with Kidney disease, she had 2 litterboxes one inside one outside, I put puppy pads down because she'd pee outside the box, she was also deaf.  One day I am watching TV and she proceeds to squat (on my new carpet) of course yelling would do no good because she's deaf, so I threw the remote at her to "get her attention" it worked she hightailed it outside and my carpet was saved for another day.  So if she thinks what you did is abuse I'd have been done for...lol.

Tell your friend she's an idiot.

Answer 7

of course not that is not abuse that is just a part of the training process don't worry about her words your off to a great start to training your cats right from wrong . by the way when your cat does something that their not supposed to do say no in a firm voice pick the cat up and place it where or show it what he is supposed to do.

Answer 8

No that's not abuse at all, it's tough love XD

My friend does way worse to her kitten, she doesn't mean any harm or anything, she just plays really rough with him. But he seems totally fine and normal.  

Answer 9

Your Friend Is Being Completly Ridiculous!  I Guess My Family Abuses Our Cats Too Then.

Our Male Cat Likes To Jump Up And Lay On Our Dining Table, So When We See Him On It We Lightly Tap Him On The Butt And Put Him On The Floor. He Understands This.  Our Female Is More Laid Back And Doesn't Really Do Much, But Occasionally She Does Like To Walk On The Kitchen Counter And When We See Her Do This We Simply Say No In A Stern Voice And She Gets The Hint.

Your Cat Responds To The Nose Tapping Because He Probably Doesn't Like Having His Nose Touched (Our Female Is The Same Way).  You're Just Touching His Nose, Not Actually Hitting It.  Also, We Lightly Scoot Our Cats Away From Something We Don't Want Them To Eat.  It's NOT Abuse.

Does Your Friend Have Any Cats/Dogs Of Her Own?  Does She Have A Pet That Likes To Do Something That She Doesn't Want He/She To Do?  If Not, Then She Really Has No Room To Talk.  Although, If She Does, Ask Her What She Does Different To Let Her Cat/Dog Understand Right From Wrong.

My Point Is That You Did Nothing Wrong! :)

Answer 10

I think that you shouldn't ever hit an animal on the nose, no matter how lightly. Think about how sensitive your nose would be and then multiply it. Animals noses are mose sensitive then humans.

Not to mention that no animal, cats, especially, respond well to physical punishments.  

Answer 11

This does not constitute abuse. They are well-fed, watered, have clean litter, are sheltered, and you are not causing them physical harm. It would be different if what you were doing was injuring them. If the humane society comes knocking, let them right on in. One quick check of their living and physical conditions, and they would commend you for taking good care of your animals and leave you alone.

I say get a new friend.

Answer 12

Not at all so long as the tapping doesn't cross over to hitting but it doesn't sound like you're that kind of owner.

A Tip I would give is the 'ear flick'. When one of my ladies do something wrong I give their ear a light flick, this is the area cats go to when fighting each other and it really works!

Sometimes you need to use a little force such as nudging with your feet or pushing out of the way.

So don't worry about your friend, they obviously have never had animals never mind cats so don't quite understand.  

Answer 13

No it is not abuse in any way it is discipline I do it with my cats

Answer 14

your friend is being ridiculous if animals don't get some kind of discipline then they go crazy. tell you are sorry that she thinks that you abuse your animals but you are merely disciplining them to keep them in line.

good luck  

Answer 15

Your friend is over-reacting.  

Answer 16

It doesn't sound like abuse at all. The humane society would probably laugh her out the door.

I would advise never having this person at your house again.