How do i stop the cat from jumping on to me?

14 years ago

We recently brought in a new addition to the family. He is a male kitten, less than a year old. He is a good cat apart from menial behavioral issues, but one thing that irritates me the most, is that he loves to jump onto my shoulders.

It was fun in the beginning, knowing he wanted to show his affection. Now it is unbearable. He has become so daring he jumps on me when i am climbing up the stairs, doing daily activities, or even at night when i come home. To top it off, he digs his nails into my back whenever he underestimates the landing zone.

I bet he wouldn't be fond of me riding him like a horse. So, how do i stop his behavior?

Featured Answer

oregpsnow

14 years ago

PLEASE do not hit him, throw him off or squirt him with anything. Do you know what kind of a cat it is? Jumping onto your shoulders/neck is a trait that some breeds have. I have a Burmese cat who has wonderful manners around the house - except for a love of jumping on my back. I have had her 3 years and have finally convinced her not to do it - most of the time. I try to catch her before she does it and say No in a firm but kind voice and move away so she can't get to me. If she does jump up I just say No calmly and take her to a place she can jump off safely, like a chair or her cat tree. Keeping their nails short helps the scratches.

Yelling or physical force will not work - persistant kindness will - eventually. Best of luck with your kitty. I adopted my girl from a shelter and she has been a great friend.

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Comments (6)

quasifish
14 years ago
Your post sounds similar to one I made almost 2 years ago. I'll see if I can find it and post a link.

We came to the conclusion that our cat is part siamese, and that is not uncommon in their nature. My guy has never had much luck landing on my shoulders, he just scales my back. By the time I made my post, my back was a mass of scratches and I was at my wits end.

I can tell you what worked for me was to do my best to set him up for success. I came to know when he was most likely to jump me and actively avoided those situations. For example, he would invariably jump me when I was leaning over the bathroom sink washing my hair. Since the vanity area is not in the water closet, but more in the bedroom, there was no door to shut on the bathroom-- so if I was going to wash my hair, I would just close off the master bedroom and make sure he wasn't in there. At the work table where he liked to jump me, I changed my position so it was harder for him to get behind me and jump me- he rarely jumped me from the front.

Time outs worked well when he seemed like he was so wound up and could not control himself. I would pick him up and gently deposit him in the master bedroom, where he had everything he needed except attention. Close off the door and leave him there for 15-20 minutes. Generally when he came out he was fine, but sometimes he was still keyed up and needed another round of time out.

I think age has mellowed him too. He is 2 years old now and much better. He rarely tries to jump me. Knock on wood, it has been quite a while since he did that, but I still don't trust him fully.

He also seems to like to be up high. He has a ceiling height cat tree in the family room, but could not get up into a high location in the livingroom, where we often spend our time. I have a set up for him there now where he can climb up towers of rubbermaid tubs (ugly, but not for the long term- I hope) and get on top of the entertainment center. He did seem like he got better behaved about jumping on me when we gave him more and more vertical spaces to climb.

Good luck to you, I know how frustrating it is to have a jumper. Out of curiosity, does he only jump you? Or everyone in the house? Our guy only had it in for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: How do I train this cat?
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jan2
14 years ago
We have Cornish Rex cats and they are notorious shoulder riders. Especially the little girl. As the other posts have said, certain breeds have certain traits. Ours are brother and sister and they are 5 years old. Daily she will jump on my shoulder - he does not do it that often. I have learned to watch her body language, facial expression and her ears. Very easy to tell when she plans on doing it. If she's on the ground and you can see she plans to jump, I just back away from her and keep moving around until she gives up. If she's on the frig and gets that look on her face, I just move a distance so it's to far of a jump. The one time when she has the upper hand is when I am going down the basement stairs and she flings herself at me - learned to close the door behind me and that stops her air-borne suprise attack. Yes, it is frustrating to have a jumper but on the other hand, they want to be with you so how can you really get upset? Ours have their claws, too. This is also the cat that uses the one dane as a springboard to get from the floor to whatever she wants to get up on .

Jan
Darryl Bell
6 years ago
I'm so glad I saw this post!! It's what I was searching for.It's great to know I'm not alone in this!! I have 3 that do this to me.All have Siamese in them.It has gotten to the point of me getting frustrated with them.I know it's because they love me and want to be near me.They don't understand it's extremely painful.Not only on my back but my arms and legs as well.I have cuts all over me from them and I've noticed my back has scars across both shoulders from it.I have a high thresh hold for pain so I've put up with it for awhile.But now people look at my arms and it's hard to explain my cats do it 🙄🙄🙄🙄
Lucky Singh
5 years ago
My kitten has started to do the same. I too get scratched by him sometimes. I wanted to know whether those scratches are fine or should I go to the doctor to check them.

The scratches looks like I got grazed by a thorn.
annztoo
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Lucky,

Just wash the scratches with soap and water and put a little Polysporin (optional) on them. If the area becomes red and starts to look infected, then go to the doctor.

I'm not one to put up with my cats scratching me. I have a calico that can be demanding and stubborn and she has jumped on my back twice. The first time surprised me and her and I did nothing, but the second time I gave her a stern 'HEY.....NO!' and she hasn't done it since. Don't underestimate the intelligence of a cat.