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“Blow On Their Nose”: People Have Firsthand Experience That These 40 Cat Hacks Work
Article created by: Jonas Žvilius
Cats might rule the world, but they aren’t as enigmatic as they want you to think. Sometimes, ‘cat logic’ makes total sense, while other times, it is very counterintuitive. But when you spend enough time around felines, you start picking up on how their minds and inner worlds function.
Pet owners took to an online thread to share their brilliant but bizarre cat hacks that, weirdly enough, actually work. If you’re raising cats at home or just want to learn about how our Meowgnificant Overlords work, keep scrolling.
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#1
I have only ever done this with one cat so probably can't really call it a "hack" but it definitely worked:
My kitty used to bite a lot, and she would just do it randomly. You could be petting her, she'd be leaning into it purring and enjoying and suddenly she would just flip and bite you.
Well one day she bit my finger, and instead of pulling away and being hurt, I just shoved my finger further into her mouth lol. She gagged and then looked at me with a face I will never forget 😂 she was in absolute shock like what kind of a freak does something like that lol
She has never bitten me or another person since! She still snaps at you as if she's going to, but she won't actually do it. It's crazy, solved her biting problem practically overnight.
Anyway, success may vary lol.
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#2
If your smoke detector goes off, call your cat to you and give them a treat. That way if the detector goes off in a fire, you have trained the cat where to go so you can find them easily.
#3
Greeting my cats with an extended finger and letting them nose-boop it. It’s a low impact way to mimic a natural cat greeting and builds trust.
#4
I use their natural fastidious nature against them if they need meds. I always ask the vet if there's a liquid option then use a dropper to administer the medication on their paws. They can't help but lick it off. Game changer with cranky cats.
#6
If you want Cat A to come to you, call Cat B. Or call the dog over.
Their jealous hearts will be there in a second.
#7
I guess this isn't strange, but because I love cats, and I have kids, I very rarely buy new furniture, at least nothing expensive. It really is a lot easier tolerating zoomies and occasional scratching if nothing expensive is getting destroyed.
Rugs are small and light enough to wash in the shower, or simply put in the washing machine. Keep plants away from the cats, a lot less hassle.
First and foremost, just relax. Forget a totally spotless home (goes for having kids as well, lol), and just enjoy.
#8
Training cats to come by shaking an Altoids tin full of treats. The sound is louder and distinctive, and if they ever get outside accidentally in my city neighborhood, they hear the sound over traffic noises. We have an Altoids tin full of Temptations by each door for emergencies.
#9
If you address them only by their name they will know and respond to it, and can eventually come when called. I see owners say they refer to their cat by multiple pet names but they don't respond or care about being called. it's not that, they just don't know how their name truly sounds, when they know they respond.
you can determine a cats attention by watching where their eyes, ears, and feet are pointed. from the bottom up are ascending order of attention. where they might need to move, where a threat might be coming from, what they notice but don't need to address.
#10
If they like to get up on the table/desk when you're trying to work there, give them a shoebox to sit in. Might not work for every cat but it worked for mine -- she would sit in her box and out of my stuff!
#11
In the morning my dog wants to go out, we have this little ritual where he sits and stares at me until I get up, then he cavorts a bit, we head to the door.
When he's done he barks to come in and heads for the cupboard where his treats are. I always ask if he wants a treat and he says yes.
The cat comes over because she's jealous. So one day, I respond to her meow and give her a cat treat. She stands on the arm of the arm of the couch, I put the treat in front of her feet.
I did this ONE time. Now every morning when the dog gets his treat, she gets in her same spot to get her treat.
Never tell me cats can't be trained. Or maybe the owners are the ones being trained.
#12
My 15 year old came from a hoarding situation and didn’t have great litter box habits, she also has IBD. She’s been checked out by the vet numerous times, but continued to pee outside of the litter box. I finally ended up getting her a puppy pad tray with potty pads and she’s been using it consistently with no messes. So many different types of litter, litter box types, placements etc, and she likes the puppy pads. Cats are weird, lol.
#13
My spicy orange boy doesn't love getting his nails trimmed. He just pulls his feet away too quick. Life hack: I hold him like a baby and sit outside on my deck chair. He is mesmerized by all the sights and smells, and knows mom has to hold him when he's out there. So he just tolerates it for some time outside. Then, when we finish, we continue to sit out there and watch the birds and bugs. Win win!
#14
Ever since she was a kitten I fed her at random points during the day, twice a day. Never the same time day to day to keep her on her toes and to keep her off of a “routine” so she doesn’t yell at me. The only time she meows at me about breakfast or dinner is when she knows I’ve genuinely forgotten to feed her (which is rarely but does happen sometimes because it’s not a strict schedule) 😂
I also made chasing her a game, where I make silly noises while we sprint around the house getting eachother so she knows it’s a game - she loves it and usually will turn around and chase me back.
#15
Give him a stool in the middle of the kitchen. Let him sit and show him stuff to sniff. Keeps him off the counter while cooking.
#16
Getting a kitten for my 6 year old void was the best decision we have ever made.
My cat has always lived with just me (with and without my partner) or with dogs. She was found as a kitten by a woman doing TNR with her local feral colony. She said the rest of her litter didn't survive.
I didn't know about single kitten syndrome at the time. She became very attached to me, but I think she started to see me as a sibling. She nips a lot. It's frustrating lol. I can usually divert her with a toy and try to provide plenty of stimulation, but she will still sometimes run after me and bite my ankles.
Now that she has a kitten to play with and teach the rules to, she doesn't nip as much. She seems much happier, even if she pretends she doesn't care for him when they're not playing.
#17
When the toilet paper roll is empty I throw it to them. They chase it around, scratch and rip it, and by the time they are done playing a new one is ready. Same with paper towel rolls.
#18
I have a large cup screwed onto my coffee table. This is so I can have a secure cup holder, because my cat's favorite hobby is tipping cups, the fuller the better. When I first screwed it down he tried to tip it a few times, but since he couldn't he decided that all cups on that table are unable to be tipped. Now I have one whole safe surface I can set drinks on!
#20
My weird win: a ping pong ball in the empty bathtub. No lost toys, quiet, and it turns into a mini arena for 20 minutes. Runner up is a tiny smear of Churu on a lick mat during nail trims. Statue mode unlocked.
#21
Play music around your cat and take note how they react to different genres. For some strange reason, my neurotic, jumpy scaredy cat is a big fan of metal music and she tends to calm down a lot faster with it playing in the background. On the other hand, she hates anything lyrically heavy because she thinks there's a person she can't see or smell near her and it freaks her out.
#22
Bird and nature videos on youtube. All of our cats zen out to the sounds.
Also, suction cup hummingbird feeders on the windows for the exact opposite effect. Burns all the crazy energy of our younger baby and gets our old boy excited and eekeekeeking which keeps him young. All around win.
#23
Maybe not strange but NEVER feed your cat when you get out of bed. Unless you’ve been in a coma it’s never that urgent.
#24
I adopted an adult cat, who was terrified of me and hid behind furniture for months. Very slowly, over time he would come out of hiding and we could both be in the same room without him running to hide so I would turn my back to him and shuffle past, that way he would know that I am not trying to mess with him at all because I’m not even facing him. I talked in a calm tone (no baby voice) and said “it’s okay bud, I’m not gonna mess with you”. I also made it a point to not look at him when I was moving about the apartment, again to let him know that he’s not even on my radar and I’m not trying to mess with him. Remember, when cats feel threatened, their eyes are wide, they don’t blink, and they keep their eyes on whatever they think is threatening them. If you keep making eye contact with the cat and staring back at it, it may interpret that as you actually being a threat. Over time it worked and he realized that he is allowed to be up and milling about, and I won’t mess with him. Now he is a very happy and well adjusted man.
#25
I routinely pretend to chase them, and sometimes clumsily pretend to grab them, but I do a bad job, missing them by miles, pretending to be winded after taking five steps. Now, when I do need to actually grab them, they underestimate me and assume I am much slower and clumsier than I actually am.
#26
One of my cats needs more moisture in her diet. So I got some cat bone broth and I mix that with churu and every few nights we have kitty cocktail hour. She laps it up as long as I don’t overdo it on the bone broth lol. I am going to try to find some little shallow cocktail glasses for this purpose so kitty cocktail hour can be a bit more luxurious. There may also be photos and bow ties….
#27
My cat LOVES it when I slide the dry food across the floor, once piece at a time. We started out doing this with treats, and now it’s all dry edible things. It’s like a very short chase with an immediate reward. She loves it ridiculously much.
When I cat-sit for my neighbors, I do the same for their evening feeding, which is dry food. They also LOVE it, so it’s not just my (ahem, orange) cat.
#28
Explain to your cat what is happening like they are a person, especially if it's something that will upset their routine or going to the vet. They won't "understand," but cats pick up a lot more from tone than we realize. Always seems to calm my cats.
#29
When I’m eating something I know my cat doesn’t actually want but they are sniffing at it like they do I pretend to offer it to them. Then they smell closer and decide no they don’t want it, but they appreciate the offer.
Also pine pellets are a billion times better than litter and less expensive .
#30
If I can’t find either of my roomies, I will play Instagram videos of meowing cats. They come out of hiding to see who is in their home.
#31
My cats used to think that one corner of one room in our house is a toilet, even though we never kept a sand box there. It's just plain floor tiles. They do have several large sand boxes elsewhere, all cleaned every day and sand replenished regularly. Yet for some reason, that corner was a toilet too.
I've cleaned it many times (including scrubbing it with soap and disinfectant), perfumed it, left bits of fruit that cats allegedly don't like, nothing helped.
What did finally help was, after cleaning it yet again, putting there a small cat bed. Apparently, cat logic is, if a place is for sleeping, it's not for pooping (which does make sense).
#32
If i want them to do something i have to do it first. Clipping nails is one example. I pretend to clip my nails and then they all want what i'm having.
#33
Whenever my boy cat that is only a year old and wasnt socialized properly before he met me play bites i pretend he just ripped me open and hurt me so bad and he gets very concerned and runs off. HIGHLY recommend.
#34
Don't know if this counts as a hack but I had a dog. Then I got a cat. Dog taught cat what was and wasn't acceptable behavior. Several generations of cats later and long after my dog has passed, they still know the rules.
TL;DR: have a well-trained dog to train your cats. 🙃.
#35
Always pick them up and carry them to their food. They come to expect it and it gradually turns them into very affectionate cuddle cats that always want to be held and picked up. Works well with aloof cats that don’t like being touched.
#36
When my cat was a kitten, he used to want to play-fight with my hand, which could be painful and is not a good habit. But a friend gave me a dinosaur glove puppet. I would put it on and he could enjoy fighting with the dinosaur.
#37
During playtime, move toys in a big arc rather than a straight line. If they turn their head, they are actually interested.
If they are refusing to drink fresh water, drink (your own) loudly or make slurping noises. This usually works.
#38
So, my cat Aria (Huns Buns of the Bunsly Bunz) asks to receive extra love while she eats. She'll meow at me and give me the "get over here" eyes until I begin petting her, then she'll purr very loudly and begin eating. I don't know why she needs/wants extra love at meal time, but it works for us and keeps her from acting out in other ways lol.
#39
I sing to my cat while I clip her nails. Doesn’t have to be a real song, sometimes I just sing about her or about what I need to do that day. She just kinda sits there all pathetic like but she doesn’t try to fight or get away. Then when I’m done, I just kiss the top of her head and release and she hops out.
#40
Regular catnip and play sessions helps keeps them happy and healthy. Also, views out windows and spots to sunbathe keeps them interested and content.
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